LEGO Super Mario 72046 Game Boy review

LEGO Super Mario 72046 Game Boy is a pixel-perfect recreation of a retro gaming icon, and one of the best Nintendo LEGO sets to date.

The 72046 Game Boy is an excellent starting point for gaming enthusiasts who want to try out an 18+ LEGO set for the first time, and a model that has an appeal far beyond the typical LEGO fandom. While the ingenious building techniques in this set might be a bit complicated at times for LEGO newcomers, the entire build is so filled with inventive ideas and little extra flourishes that it’s certain to please any builder, regardless of their level of experience building this kind of set.

72046 Game Boy

Release: Oct 1, 2025

Retiring: Dec 31, 2027

Price: £54.99 / $59.99 / €59.99

Pieces: 421

Minifigures: 0

For those of a certain age, there are few pieces of consumer electronics quite as iconic as the Nintendo Game Boy. Originally launched in 1989, Nintendo’s hefty grey brick wasn’t discontinued until 2003. While there were other versions of this hardware on the market (such as the Game Boy Pocket and the Game Boy Color) and numerous imitators and competitors, this original form factor – often called the DMG, short for Dot Matrix Game – spent well over a decade on store shelves.

Despite the handheld gaming device’s popularity, the going rate for a real DMG Game Boy has risen significantly over the past decade, as retro collecting – much like LEGO – gained popularity as a hobby among adults during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As such, it’s hardly a surprise that the mere idea of a LEGO set based on the DMG Game Boy would appeal to a large subsection not just of LEGO fans, but also retro gaming enthusiasts and pretty much anyone of a certain age who remembers playing Tetris on a handheld in the days before touchscreen phones.

The LEGO Group has experimented with this kind of set before, with sets such as 71374 Nintendo Entertainment System and 10306 Atari 2600, both of which are life-size brick-built recreations of classic home video game consoles. Right off the bat, though, 72046 Game Boy has one incredibly important advantage over these two sets: it is significantly smaller and therefore cheaper.

Rather than serving as a sizeable display piece, 72046 Game Boy is a relatively (more on that later) affordable and compact set that feels like a toy. It can be picked up and played with. Fiddling around with the buttons, screen, and cartridges feels rewarding, and it’s difficult to leave this thing sitting on a shelf for too long because it is very tempting to pick it up and start playing with it. Much has been said of the model’s fidelity; how it looks and feels so similar to the original DMG Game Boy. In practice, this means that the LEGO set also manages to capture the addictively satisfying tactility that made the Game Boy so famous in the first place.

It helps that the set has several inclusions that provide a little extra whimsy without ever feeling superfluous. Included in the box are the pieces required for a pair of Game Boy cartridges, Super Mario Land and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. While not the best-selling games of the Game Boy’s long lifespan (that honour goes to Pokémon), these are two familiar games that are among the most recognisable of the Game Boy’s catalogue.

These small cartridges show just how much care has gone into 72046 Game Boy. They feature the only stickers in the entire set, but they feel appropriate because they’re used for the stickers that would appear on the front of a real Game Boy cartridge. While not a perfect recreation of the actual games’ stickers, these designs are so close (minus a bit of rendering) that at a casual glance, it’s hard to tell the two apart.

Things go even further, though. While the cartridges are being built, it’s possible to spot subtle differences between the two games’ printed circuit boards – Zelda uses a darker green and features a watch battery to enable saving the player’s progress. These details are entirely covered up once the cartridges are complete, but they reflect a phenomenal level of attention to detail.

The Game Boy build is similarly rich with minute features which fans of the real Game Boy will recognise. It’s important to note that while this is simply made of LEGO pieces, and does not actually play games (although some enterprising fans are already finding ways to add real hardware to this build), the set utilises lenticular screens in place of the DMG’s actual all-green Dot Matrix display. These are delightfully effective, recreating scenes from Zelda, Mario and the Game Boy’s title screen perfectly.

The lenticular lines create a crunchy texture that feels reminiscent of staring that a low-res screen which was already long obsolete when the Game Boy first debuted (it’s often argued that the Game Boy owes much of its success to the fact that it was relatively cheap and had a lengthy battery life, largely because the screen wasn’t of the highest quality at the time).

Everything else is similarly stunning in its presentation. There are no stickers on the Game Boy build, but there are plenty of printed pieces to create the various bits of writing found on a real DMG. All of the control buttons – both the A and B face buttons, the directional pad, and the Select and Start buttons – have a squish to them. While not completely authentic, it certainly feels vaguely similar to the real thing. There’s a moving on/off power button and wheels for the console’s volume and contrast. Simply put: this is a flawless representation of a Game Boy in LEGO form.

It's also a relief that nothing unnecessary has been added to the set. The display stand for the Game Boy is mercifully sparse, made up of only a few bricks, meaning that no elements feel wasted or underutilised. There is also a display stand for whichever cartridge is not currently housed inside the console, which helpfully has a space for placing whichever lenticular screens are not being used. This is a small touch, but it is very much appreciated.

If it’s possible to find any downside at all to this Game Boy, one might argue that in the copy provided for review, some of the small light bluish grey tile elements are slightly darker than the rest of the build. It’s noticeable, and a little annoying, but hardly a dealbreaker for a set that is expertly designed.

It is worth noting that the build experience for the Game Boy itself is quite complex. The build utilises a lot of 'Studs Not On Top' (SNOT) techniques, which will delight seasoned LEGO fans. Given that this set is proving popular with a wider audience that might have less experience building modern LEGO sets, there’s a chance that some required steps in the instructions may be somewhat confusing to newcomers. For these fans, if all else fails, the LEGO Builder app can be used to view the instructions in a rotatable 3D space. The app isn't necessary, but it might help those who find the paper instructions confusing and who could do with seeing things from a different perspective for a few of the trickier steps.

72046 Game Boy and 40805 Arcade Machine comparison

The LEGO Group’s selection of gaming-inspired sets is constantly growing, and those who don’t have a visceral attachment to the original Game Boy may wish to consider 40805 Arcade Machine as an alternative. This build is around the same size as 72046 Game Boy, and has a slightly higher piece count (468 pieces as opposed to 421) and a minifigure, despite being £20 cheaper.

What’s more, 40805 Arcade Machine opens up to reveal a gaming room diorama scene, filled with little references to gaming history. This is one thing that 72046 Game Boy lacks, and it would have been a nice inclusion if this build opened up with a similar hinged design to reveal either a scene from a game or a scene of someone playing their Game Boy.

Ideally, it would have been fantastic to have a Link or Mario minifigure (or both) to accompany the two game cartridges that come with 72046 Game Boy. The LEGO Group has yet to provide fans with any Mario minifigures, and Zelda minifigures are still locked away in the uncomfortably priced 77092 Great Deku Tree 2-in-1.

Nevertheless, while there are ways in which 40805 Arcade Machine succeeds in its own right, it’s hard to imagine any gaming fan being disappointed with 72046 Game Boy, especially given how much care and attention to detail have gone into the set’s design.

Our honest opinion: For retro gaming enthusiasts, 72046 Game Boy can't be beaten. This is the gold standard against which future LEGO sets based on consumer electronics will be judged.

This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.

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Is LEGO Super Mario 72046 Game Boy playable?

While some fans have modded LEGO Super Mario 72046 Game Boy to include working Game Boy components, an off-the-shelf LEGO set will not actually play Game Boy games. The moving screen is simulated using unique lenticular elements that feature pixel art from Game Boy games.

How long does it take to build LEGO Super Mario 72046 Game Boy?

LEGO Super Mario 72046 Game Boy takes around an hour to build. Since the set makes use of some complicated building techniques, this process may take longer for those less familiar with the LEGO system.

How big is LEGO Super Mario 72046 Game Boy?

LEGO Super Mario 72046 Game Boy measures 14cm tall, 9cm wide and 3cm deep. These are the same dimensions as the original DMG Game Boy.

How many pieces are in LEGO Super Mario 72046 Game Boy?

LEGO Super Mario 72046 Game Boy contains 421 pieces. This includes three lenticular screens that are used to simulate the Game Boy’s green screen.

How much does LEGO Super Mario 72046 Game Boy cost?

LEGO Super Mario 72046 Game Boy costs £54.99 in the UK, $59.99 in the US and €59.99 in parts of the EU.