Mario Brick Building Guide: LEGO Sets, MOCs and Tips
Introduction
The red cap and blue overalls are instantly recognizable. Since Super Mario Bros. launched in 1985, Nintendo's mustachioed plumber has become a global pop-culture icon — and when that world meets brick building, you get Mario brick building, a hobby with a devoted following of its own.
Whether you collect the LEGO Mario line or design your own MOCs from scratch, this guide walks you through the plumber's brick-built adventure world.
1. The Official LEGO Super Mario Line
In 2020, LEGO and Nintendo teamed up to launch the LEGO Super Mario series, which changed how brick building could work. At its center is an interactive figure of Mario with an LED screen and speaker, and that figure reacts differently on each level module you build.
Starter Sets Worth Buying
- 71360 Adventures with Mario Starter Course — includes the Mario figure and a basic course. Best first purchase for newcomers.
- 71395 Super Mario 64 Question Mark Block — recreates classic scenes and has serious collector appeal.
- 71411 The Mighty Bowser — a highly faithful Bowser model and a genuinely satisfying build.
The defining feature of these sets is modularity. You assemble courses the way you assemble bricks, then send the Mario figure running, jumping and collecting coins — it plays like a physical version of a Super Mario game.
2. MOC Building: Design Your Own Levels
Official sets are great, but the real draw of Mario brick building is unlimited creation. MOC (My Own Creation) building is where players show what they can do.
Recreating Classic Levels
- World 1-1: the signature pipes, brick blocks and question blocks make this the go-to first MOC.
- Castle levels: fire bars, moving platforms and the bridge section — a challenge for intermediate and advanced builders.
- Rainbow Road: a track built from brightly colored bricks, with a striking visual result.
Creative MOC Techniques
- Baseplate color: brown for ground, blue for water, black for caves. Choosing well sets the mood fast.
- Mechanisms: gears and levers let you build rising platforms, rotating fire bars and even a Mario figure that launches.
- Pixel art: flat plates arranged into Mario, mushrooms and stars give you a distinctive display piece.
3. Tips for Beginners
- Start with an official set: build one starter set first to learn the building logic and the part types involved.
- Learn SNOT: Studs Not On Top lets you make models more detailed and three-dimensional.
- Use online resources: communities like Rebrickable and BrickLink host huge numbers of MOC instructions and parts lists.
- Take advantage of digital design software: Studio 2.0 is free brick modeling software — build virtually first, then buy the parts.
4. A Parts Buying Guide
Building Mario-themed MOCs calls for specific colors:
- Red: cap, pipes, mushrooms
- Blue: overalls, sky backgrounds
- Green: pipes (round cylindrical parts are essential)
- Yellow: question blocks, coins, stars
- Brown: bricks, ground, wooden crates
Buy by color on BrickLink or Taobao, or harvest basic parts from official sets you already own.
5. Final Thoughts
Mario brick building combines game nostalgia with brick creativity. When you finish your own World 1-1 and watch the Mario figure run and jump through a world you built yourself, the satisfaction is something a digital game can't quite match. It takes the game off the screen and turns it into something you can touch and rebuild.
Ready? The brick world of Super Mario is waiting for you to explore it.