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Puzzle Zoo
Rating Details »
Category: Toy Stores [Edit]
Neighborhood: Santa Monica1413 3rd St Promenade
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 393-9201
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Garage
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
15 reviews for Puzzle Zoo
Had a lovely time in here and found the perfect puzzle - just in time for the holidays!
Great stop for unique toys and games, small stuffed toys section and figurines catering to kids and adults who are young at heart! Nice board game selection including award winning games like Ticket to Ride/Settlers/collector's Mario chess and not just the usual games that line the shelves of Wal-Mart.
It's quite packed and better suited for adults than families dragging kids in.
Marked down a star since it is a bit overpriced and customer service is average. Complimentary gift wrap availalble. Great shop for those looking for a unique toy/game and to support local stores.
My has this place changed in size over the years. Though it never changed in being over priced and really a terrible place to buy toys in.
As a young child I would look to this shop in wonder and awe. Mainly because as a child there's not much to look at on Third street in wonder and awe besides those half covered in weeds dinosaurs. Not to mention kids aren't normally into fashion and other such activities as the number of clothing stores on 3rd street seem to be.
I would wander about in here and look at all the cool things. My favorite is the overly expensive props that they have in the back in the glass shelf. They have movie replicas and other such things. But then again, you'll find a sea of star wars toys that no one wants nor anyone cares about these days anyway.
Very much a pass on this place.
Shopping for my sons in search of something a bit radder than stuff in a normal toy store or Target, I ventured forth into the haven that is Puzzle Zoo. Despite its size, there wasn't much in ways for my two young boys that I couldn't have gotten at a department store, however there were some very rad big kid toys.
I will be taking a trek back to get a remote controlled R2D2 for myself... and maybe a light sabre. Yes I fucking said it... I want a light sabre. Proceed with the mockery or what not and....
Screw you I don't care. It's rad.
The pricing was a bit too high for my sons to get and then wreck/not fully appreciate for its awesomeness.
This is a great little place for your nerd schwag- lots of action figures from the Marvel busts to Star Trek to Rat Fink to a... male nurse & OCD action figure? Ok that's not that weird but if they had that how come I didn't see any boxing nuns? Boo.
2 stars just for the little Hello Kitty section they have in the back! Not much, but it's still cool that they carry HK stuff.
Come here if you're looking for a gift for a kid! Tons of selection!
Parking lots are always packed, good luck dealing with parking!
Perfectly adequate. Toys for kids of all ages, even babies. The selection includes interesting, creative puzzles, toys, etc. But because of the space, I suppose, there isn't a ton of diversity. The venue is lacking. I wouldn't set my toddler down and let him look at toys, for example. Too crowded and too many non-toddler toys in reach. Customer service is well-intentioned, even if they take a long while to gift wrap. I'll shop there again, when on the Promenade, but I wouldn't make a special trip just to go to this store.
They recently remodeled Puzzle Zoo. From the outside, it looked like it got a lot smaller, but once you go inside, the selection seems to be about the same.
You can get a lot of different stuff here from kids toys to more grown up toys (detailed action/sports/movie figures, model cars). Puzzle Zoo also has a decent (though not great) selection of puzzles and board games. Over the years, it seems their selection has gotten smaller and smaller. I imagine that it is because it really is a niche product (and most people are going online for that stuff). The prices aren't as competitive as a Toys "R" Us, but they aren't too bad.
Puzzle Zoo does offer a lot of small toys, games, gags, and magic tricks at very low prices. It is the perfect place to shop if you are looking for some creative stocking stuffers for the kids at Christmas time.
I love Puzzle Zoo. Whenever my boyfriend and i are at 3rd street, it's usually our first stop haha. He goes for the puzzles, and i go for the cute little wind up toys and the teeeeny tiny little animal figures. So cute. I suppose that's where the "Zoo" part comes into play.
the one thing that sucks is how crowded it always is. I think they definitely need to consider re-designing the place cuz it's pretty obnoxious being surrounded by screaming children and not being able to escape fast enough, haha.
My boyfriend bought 3 different kinds of Rubik's Cubes....he's obsessed. One of the one's he got was a gray/black/silver cube which we had never seen before, so that was kinda cool.
Anyway, it's pretty hard to get bored in this store. there is something for everrryyonee. Usually the parents get more carried away than the kids, haha.
This is better than where a kid can be a kid because they have so much cool stuff here that it's hard for me to leave. Why it's called "Puzzle Zoo" makes no sense to me, but regardless I have to come here. It's funny when I'm on the Promenade everyone I'm with always walk past this and I always make a detour in, and when everyone follows they all ask "what's this place" and my friends are people who have lived here for years and have not seen this place. I feel like a little tour guide.
Anyhoo tons of great toys, lots of memorabilia toys and figurines. Check it out and enjoy the kinda things that they offer, oh and be careful when you get closer to the center of the store, there's a bump in the carpet that people always trip over :D
This store is definitely not designed for crowds, and certainly not Xmas shopping crowds. They don't even have any sales on anything anyways. Everything was way overpriced but, being that I am perennially a last minute shopper, I picked up a couple of things for the niece and nephew. 1 little Hello Kitty purse set me back 18 bones! The aisles are tiny and so stuffed with merchandise (this is the only plus about the store - it's not completely devoid of merchandise by Christmas Eve) that a person can barely walk through without knocking something off the shelves. I witnessed a couple of near catastrophes and 1 major accident where a small child bumped his arm on something and an entire display of thousands of tiny little toys spilled all over the floor.
There is quite a good selection of different toys and games to choose from so I can't totally hate on this place.
Don't feed the animals.
This is a fun little store with all sorts of games you've never heard of. There are items for kids, but plenty of items for adults too. (no, not "those" types of "adult" items. Dirtbag.)
This is my hook-up for the best game in history for traveling to foreign countries: Pass the Pigs. This game is the best icebreaker when traveling abroad. Buy it here. It's a riot!
Don't half step. If you party, you'll find plenty of games in here to convert into drinking games.
Overpriced.
The store is packed and not well laid out. They have tons of stuff but it's overwhelming almost. And this is a store for adults to shop. Sadly, I have two small kids and their train table had no trains. Not a helpful distraction.
What do you get when you combine anime figures/figurines, Star Wars merchandise, stuffed toys, Disney-themed puzzles, tons of talking Simpsons paraphernalia, and a Jackie Chan doll in one store? You get Puzzle Zoo! This is one of my favorite places to stop by whenever I'm walking around the Santa Monica Promenade due to the random things I find at this place because, well...I'm just easily amused like that.
I wonder if anyone ever bought that Jackie Chan doll because the thought of someone displaying that in his/her room is just plain strange...
This is what a neighborhood toy store should be like. Great and unique toys.
I always stop by the Puzzle Zoo when I'm at the 3rd Street Promenade. They offer a wide selection of games, toys, and (of course) puzzles. Prices are cheaper if you shop online, but this place is great for last minute gifts...
What a fantastic toy store! I visited Puzzle Zoo while I was puttering around Santa Monica for E3 2007, and I wanted to stay foreeeever. I found tons of great video game character action figures that I absolutely had to pick up. I want a Puzzle Zoo in Seattle. :(
