Eureka! Puzzles & Games — Local services in Brookline

Eureka! has an excellent selection of puzzles, board games, crafts, and toys (be sure to check out the back room if looking for a puzzle, it isn't obvious unless you know it is there).

A previous five-star version of this review said that the staff was "friendly but somewhat dingbatty." I have unfortunately downgraded this review to three stars after the experience related below.

The staff are friendly but dimwitted. When I recently tried to purchase a board game (Hive Carbon, nothing too crazy), they completely fumbled the sale. First, I placed a phone call asking if they had it in stock. The saleswoman on the other end of the line told me that they did not have the game I wanted but could order it, and I could pick it up by the end of the week. Great! The cost was $7 more than Amazon and would take longer to get to me, but the trade off in supporting a local business is more than worth it to me. When I went in on the day that I was told I could pick up the game, however, I was told that the order had not been placed after all. With many apologies, they then placed the order for me and told me to come in another week to pick it up. Several days later, I got a voicemail from another employee saying that he saw that I was "interested" in ordering a game, and asking if I could come back in to place a deposit on that order. Somewhat pissed off at this point, I called back and related my efforts to get this game over the past two weeks. I told them that I still preferred to purchase the game from Eureka! if they would order it into stock (as I had been told they would do for me twice previously), but that at this point, I had no zero confidence in their organizational abilities, and was therefore unwilling to trust them with a deposit. The salesman's reply was that he wouldn't order the game without a deposit. Despite all my best efforts to shop local, Eureka! has left me no choice but to get this game from...

We had Eureka "On the Spot" as the entertainment for our son's Bar Mitzvah and we highly recommend them to anybody considering them. Working with Rafi on setting up the event flow and discussing the details was super helpful and one of the few non-tedious aspects of orchestrating what felt like a wedding weekend!

The entire team who were on site were phenomenal -- engaging, happy, helpful and fun for all our guests.

We had a big group... 40 kids, 50 people around our (parents) generation, and about 30 in the grandparents generation, and people from each group commented about how awesome it was to have entertainment that was actually fun for people of all ages.

We had the jigsaw puzzle maker, and people got to take home nice keepsakes, and we also had the escape room, which was a lot of fun! Kids were able to be successful at it, and it also challenged parents (I say this from experience!)

We are grateful we don't have to plan another brit mitzvah, but if we did, we wouldn't hesitate to book...

Amazing store with fantastic staff! I've visited a handful of times, and everyone has always been friendly, helpful, knowledgeable, thoughtful, positive, and NOT pushy.

The selection is impressive and diverse. Easy and pleasant to browse. The store is bright and clean, with lots of natural light.

When invited, staff suggestions have been spot-on. Last time, I got a bunch of similar fidgets. As I was finishing up, a staff member I'd been talking to earlier pointed out a different one from the same line-- the most popular and her favorite since it was firmer. Sure, ok, I'll try one, thanks. Wow, was she right!! I wish I'd put most of the others back and bought every single one of those that they had!

I haven't made it over into the jigsaw puzzle section much, but that area looks like a glorious wonderland. A puzzle set up outside (near the seasonal tables and chairs) is fun.

I always find something interesting and special at Eureka. ...oh, and usually the game I was originally looking for...