Hidden Side
Read the story- Brand
- LEGO
- Year
- 2019
- Objective
- Engagement
- Industry
- Entertainment
- Mechanic
- Adventure & Quest
- Platform
- App
Objective
LEGO wanted to give kids seven and up a natural first step into augmented reality, using the building they already loved as the on-ramp — what the brand called "fluid play," where the physical set and the digital game constantly feed each other. Hidden Side was also LEGO's first theme built to run as an ongoing service rather than a one-off release, with new ghosts and challenges added after launch to keep kids coming back to sets they'd already bought. A separate in-store WebAR push gave shoppers a way to try the ghost hunt at the shelf and gave the new line a sales boost at first sight.
Solution
A player builds one of the physical sets, then points a phone camera at it and watches the app recognize the model and layer a haunted version of it on screen — glowing "gloom" spreading across the bricks and ghosts creeping out of the structure. From there it's a first-person hunt: tapping the screen to fire at ghosts alongside characters Jack and Parker as they dart around the real model. Players can go it alone as a hunter or jump into a multiplayer mode playing as the ghosts themselves, and there's a digital-only version of the hunt for anyone without a set at hand. In stores, a QR code by the shelf opened the same ghost hunt straight in a mobile browser, no app or purchase required, so a session could start and end right at the display.
Results
The Hidden Side companion app was downloaded 2.2 million times over its life (figure via search-result summary citing AppBrain; the AppBrain page itself returned a 403 and could not be verified directly) before LEGO shut it down in January 2023.
- 1
The player buys and assembles a physical LEGO Hidden Side set — many models build into both a "normal" and a "haunted" version — then downloads the free companion app on an AR-capable smartphone.
- 2
The app opens on the fictional town of Newbury in first person, alongside lead characters Jack Davids and Parker Jackson as they set out to hunt ghosts.
- 3
The player sets the built model on a flat surface and points the camera at it; the app recognizes the specific set and overlays it with an AR version of its Newbury location, animating built pieces and adding elements that don't exist in the physical set.
- 4
The core loop is finding color-coded "gloom" spots on the model by selecting a color on a wheel, then aiming the camera at a matching spot to clear it for currency and collectibles.
- 5
Some cleared spots release a ghost and trigger combat: the player taps to fire a blaster, managing an overheat meter, until the ghost's health drops and it's captured into the player's collection — or, if already owned, converted into upgrade energy.
- 6
Captured ghosts fund upgrades such as increased damage, making later encounters easier and encouraging players to revisit sets they already own.
- 7
Progress depends on alternating between the app and the physical model — rearranging pieces or repositioning colored elements changes what unfolds on screen.
- 8
A multiplayer mode lets one player control a captured ghost attacking a location modeled on a Hidden Side set, tapping specific points to spread gloom with ghost-specific stats and abilities, while an opposing player hunts; the hunter wins by catching every ghost, the ghost side wins by fully glooming the location.
- 9
Without a set on hand, the app offers a digital-only mode, plus a hunting mode triggered by scanning any LEGO minifigure.
- 10
A separate WebAR channel lets shoppers scan a QR code on an in-store display to open a browser-based experience where they tap to stun and catch ghosts fleeing down the store aisle and can photograph a capture to share on social media.
