I built and played Nintendo's next big thing, Nintendo Labo — and it was a surprisingly brilliant learning tool

Nintendo's next big thing isn't a video game or a video game console.

It's foldable cardboard.

Nintendo "Labo"— pronounced "lab-oh," like "laboratory"— is an entirely new concept from the quirky Japanese gaming powerhouse. Starting at $70, you get a kit full of buildable cardboard toys to complement the wildly popular Nintendo Switch console. There are games, of course, which are included in the package. 

More importantly, there are step-by-step instructions for building each of the toys in the set. Think: Lego meets model airplanes, but more fun.

I got to try Nintendo Labo this week ahead of its launch on April 20. What I found was a surprisingly brilliant learning tool aimed at kids growing up in a digital world.

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Here's the starter kit for Nintendo Labo, which is known as the "Variety Kit."

The $70 "Variety Kit," seen above, is the base level for Nintendo Labo; an $80 "Robot Kit" is also available, which contains a large and complicated robot suit. 

There are two main aspects to Labo: Building with cardboard, and then using those creations to play Labo games on the Nintendo Switch.

It's important to note here that you need a Nintendo Switch to play Nintendo Labo games. Labo is essentially a game for the Switch that comes with buildable toys, though that's underselling it.

In the Variety Kit, there are several different devices to build. I got to try building an RC Car and a fishing pole.

Each Labo build begins with a large sheet of relatively thin cardboard. The cardboard doesn't feel especially tough, but the final creations made with the cardboard are tougher than you'd think.  

The RC Car, for instance, begins with the sheet of cardboard seen above. Various shapes are perforated from the cardboard, which get punched out per a set of very charming instructions.

Here's the final product:

You could, of course, just punch out everything immediately — and some people assuredly will do that, especially little kids. That's fine. The instructions will still identify each piece and explain how they all fit together. 

Labo, as I discovered, is tremendously forgiving. Just like cardboard! That's kind of the point.