LEGO, Meet iPhone: ‘Life of George’ Uses iOS to Judge Building Skills

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It’s called LEGO “Life of George,” and while it may not sound like it has anything to do with Apple’s iPhone or iPod Touch, it just so happens the two technologies—yes, LEGO technically counts as “technology”—are joined at the hip.

Imagine technology that could tell you if you’ve built something to spec, say a flag, or a car, or a person, LEGO style. Or don’t imagine and just give LEGO’s Life of George a go, though you’ll need an iOS device to complete the package.

(MORE: Giveaway: Lego Universe Lets Players Build Big)

LEGO’s tallish, rectangular box for the game (yep, it’s a game—more on that in a moment) packs in 144 LEGO bricks and something called a Playmat. You know how “green screen” technology works in movies, where actors work against a green-hued backdrop to allow video editors to eventually drop computer-generated imagery in behind or around them? The Playmat’s kind of like that, except instead of actors, you’re placing objects you’ve built using the kit’s LEGO bricks—objects based on images dished up by your iOS device.

Once an object’s on the mat, “brick recognition” technology designed by EyeCue works in tandem with your iOS device’s camera to capture what you’ve built and whether you did so correctly. The result? A clever-sounding game of sorts with 12 levels, 10 models per level, and either “novice” or “expert” difficulty settings. The goal: to build stuff as fast and accurately as possible, and players are scored on their ability to do so.

But wait, build what again, exactly? Objects from a guy named George’s photo album. The game’s called Life of George because it’s based on an eponymous “software engineer by day and adventurer by night.” According to LEGO, George’s hobbies include “travel, photography and numbers, and [he] has a fun storyline for players to follow and engage with via his Facebook page, I Am George.”

It’s not just a solo game, either. You can alternatively play against someone else, hotseat style (two players in the same room, taking turns) or fool around in “Creation Mode” to design and capture your own models in an iOS “virtual scrapbook.”

LEGO calls Life of George the “result of [its] desire to provide an innovative way for existing and new fans to play with LEGO bricks and interact with the brand.” Based on the “who would’a thunk?” description of the game alone, and assuming the capture technology’s dependable, it sounds like they’ve probably succeeded.

MORE: A Lego Time Ago, In A Galaxy Far, Far Away: Star Wars To Be Featured in Legoland

Matt Peckham is a reporter at TIME. Find him on Twitter at @mattpeckham or on Facebook. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.