Puzzle Zoo

I have been to this establishment twice, specifically for the Funko POP! figures. They have a good selection of the common figures, price is around $ 12 or $ 13. Cost per figure is above the usual price, most retailers have pops priced at around $ 10. Store is located on a corner and parking can be hectic since its on a main street. You have to pay for toll parking or you can park by the residential area for free. The main reason for my 3 star rating is the employee overall demeanor. Both times I was «assisted» by the same person, it appears they might just have one. He did not say hello as I was in the store he just stared a bit and had a «I hate my job» expression on his face. He was just sitting at the register and offered no assistance or conversation. I was the only customer in the store both times. Overall a very unpleasant experience as far as customer service is concerned. I have been to the Puzzle Zoos in Santa Monica and their service is on point. I will not be returning to this location.

Love supporting these stores-​Melrose and Promenade are «must-​visits» every time we’re in the area. Fun to look through both old and new games and find something to play on the weekend.

Great neighbourhood toy store with a surprisingly extensive and imaginative selection of products given the store size. Staff are very helpful and more than willing to gift wrap anything. My kids adore this store. We often go last minute, en route to the kids’ birthday parties, always confident we will find something perfect and get it wrapped beautifully :)

I came her looking for board games and was disappointed by the small selection and inflated prices. Decent toy selection (for children) and gag gifts. Other stores have much larger selections of board games and gag gifts

First time coming here and I thought it was pretty cool for a toy store. They have Star Wars figures in the back and a giant Yoda too! Bought my friends a board game here. They have so many board games that I have never even heard of. Lots of selections of different kinds of toys, new and old.

Puzzle Zoo is the perfect destination for the young man or woman who has absolutely NO CLUE how to deal with children, but must, because their married best friends needed to get off (huh-​huh) by themselves for a weekend to remind themselves of life before five year old sons — and now you, the loyal sucker/​friend, have to babysit.
At Melrose, the fun begins when you try to find a parking spot! Come early or late, but don’t come at noon, because if you do, you’ll never squeeze your car between those two other cars, even if you’re in a Smart Car, smarty…
Or just walk on your own two legs, sexy.
The store is fun, and a playful reminder that kids’ amusement these days shouldn’t be limited to video games and whining about wanting a Droid only DAYS after nagging for an Iphone because all the other kids at the prep school have them.
Want board games? That’s BOARD, not «bored», and you’ll find them here! Puzzles, too — they’re divided into age groups, so that preschoolers are easy to shop for, as are more advanced teens and even adults who still find Legos preferable to virginity-​losing.
– Though if I myself could NOT, for the life of me, successfully complete a wooden pink triceratops puzzle meant for ages 3 – 5, sue me.
(get in line! the folks at La Bodega liquor mart are in front of you — the Auto Trader magazine was on the same rack as the free publications, I tell you!)
Remote control cars (both corded and wireless) are everywhere, too, so if you buy one you can chase your friend’s chihuahua around their condo with it. I’m sure that in certain contexts this might be a form of exploitation, but if the dog licks your face afterward and likes you better than its real owner, it’s okay, right?
(hope so)
At various times, movie tie-​in merchandise is on hand, such as Star Wars toys (blasters, spaceship models, stuffed Yodas, FLAAAAMING C3PO figuress, cute wind-​eup R2D2s, etc.), Harry Potter bric-​à-​brac, sundry toys from The Siyderwick Chronicles, ad nauseum…
It’s all here!
The service at this store is better than at any Toys ‘R Us – they’ll at least look at you once at Puzzle Zoo on Melrose before understandably getting back to playing with their own toys — but it’s not as good as the location at 3^rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica.
It might be because parents are more likely to bring their kids to 3^rd Street than to a very trafficky, congested stretch of Melrose Avenue, therefore the customer service at Melrose deals mostly with adults who stand equal chance of being drunk or high when they burst in and express wonderment at the fact that, «Hey — this isn’t Johnny Rockets!»
Puzzle Zoo occupies a fine middle ground between the nearly mindless Toys ‘R Us and the more education-​minded Discovery Kids.
If you’ve got $ 50 you should be able to pick up something really nice that isn’t a video game.
Your friends will love you for it, and your friends’ kids will begin to think of you as a cool uncle or aunt who lets them put their feet up on mom’s white leather couch and recreate the Battle of Gettysburg on grandma’s heirloom dining table, with the wind-​up gorillas and giraffes you bought at Puzzle Zoo.