Lego has added to its growing lineup of video game hardware building sets with an adorable little arcade. Simply called Arcade Machine, this 468-piece set launched today, August 1, for only $40. It’s one of dozens of new building sets up for grabs at the Lego Store. Unlike other gaming hardware sets in Lego’s catalog, the Arcade Machine isn’t themed around a real platform; this is a Lego original, but it will still clearly appeal to the same audience.
$40 | Releases August 1
The completed build measures 6 x 4 x 3 inches and opens up to reveal a game room with a sofa, a tiny arcade cabinet, a CRT TV, and numerous decorations often found in game rooms. The items on the display shelves are a nice touch. Above the couch, you can display three game console boxes and a pair of minifigure-style statues. On the other side of the room above the TV, there’s a sword mounted to the wall and what we can only assume is this guy’s prized Lego Star Wars starship he spent a dozen hours building.
The room belongs to the “Gamer Minifigure,” who has a five o’clock and shaggy hair. The set also comes with a tiny game controller for the minifigure to hold.
The arcade machine you’re building here is called Space, a vertical shoot’-em-up for two players. When closed, the red and black cabinet looks appropriately retro thanks to its chunky proportions and several stickers. The marquee sticker has those classic block letters that make it look like each letter is a spaceship entering lightspeed, and the screen sticker has pixelated graphics.
If you insert coins in the slots on the front, they will fly back out through the coin return–just like when you tried to trick arcade cabinets into accepting pennies instead of quarters.
Lego Video Game Hardware Building Sets
If you like the idea of building an arcade machine out of Lego bricks, it’s worth noting that Lego partnered with Bandai Namco back in 2023 to add Pac-Man to its Icons lineup. The 2,651-piece display model measures 12.5 x 10 x 7 inches and has a lot of really impressive features, including a four-way joystick, an illuminated coin slot, adjustable game score display, and a mechanical maze to simulate a round of Pac-Man. Buildable Pac-Man, Blinky, and Clyde figures can be attached to the top of the cabinet. There’s also a separate miniature arcade with a tiny Pac-Man cabinet and a minifigure. Just don’t show Mr. Gamer Minifigure the tiny cabinet, as he might try to move it to his game room. Lego Icons: Pac-Man Arcade is in stock at Amazon for $270.
In case you missed it during San Diego Comic-Con, Lego fully unveiled the highly anticipated replica of Nintendo’s Game Boy. The 421-piece display model comes with two buildable cartridges, three swappable lenticular screens, and two stands. The Lego Game Boy is available to preorder for $60 and releases October 1. Check out our full Lego Game Boy preorder guide for more details.
The Game Boy will be Lego’s second display model based on Nintendo hardware. Back in 2020, Lego created a 2,646-piece Nintendo Entertainment System. Unfortunately, the Lego NES retired last year. The only retailer with stock available is Amazon, and Amazon raised the price of the set from $270 to $330.
The NES is one of two retro home consoles Lego has recreated so far. The other one is the 2,532-piece Atari 2600, but this $240 build was discontinued last year, too.
