In the geek midwinter
TWO WEEKS WITH LEGO MINDSTORMS ROBOT INVENTOR
The robotics brand that helped saved Lego in the 1990s returns with a 5-in-1 kit of coding creations… Craig Grannell beds in for a super-nerdy Christmas
£330 / stuff.tv/Mindstorms
DAY 01
There’s a sense of ambition as I peruse the hefty box, checking out the five distinct builds — and trepidation as I peer at the many bags inside. The lid wants to be a sorting tray but, annoyingly, lacks dividers. There are no physical instructions either.
It soon becomes evident why there’s no book in the box: it’d have to be a doorstep to cater for five complex robots and their many accessories. Fortunately, the Mindstorms app quickly installs and is zippy… as is my eager six-year-old co-reviewer, who brazenly ignores ‘10+’ clearly being marked on the box. Sorry, Lego. She informs me our first build will be Charlie, a cute, squat, square-jawed tyke who trundles around on two big wheels.