Review: 71436 King Boo's Haunted Mansion
Posted by benbacardi,
It's been four years since the introduction of the LEGO Super Mario theme with 71360 Adventures with Mario, and since then everybody's favourite plumber has been joined by his brother Luigi and his sweetheart Princess Peach, and there have been more than 50 expansion sets for the trio to explore.
71438 Super Mario World: Mario & Yoshi was an interesting direction for the Super Mario license that LEGO has worked out with Nintendo, and I'm excited by the new Mario Kart subtheme launching next year. Until then, however, Super Mario fans will have to make do with some new expansion sets to add to their current courses. 71436 King Boo's Haunted Mansion is one of the largest this year, at just under 1,000 pieces, and brings King Boo back as the primary opponent, along with some other familiar faces.
Summary
71436 King Boo's Haunted Mansion, 932 pieces.
£64.99 / $74.99 / €74.99 | 7.0p / 8.0c / 8.0c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
A great haunted mansion build that works both for display and play, and it's good to see LEGO starting to design these sets to stand on their own feet without the digital game.
- Excellent little mansion
- Enjoyable folding technique
- Fun spooky theme
- Fairly expensive
- Barcode tiles a distraction if playing without the interactive figure
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
One of the first things I noticed when I received the box was the updated box art, removing the large "expansion set" branding, and any sign of Mario, Luigi, or Peach in the main set image. Instead, the set is highlighted as a stand-alone set, where you can "add more fun with interactive figures (sold separately)" if you want. This is a departure from LEGO's previous marketing stance with these sets, where they were sold as explicit expansion sets to the Mario, Luigi, or Peach starter sets.
On the rear of the box, a number of smaller photos show the set by itself, and five show how Luigi can be used to interact further.
Characters
Four characters from the classic video games are included, the first of which is Dry Bones, a skeletal Koopa Trooper that tends to be found inside castles, towers, and deserts. In the video game, they make a very satisfying sound when Mario jumps on them, as they collapse into a pile of bones. This sound is replicated faithfully when bounced on by LEGO Mario, and a small pile of bones appears on his chest screen. Although not invincible, they have to be defeated with more than just a bounce on the head in order to stop them returning to life after a few moments.
Dry Bones has only previously been available in 71369 Bowser's Castle Boss Battle back in 2020, so makes a welcome return here, although the eye print and barcode sticker are slightly different.
The only helpful character in the set is Baby Yoshi. Another returning figure, this variation is yellow-skinned as he was when released as part of the character packs, but with green feet instead of pink. As usual, there's no room on his back for the barcode tile, which is instead placed in front of him.
Finally, two spectral creatures round off the characters. King Boo is accompanied by a smaller Boo, both represented in cube form instead of the rounded appearance they have in the video games. I love Boo's shy closed-eye face—the expression they pull when hiding from the player if Mario or Luigi are facing them in the game—and the paws (do ghosts have paws? hands?) angled over the cheeks are very cute.
King Boo is a large 6x6 cube, with his face printed on a 6x6 white tile—a different print to his previous appearance in 71377 King Boo and the Haunted Yard, with a pink tongue instead of red. A crown adorns his head, fitted with a red gem, and his arms and tail are represented with protruding bricks on the sides and the rear.
Boo's barcode tile is on his head, but jumping on it does nothing but confuse Mario for a second—after all, the ghosts cannot be touched in the video game. However, King Boo's tile is on his bottom, and has to be scanned seven times to receive 12 coins.
The Mansion
The location for this spooky build is a mansion haunted by King Boo and his ghost associates. It's built in three sections, which are then joined together by rounded bricks with shafts snapped into a pair of clips. This enables the whole thing to be closed up into one seamless building, or opened out to play with the interiors.
The colour scheme of the mansion is excellent, with slanted purple roof sections contrasting brilliantly against the brown, black, and grey of the walls. The majority of the front of the mansion consists of two large brown doors set between a pair of windows, beneath a short tower section. The style is a cross between mediaeval wattle-and-daub houses and later brick- or stone-built buildings, and I love the iron work above the windows and on the roof using 1x1 pyramid pieces, amongst others.
Note: my six-year-old son built this set primarily unaided, and it was only after I'd taken all the photos I noticed that the tower's purple roof is a little lower than it's meant to be, I'm afraid!
Out the front of the mansion, a small part of the course is built, comprising a short section of fencing, a place for Baby Yoshi to stand, and a locked chest beside a gravestone under a tree. Scanning the chest's tile won't yield anything yet—not without the key!
Moving beyond the doors, we enter the mansion itself. Although space is limited, a small table with a pair of goblets has been squeezed in beneath the window on one side, and a bookshelf on the other. Above the door is a traditional Super Mario brick topped with a barcode tile that can be scanned for a coin.
A strange-looking platform protrudes from the doorway, with a place for Mario to stand at one end, and a rocker in the middle. This is where our hero meets the main antagonist of the set! King Boo can be seated upon the rocker, and Mario placed upon the barcode tile. Twisting Mario from left to right repeatedly will rock King Boo from side to side until he falls off, whereupon the barcode on his underside will be revealed to be scanned.
Moving on to the wings of the mansion, we're provided with a way for Mario to get up to the roof. An armchair is built into the wall, connected to a lever that projects out the other side. Mario can be seated upon the armchair, the level pushed down…
...and Mario transported the roof. I'm not sure of the purpose of the barcode tile, as no coins can be gained from this. Mario simply makes a variety of noises as you raise and lower him. With the chair out of the way, a spider is revealed to be hiding behind it, which definitely isn't an unexpected sight for a haunted mansion.
On the other side of the main fascia, another bookshelf is home to a key! Mario can't get at the barcode to scan it, however, until he's dealt with the enemy above. Boo is perched on the roof, shyly hiding his face. As I mentioned before, scanning Boo's tile does nothing but confuse Mario for a few seconds, but jumping on Boo's head is enough to push a hidden lever beneath him…
… causing the block containing the key to pop out of the bookshelf below! Once Mario has returned downstairs and scanned the tile, he's free to open the chest beside the front door and collect his prize.
As mentioned at the beginning, the sections of the mansion clip together using 1x2 round bricks with shafts held in place by pairs of clips on either side. I enjoyed this use of these parts, rather than the traditional hinged plates, for a number of reasons. The gaps it leaves when opened up allows slightly more room for play, and the two sections can easily be disconnected without having to be dismantled.
When all three sections are connected, the mansion comes together, with King Boo's rocker and other plates forming a better interior to the building than just empty space. They do prevent the mansion being closed up, however, which is why they are attached in such a way that allows them to be folded upwards…
…and the sides of the mansion closed. From the rear, Mario's platform on which he stands to defeat King Boo does stick out through the ceiling in rather an odd way, but this isn't visible at all from the front and the compact building looks excellent as a whole. You can also see, in the photo below, the mechanism for raising the armchair, and pushing the key out of the bookshelf.
Available Coins
The following coins can be earned during play:
- Coin Block: 1
- King Boo: 12
- Treasure Chest: 15
- Dry Bones: 5
Conclusion
I have to admit, the Super Mario sets all became a little too "more of the same" for me a year or so back. There was little variation in gameplay, and I had less to say about each set the more they released. While I don't think there's anything groundbreaking in this particular set, I appreciate that LEGO is changing the focus from expansion sets designed as add-ons to the interactive Mario, Luigi, and Peach figures, and shifting it to more stand-alone sets that are still fun to play with by themselves, only to be enhanced by the digital aspect. The barcode tiles are still there, though, and they are obviously pointless if you don't have one of the Starter sets and a compatible device.
The mansion itself, though, is excellent. I love the way it can fold into a compact version that would look just fine on display on a shelf. Storage of the expansion sets has always been one of my biggest challenges—how can they be stored in a way that's easy to grab parts of them and easily put together a course, without taking up a large amount of space or having to rebuild significant chunks every time? That's not going to be a problem with this particular set.
The inclusion of Boo and Dry Bones in addition to King Boo is welcome, and if you do have an interactive figure, there's plenty here to add to a course, such as the locked chest and key. The spooky theme is fun, particularly with Halloween on the way.
LEGO Super Mario still commands a fairly high price for what it is, but if you're a fan of these levels in the original video games or looking to expand your course options, King Boo's mansion is a decent choice.
71436 King Boo's Haunted Mansion is available at LEGO.com for £64.99 / $74.99 / €74.99.
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22 comments on this article
Button that only serves the purpose of screaming "Maaaario!?" sold separately.
(Yes I know this isn't explicitly related to Luigis mansion but I couldn't pass up on the opportunity)
Very cute set!
I love the cube-like shape of the Boos in the Lego Mario sets—there's something amusingly "Lego" about having a traditionally round enemy be a block shape instead. It reminds me a little of how different enemies are adapted to different mediums in games like the yarn-crafted enemies in Yoshi's Woolly World or the papercraft enemies in Mario and Luigi Paper Jam.
I like the way this set is designed to function a bit more as an independent playset than past expansion sets, but for people who have the earlier expansion sets there's not a whole lot new here in terms of characters. It's nice to have key enemies/characters remain available for new fans, though.
@Lyichir said:
"Very cute set!
I love the cube-like shape of the Boos in the Lego Mario sets—there's something amusingly "Lego" about having a traditionally round enemy be a block shape instead. It reminds me a little of how different enemies are adapted to different mediums in games like the yarn-crafted enemies in Yoshi's Woolly World or the papercraft enemies in Mario and Luigi Paper Jam.
I like the way this set is designed to function a bit more as an independent playset than past expansion sets, but for people who have the earlier expansion sets there's not a whole lot new here in terms of characters. It's nice to have key enemies/characters remain available for new fans, though."
On the topic of wooly world (probably my favorite game ever), i would do absolutely anything to get TLG and Nintendo to somehow adapt it into a set. I have no idea how they would do it, but if they do, no matter how good/bad the finished set is, i will be there day one, cash in hand to buy 10 copies. Not to resell or anything, I just like the game that much.
Slight correction but, considering the context of this set, i think the yellow yoshi may actually be a "glowing baby yoshi "( https://www.mariowiki.com/Glowing_Baby_Yoshi )
Sorry for poor formatting, phone slightly bugged out
Interesting that King Boo has a red gem in his crown, that's more of a Luigi's Mansion thing, albeit much bigger sized. This King Boo otherwise uses the main series design, so that's kinda curious.
The mansion looks fantastic closed up! Especially with the little environment attached in front. I thought that the mansion maybe looked a bit small for a 900-piece set, but then you showed us that the insides fold upward. As someone who struggles with Lego storage, that's really neat!
Love that they included the levitating couches from 3D World, nice to see them pulling inspiration from multiple Mario titles here.
I approve of the Woolly World love up above, lol. Although I think we need Yoshi's Island sets first, that game is my all-time favorite 2D platformer.
Hoping you guys review the Mario & Yoshi set soon! I'm hoping to get ahold of that one in the near future, but I have some concerns about it, so I'd like to hear the Brickset review first. :-)
@b2_O said:
"Slight correction but, considering the context of this set, i think the yellow yoshi may actually be a "glowing baby yoshi "( https://www.mariowiki.com/Glowing_Baby_Yoshi )
Sorry for poor formatting, phone slightly bugged out"
Perhaps, but LEGO refers to it as "Yellow Baby Yoshi" (in promo material and printed on the box) so that is what I went with!
@benbacardi said:
" @b2_O said:
"Slight correction but, considering the context of this set, i think the yellow yoshi may actually be a "glowing baby yoshi "( https://www.mariowiki.com/Glowing_Baby_Yoshi )
Sorry for poor formatting, phone slightly bugged out"
Perhaps, but LEGO refers to it as "Yellow Baby Yoshi" (in promo material and printed on the box) so that is what I went with!"
Aye, that is fair enough.
four years and 50 expansion sets...I guess AFOLs arent always on top of what will and won't sell. I remember when these first came out the huge uproar about this being something no one asked for and no one wanted...and yet, here we are.
In defense of the AFOL world though, at least in my area, they seem to go straight to discount and warm the shelves.
Well, I don't think a 2 month old set for 8 year olds will trouble my choices for midnight!
All I see, is a new gate/door piece
Some good parts. Otherwise I have no interest in it. The same goes for all the Mario sets.
It really is a nice little set. The ability to fold it up into a good-looking display piece is a huge bonus, not unlike 71391 Bowser's Airship, which I think is still my favorite from this theme.
If you’re lucky enough to own 75904, this pairs wonderfully with it! Their color schemes are nearly identical.
Like all the sets in this line there are some great parts. Hoping I can find this one at a discount at some point because I like the Mansion build but have no use for the character figures or the game play bar codes. The big wooden doors are really nice. The Diddy Kong Mine set was quite useful when I built my Seven Dwarfs Mine. Also was able to snag a bunch of French Tower pieces off a Bowser's Castle set someone sold to a local Bricks & Minifigs Store along with some other useful parts.
I still hope to find this on (big) sale. Such a great partpack.
It’s not something I think I’ll buy, but the overall design is impressive for the theme.
One thing I like about these Super Mario sets is that they all end up on deep clearance eventually. Have my eye on this one as it’s a great Castle parts pack.
@Reventon said:
"One thing I like about these Super Mario sets is that they all end up on deep clearance eventually. Have my eye on this one as it’s a great Castle parts pack."
yup. those are 20% off a month after release and then just drop off a cliff, with a bit of luck it's easy to find Lego Mario sets over here for a third of the RRP
@b2_O said:
"Button that only serves the purpose of screaming "Maaaario!?" sold separately.
(Yes I know this isn't explicitly related to Luigis mansion but I couldn't pass up on the opportunity)"
I just recently started playing Luigi's Mansion 3, and that's one of the funniest things in the entire game. A Luigi minifig with a flashlight and a backpack would've made this set so much better.
I know it's not from Luigi's Mansion, but I'm deeply tempted to get it anyway to go with the previous sets.
I peel the barcode stickers off, I don't give a ****
@ToysFromTheAttic said:
" @b2_O said:
"Button that only serves the purpose of screaming "Maaaario!?" sold separately.
(Yes I know this isn't explicitly related to Luigis mansion but I couldn't pass up on the opportunity)"
I just recently started playing Luigi's Mansion 3, and that's one of the funniest things in the entire game. A Luigi minifig with a flashlight and a backpack would've made this set so much better. "
It's been retired, but the backpack and flashlight are available for the interactive figures: 71397.