Lego refreshed its Super Mario playset lineup in August with new starter courses for all three characters: Mario, Luigi, and Peach. In a welcome surprise, the retail price for the trio of core sets dropped from $60 to $50. Better yet, Lego added more prominent characters from the Mushroom Kingdom to each one. And now two of the new starter courses are on sale for the first time. Amazon is selling the Adventures with Interactive Lego Mario and Lego Peach starter sets for $40 each. Multiple of the expansion sets that released alongside the starter courses are also on sale, including big discounts on a new Peach’s Castle set and Soda Jungle Maker from New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe.
If you want to play Lego Super Mario, you need one of the starter sets, as Mario, Peach, and Luigi figures interact with components in each of the many expansions. All three figures have expressive eyes and a small display on their chest to react to what’s happening in your “level.” They also talk and have various sound effects. The “play” component of Super Mario sets is tailored more toward kids, but even the handful of Super Mario Lego display sets for adults, including the 2,807-piece Mighty Bowser and newly discontinued Super Mario 64 Question Block, interact with the figures. So the starter courses are worth buying even if you don’t plan on building any expansions or even the starter course itself.