Marbles The Brain Store

Awesome Local Store for «Educational» Toys. They only sell the «Good Stuff,» so you don’t have to wade through all the «Crap» at the Large Chain Toy Stores. Prices Are Competitive.

This place is awesometastic. Lots of brain stimuli for nerds like me, and the staff are enthusiastic, friendly, and will tell you all about any game you pick up (as well as play a round or two with you, if they have a demo out!).
I may end up going to the Watertower Place location in the future given I live in Gold Coast (I was in Lincoln Square for other reasons and stumbled in here by accident), but I’d also never hesitate to go to the LS location — the quieter, smaller-​scale feel here is a selling point in and of itself!

Wow, what an amazing store! So many neat gadgets and gizmos. My brain and my body loved it! The staff was wonderful and they were reasonably priced. Can’t wait to go back.

What a great little store! Knowing that my friends wanted educational gifts for their daughter 1^st birthday party, I checked the Unilocal app while eating breakfast at Baker Miller. After walking into Marbles, I knew I didn’t have to go anywhere else for a gift. The store isn’t very big but it is well stocked with a variety of toys and games for all ages. After a little browsing, a woman approached me and asked how she could help. I told her what I was looking for and she took me to every corner of the store, explaining each game/​toy she showed me and what its intention was, whether it was motor function, cognitive thinking, etc. She was so pleasant and not pushy in the least and it made the experience of having to buy a childrens toy so easy. I agree the prices seemed a little high but I think it’s worth the extra cost for the level of service and knowledge that’s provided. A+!

Prices are high, but it’s a great store.
The sales people hover a little too much, but I can tell they are genuinely trying to be helpful. They are quick to answer questions and make suggestions.
The only thing I don’t like is that once a product is opened, it can’t be returned, even if it is in perfect condition.

Stopped by and found some pretty fun toys for adults (and kids too). Good brain teasers. And the people were very friendly and helpful here. Makes me want to come back!

Came here after brunch at Café Selmarie. It was a cold winter day and this place looked like an interesting concept so we gave it a try. I am very impressed. The store is not very big but it is full of interesting and unique gadgets. The toys are all educational and intellectually based, not just games to kill time, which I LOVE. However the prices are a bit high, makes me want to go online and order (showrooming guilt haha). Only one employee here and she does it ALL, I admire how nice she is, I bet it must take a lot of effort to do it all. Bravo overall

This store is amazing thanks in large part to the employees. The other day I brought my class to Lincoln Square on a field trip. (I teach ESL to adults.) They had an assignment to research products at different stores in the area and they all eagerly flocked to Marbles first.
The staff happily demonstrated products and engaged everyone in group activities. Some of my students have heavy accents and they are all still perfecting their English skills yet the staff exuded patience as they explained each game, device and toy. My students weren’t required to buy anything but the staff was so welcoming and helpful that most of them left with bags of gifts to bring home to their families abroad.
This could have been a study in chaos but the staff handled all twenty-​five of us «big kids» without batting an eye. I’ll definitely be doing my Christmas shopping at Marbles this year!

Marbles is my candy store. It’s chock full of games that I haven’t seen anywhere else, and are a bit more brain-​engaging than your typical fare. The associates are great fun, willing to introduce you to new toys and play an example round or two. Unfortunately, the games are marked up pretty heavily; I’ve found the same items online at a fraction of the price. I understand they have a business to run, but it’s hard to justify spending an extra $ 15 – 20 in the store.

I really love Marbles. It has a wide variety of fun, intelligent games that help you to build brain power. This store sells games and puzzles that match a variety of interests and are made for people of all ages. Loving language like I do, I could not resist purchasing The Storymatic, which is a card game providing players with prompts for storybuilding, and today I bought Haikubes, in which you use small cubes to build haiku poems. The first I have really enjoyed playing and the second I hope to be playing very soon. Marbles also sells an extensive selection of puzzles, including some very cool and colorful variations of sudoku. What’s more, every time I have visited, the staff are very friendly and enthusiastic about the games the store sells, always eager to explain or demonstrate how a particular game or puzzle works. This is a great store. If you are looking for the perfect fun and brain-​friendly gift, no doubt you can find it here. The fact that this is a Chicago-​based company, for me, is a definite plus!

As a physics teacher I’m constantly looking for things I could use in my classroom to get my high school students thinking. With this in mind, when I walked into Marbles I was in heaven! This store is full of games I’ve never seen before but all require critical thinking. For example they took a traditional game of sudoku and made it into a multiplayer game that combines traditional sudoku and a memory game. The prices are a bit high for some of the games but I doubt that you could find many of these games for cheaper. While I didn’t buy anything on this trip I fully intend to check out many of these games online and hope to keep several of them in my classroom for those days when I just don’t feel like teaching.

I really love this store, but I particularly love this location of Marbles. The staff are always helpful and friendly and provide good suggestions for gifts. My family is into brainy stuff, so I always find something for a gift. Today the gentleman working was helpful and funny, and then let me walk around until I had a question.

This definitely is a great shop to pick up a gift for a picky person that wouldn’t be satisfied with your run of the mill board games.
Everything here requires a lot more brain power. The games look pretty interesting and I liked how the games were available to play and the staff seemed more than willing to help educate the customers of how to play them.
My only downside would be that the gifts seemed a bit too pricey for me.

Best store ever! When you go there don’t be surprised at the abundance of puzzles all of which are intriguing and fun for 95% of the time! If you stop by the store you should definitely try to play the Isis games! They’re super expensive but if you can crack the codes you pretty much get the prize, cool huh?
The staff is also super friendly and the store is clean, I’ve been here many times and I have yet to be disappointed!
I recommend this for ANYONE and EVERYONE you will NOT go wrong to try to come here! I wish I owned a little piece of paradise like this store!

It’s a great idea for the store. I think its great for gift giving to those who like brain teasers and board games. I didn’t talk to the staff directly, but they seemed great at explaining their products to the customers. Its cool that they have signs that explain what part of the brain they’re working.
The only downside is I feel a lot of the games would be cool to have, but probably the ones forgot about a few days after given (even though the gift is a great idea that could help brain capacity). Anywho, its worth a gander if you’re looking for this type of stuff, or trying to burn some minutes.

Really fun shop with hundreds of games, books, puzzles. Items are arranged by a pseudo-​scientific approach — supposedly based on which brain skills they utilize. As a result, puzzles are in one area, trivia/​memory games in another, language/​word games in another etc. Makes it a little hectic to browse, but ensures that you have to physically move thru the entire shop.
Great selection and prices entirely reasonable — similar pricing to same items I have purchased online in past.

if i could build an addition to my house it would look like this store.
okay, this is assuming that i own a house (which i don’t). and the room would probably look more like a cross between the brain store and a used bookstore or library. but the point is, you could put me in this store with a blindfold on, spin me around 3 times, make me buy the first thing i grab, and i would love it. every single thing i find here is a game, puzzle, or book i never knew i needed but leave wondering how i’m going to live without.
no friend or family member of mine need ever stress about getting me a gift again. seriously.

We discovered this place while waiting for a seat at a nearby restaurant (Hey Pannenkoeken Café), and I was very impressed with it. Cool toys for kids and adults, although I think the adults might like it better.
My boyfriend, who is a big dork, was fascinated with the stuff they have in here. I, on the other hand, was too dumb and impatient for most of these games. They have tons of games and puzzles, books, etc. They also divide their products out based on specialties (memories, visual perception, critical thinking, etc.).
The employees were the nicest. They were friendly, always asking if we needed help, and smart (I think so because I am confused by ½ of the store and the other half I can’t imagine touching).
It’s seriously like a big playground for adults. I ended up getting a game for my 10-​year-​old sister, but I think my boyfriend was much more in love with this store and their products than my sister was. I have to go back sometimes to get the Piperoids for him.

In 2010, my boyfriend and I are resolving to not only get our bodies in shape but but also our MINDS. Sound lame? The people at Marbles wouldn’t think so. This place has so many wonderful brain exercises for all ages. Hey, twenty-​somethings out there, remember Bop — it?!? Have you seen the new ergonomic model? Kinda sweet… boyfriend wasn’t too keen on having it in the house though — voice has NOT changed…
Another Lincoln Square addition, is it just me or does this neighborhood get better and better everyday?
Prices average around 30 per item.

You know those products that are either supposed to make you smarter, make you think you’re getting smarter or just fill your brain with random knowlege, useful and useless? Read on…
I just happened to be strolling down in Lincoln Square when I came across this store. At first it looked like one of those places that sells expensive educational toys for kids. So I did what any adult would do. I walked in and checked it out. There was more to it than that. They have books that are good for your brain, toys that are good for your brain, games, scrabble, trivial pursuit, crossword puzzle books, rubix cubes, puzzles, books full of facts, books full of games. I think they even have kid’s stuff. I saw a bunch of kids playing with stuff on a demo table. Not sure what they were doing. I was too busy trying to figure out this stupid bent nail puzzle that taunted me during my childhood. It was overwhelming for such a small floor space.
There are some hopeless people in the world. Some that won’t be helped by a book on expanding memory, or a book full of historical oxymorons. But at least they can sound smart at their next cocktail party!
I ended up buying a book. Why not christen the new place with a twenty dollar bill? After all, I now feel smugly intelligent walking home.