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Life of George melds Lego bricks with iOS for 'digital-to-physical' gameplay, captures our hearts

There isn't much that can't be done with some Mindstorming and plenty of Legos, so color us intrigued by the Lego Group's new game, Life of George. Using a free EyeCue-enabled iOS app, players are tasked with recreating George's photographs using 144 included Lego bricks on a specialized "green screen-like" gaming mat. Once the model is complete, you'll take a photo with your iDevice to be scored based on your building speed and accuracy to the original picture. The $30 kit promises 12 levels featuring 10 photos each, and varying difficulty levels. For added replay value, there's a two player game and a creation mode which lets you create playable models out of your own snapshots. To sweeten this story even more, you'll also be able to keep up with George at his eponymously titled Facebook page, I am George. If the Lego-builder inside of you is itching to snag one, it'll be available from Lego on October 1st. In the meantime, you'll find more details in the PR after the break.

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LEGO GROUP UNVEILS FIRST FULLY INTEGRATED DIGITAL-TO-PHYSICAL GAMING EXPERIENCE

- Combining physical building with a digital gaming application, LEGO® Life of George invites builders to test building skills in a race against time-

BILLUND, Denmark, September 29, 2011 – The LEGO Group today announced LEGO® Life of George, its first product to combine digital and physical play for a hands-on LEGO gaming experience. Featuring patent-pending brick recognition software, powered by EyeCue, the game challenges players to build models, and place them on a play mat that acts as a "green screen" to capture the image and receive a score based on accuracy and speed. Beginning October 1, 2011, players can purchase the LEGO Life of George set for $29.99 from LEGO Stores and shop.lego.com and download the free Apple iOS compatible gaming application.

LEGO Life of George is a 12-level game that can be played in novice or expert mode. Each level showcases an adventure from George, around whom the game revolves, and is comprised of models of varying difficulty based on the number of bricks needed and the building techniques required to replicate them. Builders are challenged to physically recreate the virtual models from George's photo album using the LEGO bricks included with the game; once they have successfully completed all 10 models the next level will be unlocked.

In addition to Game Mode which can be played alone or against one competitor in a pass-and-play format, a Creation Mode called "My Life" enables users to design and capture their own models in the app's virtual scrapbook.

"We understand consumers' powerful connection to casual gaming, and we have seen how successfully the LEGO brand can translate to a virtual experience, so we pursued development of a fun way to combine both physical and virtual play into one product," says Paal Smith-Meyer, head of new business at LEGO Group. "Life of George is a result of our desire to provide an innovative way for existing and new fans to play with LEGO bricks and interact with the brand."

Who is George?
George is a software engineer by day and adventurer by night. His main hobbies are travel, photography and numbers, and has a fun storyline for players to follow and engage with via his Facebook page, I Am George. Fans can expect to see updates and photography from George on his travels as well as hints to new game levels and app updates through his posts.