The Lego Group started shipping their Lego Braille Bricks (40656) to consumers on the 1st of September 2023 amidst widespread excitement. My set has arrived, and I wanted to provide a short Lego Braille Bricks review.
The Box
The box is embossed with braille to detail the set title ‘Lego Braille Bricks’ and to advise you where to scan for instructions. On scanning the barcode, you are taken to the dedicated Lego Braille Bricks site with six video clips detailing games you can play with the set.
Inside the box
The box is sealed with three stick tape tabs, once cut the lid folds back to provide full access to the content. The box contains four bags of Lego bricks, two base plates and a sheet of card embossed with braille detailing the bricks and quantity of them.
The bricks included are:
- 12 dot 1 a bricks
- 8 dot 1, 2 b bricks
- 12 dot 1,4 c bricks
- 12 dot 1,4,5 d bricks
- 12 dot 1,5 e bricks
- 8 dot 1,2,4 f bricks
- 12 dot 1,2,4,5 g bricks
- 12 dot 1,2,5 h bricks
- 12 dot 2,4 i bricks
- 8 dot 2,4,5 j bricks
- 8 dot 1,3 k bricks
- 8 dot 1, 2,3 l bricks
- 8 dot 1,3,4 m bricks
- 12 dot 1,3,4,5 n bricks
- 12 dot 1,3,5 o bricks
- 12 dot 1,2,3,4 p bricks
- 4 dot 1,2,3,4,5 q bricks
- 12 dot 1,2,3,5 r bricks
- 8 dot 2,3,4 s bricks
- 12 dot 2,3,4,5 t bricks
- 8 dot 1,3,6 u bricks
- 4 dot 1,2,3,6 v bricks
- 4 dot 2,4,5,6 w bricks
- 4 dot 1,3,4,6 x bricks
- 4 dot 1,3,4,5,6 y bricks
- 4 dot 1,3,5,6 z bricks
- 4 dot 1,2,3,4,5,6 bricks
- 4 dot 6 shift / upper case bricks
- 4 dot 2 comma bricks
- 4 dot 3 apostrophe bricks
- 4 dot 2,5,6 period (full stop) bricks
- 8 dot 3,4,5,6 # (number) bricks
- 4 dot 2,3,5 + bricks
- 4 dot 3,6 – (hyphen) bricks
- 4 dot 2,3,6 X (Multiplication) bricks
- 4 dot 3,4 divide bricks
- 8 dot 2,3,5,6 = bricks
- 4 dot 5 bricks
My thoughts – Lego Braille Bricks Review
I love that Lego are making braille bricks and that many more people will be exposed to braille, however I do find the pricing of the set extremely high, putting it out of reach for some. A normal Lego set will be about £10 per 100 pieces (excluding licenced ones like Star Wars), but the braille bricks are £27.87 per 100 pieces. This is a significant difference and does leave me wondering why the cost is so high……
The braille is easy to read, and I have had fun with my kids spelling out names. Finding bricks is a little frustrating, but I soon sorted that out with some extra base plates and organising all the bricks for easy access. The bricks have assorted colours, but there doesn’t seem to be a logic behind the colours, which is good as the colour isn’t identifiable by touch. I am pleased that the set is available and hope that it helps my kids learn braille, however only time will tell. I hope this Lego Braille Bricks Review helps you.
Tell me what you think in the comments below or on X @timdixon82
