Super Mario 2020

[CosmicSpeed]

I posted earlier that we are offering the Mario Character Pack (71361) boxes at a discounted price to Brick Pickers. I also want to add that we have confirmed now there are two sets per box and our set price will be $49 ea. ($87.83 per box)

Please PM with PayPal email address if you are interested in an invoice for a box or set of these. We have them in hand now. (Free domestic shipping and $10 international shipping for a set, $25 international for box).

@MinifiguresPlus can you pm me directly? Ive tried to reach out but youre not accepting incoming messages.

[MinifiguresPlus]

Hello friends,

Pertaining to our pre-order offer for the Super Mario Character Packs, the demand has been much higher than expected. That being said, since we have so few left, we will be raising the price now on any new orders:

Set - $63
Box - $109

All previous invoices will of course remain the same.

Thanks,

Jon

[$20 on joe vs dan]

Anyone want to sell Monte Mole 40414 or two to a fellow BPer?

pm me

thanks

[Sauromosis]

Can anyone point me to instructions for the Mario Starter kit?

We don't want to install an app or pair Mario to a phone.

Edit: found a good youtube video: 

 

Edited August 23, 2020 by sauromosis

[Phil B]

Can anyone point me to instructions for the Mario Starter kit?
We don't want to install an app or pair Mario to a phone.
Edit: found a good youtube video: 
 

My 14yr old and I built the starter pack and all 10 character packs without instructions, just looking at the pictures. Only Bowser Jr. was a bit of a challenge, but once you build the other structures it becomes pretty clear how to get Junior put together.

[MusiKyle]

StoneWars reporting a Super Mario promo coin coming in September.  The image is just an example apparently, but I like collectible coins and this one will be particularly fun to have.  $35+ orders of Lego Super Mario sets.

[MusiKyle]

People had mentioned doing Lego Mario Kart.  Hot Wheels beat Lego to the punch.  I'd still like to see something like this in Lego form.  Partially because it'd call for minifigures

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/08/heres_another_look_at_hot_wheels_new_mario_kart_line

 

Edited August 27, 2020 by MusiKyle

[Serejai]

On 8/24/2020 at 9:44 AM, MusiKyle said:

StoneWars reporting a Super Mario promo coin coming in September.  The image is just an example apparently, but I like collectible coins and this one will be particularly fun to have.  $35+ orders of Lego Super Mario sets.

 

Since the September calendar is out now and doesn't mention this promotion is it safe to say this info was either not accurate or maybe got pushed back? What are the odds of them still doing this promo in September?

 

[MusiKyle]

45 minutes ago, Serejai said:

Since the September calendar is out now and doesn't mention this promotion is it safe to say this info was either not accurate or maybe got pushed back? What are the odds of them still doing this promo in September?

 

I don't have any additional information than what StoneWars originally reported and even they were surprised not to see it in the calendar.  I don't know the validity or status of this promo.  I want one though!

[Mark Twain]

On 8/27/2020 at 1:50 PM, MusiKyle said:

People had mentioned doing Lego Mario Kart.  Hot Wheels beat Lego to the punch.  I'd still like to see something like this in Lego form.  Partially because it'd call for minifigures
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/08/heres_another_look_at_hot_wheels_new_mario_kart_line

 

Pretty certain Knex beat Hotwheels by about a decade.

If there was a surprise in the bag, I’d hope it would be a Super Mario calendar for the holidays.

[MusiKyle]

Has anyone gotten a box or looked at distribution of the character packs?  A fresh new box was at Walmart and I grabbed the whole left row (10). Hopefully i get all originals...

[Phil B]

Just now, MusiKyle said:

Has anyone gotten a box or looked at distribution of the character packs?  A fresh new box was at Walmart and I grabbed the whole left row (10). Hopefully i get all originals...

My box (from MinifiguresPlus) had a complete set in each row.

[MusiKyle]

4 hours ago, Phil B said:

My box (from MinifiguresPlus) had a complete set in each row.

Unfortunately I got precisely 2 of a select 5 of characters.... if anyone wants to trade let me know.  

[MusiKyle]

I have somewhat of a review after playing with this (the Starter pack) with my 7-year-old daughter.

First of all, straight from her, I asked what she likes about the set, or this 'system'.  She said she likes how you can make new challenging levels, you can put the different pieces in whatever places you like, and you get to connect it to your phone or iPad.  Kind of generic feedback, but she's also 7.  She's one that likes to customize everything in her life so I'm not surprised she likes the power in her hands of making her own levels.  She also liked using the iPad for the instructions.  I did not like it very much because I felt I was 'faster' than the iPad.  I like how in regular instructions I can see about 4 steps in advance (4-up on the page).  iPad forces me one page at a time and that slowed me down unnecessarily.  Kind of like fixing something that wasn't broken.

Regarding gameplay, we challenged each other on who could get the most coins.  The fun part is deciding where to allocate your time.  Some activities may give you a big 10 coin jackpot and then just give you one at a time, infrequently, for a while.  Others give you a higher/faster rate of coins but one at a time.  The bigger the set you build the less time you have (it still stays at 60 seconds regardless how many sets you buy).  Some of the fun came from saying "I made this level, now you try it".  So it's fun individually but playing with a partner is more fun.  I don't let her use the cloud on a stick anymore...  You're suppose to attach Mario and 'fly' him through the air collecting individual coins but she has one too many times attached him too loosely and Mario has fallen to the wood floor from 3 or 4 feet.  That was enough of that, however he has survived any damage from drops.

I will say it was much more engaging with the iPad.  Yes Mario can funnction on his own and yes he'll show you how many coins you got at the end.  That is truly the essence of the game (how many coins can you get before time runs out).  Mario only shows you how many coins you got, the iPad goes back and tells the story.  It tells you who you stomped on, in what order, and how many coins each were worth before giving your total.  After playing WITH the iPad, going back to Mario-only feels very bland and edging towards boring.  Somehow hearing the story of what you've done is as rewarding as knowing the total number of coins earned.

More iPad feedback.  When you buy sets, you can scan them in and your digital Mario "world" grows.  So as I scanned in each of the character packs I bought (finally got her all 10), each got an island themed in proper decor (desert, water, etc.).  Other than the character packs (which actually are a cheap way to get extra baddies), we only have the starter pack, but my daughter likes growing her digital world quite a bit in addition to rearranging the real-world set.

Quality is good but the icons on the two buttons on Mario's back are starting to wear away and it doesn't seem like we've played it that much.  Luckily there's only two buttons but still.

Overall, I do not plan on buying all of the sets.  I might get one or two more of the cheaper sets.  Since the amount of time allotted per game remains fixed at 60 seconds, why buy the big Bowser set for $99 other than the fact that it looks cool?  My opinion is that the starter set with a few more pieces is sufficient to fill 60 seconds of time.  There is no leveling operation, i.e. no level 2, so each 60 stands alone as its own 60 seconds of game play.  When she's done having her fun with this set I'll put Mario back on top of my NES and I'll re-collect back the character pack figures, and the rest will go in the generic bin of Lego pieces for future play in normal Lego fashion.

Edited September 6, 2020 by MusiKyle

[fuzzy_bricks]

There are some "blocks" that add time, so while you may start with 60 seconds there are opportunities for longer levels.

I didn't know about the story that is told after you complete a level.  I wonder if my kids have been using that feature.

[wxdude]

6 hours ago, MusiKyle said:

I have somewhat of a review after playing with this (the Starter pack) with my 7-year-old daughter.

First of all, straight from her, I asked what she likes about the set, or this 'system'.  She said she likes how you can make new challenging levels, you can put the different pieces in whatever places you like, and you get to connect it to your phone or iPad.  Kind of generic feedback, but she's also 7.  She's one that likes to customize everything in her life so I'm not surprised she likes the power in her hands of making her own levels.  She also liked using the iPad for the instructions.  I did not like it very much because I felt I was 'faster' than the iPad.  I like how in regular instructions I can see about 4 steps in advance (4-up on the page).  iPad forces me one page at a time and that slowed me down unnecessarily.  Kind of like fixing something that wasn't broken.

Regarding gameplay, we challenged each other on who could get the most coins.  The fun part is deciding where to allocate your time.  Some activities may give you a big 10 coin jackpot and then just give you one at a time, infrequently, for a while.  Others give you a higher/faster rate of coins but one at a time.  The bigger the set you build the less time you have (it still stays at 60 seconds regardless how many sets you buy).  Some of the fun came from saying "I made this level, now you try it".  So it's fun individually but playing with a partner is more fun.  I don't let her use the cloud on a stick anymore...  You're suppose to attach Mario and 'fly' him through the air collecting individual coins but she has one too many times attached him too loosely and Mario has fallen to the wood floor from 3 or 4 feet.  That was enough of that, however he has survived any damage from drops.

I will say it was much more engaging with the iPad.  Yes Mario can funnction on his own and yes he'll show you how many coins you got at the end.  That is truly the essence of the game (how many coins can you get before time runs out).  Mario only shows you how many coins you got, the iPad goes back and tells the story.  It tells you who you stomped on, in what order, and how many coins each were worth before giving your total.  After playing WITH the iPad, going back to Mario-only feels very bland and edging towards boring.  Somehow hearing the story of what you've done is as rewarding as knowing the total number of coins earned.

More iPad feedback.  When you buy sets, you can scan them in and your digital Mario "world" grows.  So as I scanned in each of the character packs I bought (finally got her all 10), each got an island themed in proper decor (desert, water, etc.).  Other than the character packs (which actually are a cheap way to get extra baddies), we only have the starter pack, but my daughter likes growing her digital world quite a bit in addition to rearranging the real-world set.

Quality is good but the icons on the two buttons on Mario's back are starting to wear away and it doesn't seem like we've played it that much.  Luckily there's only two buttons but still.

Overall, I do not plan on buying all of the sets.  I might get one or two more of the cheaper sets.  Since the amount of time allotted per game remains fixed at 60 seconds, why buy the big Bowser set for $99 other than the fact that it looks cool?  My opinion is that the starter set with a few more pieces is sufficient to fill 60 seconds of time.  There is no leveling operation, i.e. no level 2, so each 60 stands alone as its own 60 seconds of game play.  When she's done having her fun with this set I'll put Mario back on top of my NES and I'll re-collect back the character pack figures, and the rest will go in the generic bin of Lego pieces for future play in normal Lego fashion.

Good review! I've used the iPad occasionally with these sets while playing with my son, but after reading what you've been able to do, I may try to engage with it a little bit more.

While there are time blocks that can add to the total game duration, I believe (from my experience) they can only be used once per gameplay. And I think they add about 15-30 seconds overall. I suppose you could get extra time from a "?" block, but even so,  it becomes difficult to finish more than a few sets if you engage with every built in interaction or character. I own several of the sets, and I find it difficult to finish everything in time if you play from beginning to end without diverting off course! The Bowser set alone takes a bit of time to pull off with all of the things you have to do to knock him down. I can't imagine what it would be like if you tried to combine all of the expansion sets together.

[HugeRosen]

Any advice on which expansion sets are the best value/best playability?  

[MusiKyle]

Curious about the "special limited edition"... maybe a future GWP.

Edited September 26, 2020 by MusiKyle

[thedingman5]

6 hours ago, MusiKyle said:

Curious about the "special limited edition"... maybe a future GWP.

Understand that it was a cancelled SDCC set...(per Brickset)...

[scatttcat]

6 hours ago, MusiKyle said:

Curious about the "special limited edition"... maybe a future GWP.

I read rumors this was another supposed comic con exclusive, but it doesn't make much sense because this would be the only one of the three that says "special limited edition"... then again... the other Mario GWP didn't say that either, so WHO KNOWS lol

Set # is a little high in rotation, seems to align with 2021 Mario wave

[marcinj]

Btw. how are the Mario set selling? Based on the above they are doing pretty good...

[MusiKyle]

7 hours ago, marcinj said:

Btw. how are the Mario set selling? Based on the above they are doing pretty good...

Hard to say how well they're doing.  I think it was clever to make a starter pack and a bunch of expansion packs to make people buy additional sets but I for one am not buying anymore.  Long term I think this will go the same way as Hidden Side.  I want a D2C castle from Super Mario 64.

[mudcatsfan]

10 minutes ago, MusiKyle said:

Hard to say how well they're doing.  I think it was clever to make a starter pack and a bunch of expansion packs to make people buy additional sets but I for one am not buying anymore.  Long term I think this will go the same way as Hidden Side.  I want a D2C castle from Super Mario 64.

 Mario has an advantage over the ones that require apps. He can continue to be played with without an app since the sensor is a closed system.

If you don't have to have the app to play with the toy, he can be fun forever. 

[MusiKyle]

1 hour ago, mudcatsfan said:

Mario has an advantage over the ones that require apps.

This is true.  The experience with the app is more engaging but he can be used without it, too.  Time will tell how well this does.  Some of the Hidden Side sets were actually kind of cool on their own without considering gameplay. 

[Loghamel]

How rare did 40414 end up being?  I have a large stash of them and plan on bringing them to the States in December, but it looks like eBay is the best place to sell them.  Is this because people just don't know about the set, so it's not selling too fast on Amazon?