LEGO MindStorms Dark Side Developer Kit

A sci-fi holiday.

Survey the 567 plastic pieces that make up the $100 Dark Side Developer Kit, and your first thought is: How could this jumble of plastic doodads ever be assembled into anything approximating a toy? Fear not.

The heart of the set is the Micro Scout miniprocessor with a built-in light sensor, motor, and seven "behaviors" that describe the robots' movements and actions. Clear instructions help you build droids of various complexity. Our Jedi Apprentice droid was more fun to build than we expected. Rummaging through the divided tray holding the many components became a kind of game in itself.

This toy is best enjoyed by kids and grown-ups together, but technically precocious youngsters could manage very well on their own.

What's hot: Building the seven different droids is easier than you might expect.

What's not: 567 pieces--yikes! Seven behaviors for the droids is not many.

Geek factor: High

Buying Information

$ 100 LEGO MindStorms 415/382-4080 http://www.legomindstorms.com