In the game Shaper, players must arrange the cubes into the on-screen configuration before time runs out.

LEGOs and Lincoln Logs are for Luddites. Sifteo cubes are the new building blocks.

Each cube has a 128-pixel color LCD screen, wireless connectivity, a 32-bit ARM microprocessor, and an accelerometer that responds to tilting and stacking. You can arrange them to create everything from vocabulary puzzles to building challenges, all of which can be enjoyed by as many people as you can crowd around the coffee table.

Sifteo founders Jeevan Kalanithi and David Merrill previewed the cubes at TED 2009 when they were grad students at MIT. The cubes debuted at CES this year. The design marries classic tactility with new hardware and software.

“Sifteo cubes are the first gaming solution to deliver truly hands-on play,” Merrill said. “[The cubes combine] the latest in embedded computing and sensing technology with a timeless play style.”

Sifteo calls the combination of familiar physical interaction and brand-new tech “Intelligent Play.”

The blocks are designed to function as an educational tool to facilitate spatial reasoning and pattern recognition. Kalanithi and Merrill have small children, so the value of developing these skills, and cooperation through games and puzzles, isn’t lost on them.

Siftrunner, the cubes’ software component, allows users to download apps, customize the game to the appropriate skill level and then, during gameplay, transmit info back to the software for feedback. When the cubes launch next month, Sifteo will provide a software development kit so others can create new uses for the cubes and make them a full-function platform for games and puzzles.

The Sifteo Pack will cost $149 and includes three cubes, a charging hub and a USB radio link that syncs the blocks to a Mac or PC. Additional cubes will run $45 each.

Sifteo Creativity Kit
The Sifteo Creativity Kit will enable any Sifteo user to customize an endless array of gameplay experiences for themselves and others using their Sifteo cubes, including sorting, grouping and multiple-choice games.

Sifteo is now taking preorders on their website and will release the cubes in September.