I recently had the opportunity to attend a preview of the new Marbles: The Brain Store in the Northshore Mall in Peabody, MA. It’s a great store full of books, games, puzzles, toys, software and novelties, all designed to challenge and stimulate your mind. My kind of heaven, honestly. Which is why I jumped at the chance to check it out and take part in a little game night.
Some of the games were familiar to me, like Rory’s Story Cubes, Flip Out, and Scrabble Slam, which we have, but haven’t reviewed. There are books with word puzzles, brain exercises, trivia, and random knowledge. And then toys… blocks, balls, creativity sets. Needless to say, half (or more) of the store will end up on my holiday wish list this year. In fact, you can create your own wish list on their site.
Here’s my friend Keri, aka The Toy Queen, demoing an Ogosport Disk (she was bouncing a Koosh ball on it, but I’m not sure what that flew off to).
This looks like a strange version of Chinese Checkers, but is actually ColorKu, a Sudoku game that uses colors instead of numbers.
Here are Kerry and I with one of the PR team members trying out Morphology at the game night.
Morphology is similar to Pictionary, but requires you to “sculpt” your answer using an assortment of objects like small wooden blocks, glass pebbles, popsicle sticks and a piece of string. It was so much fun (it did help that my team won…) that I almost bought it on the spot. I didn’t think my husband would be thrilled with that, though, so it’s also going on my wish list. (*hint* *hint*) One of the really great things about this game is that you can customize it with your own bits and bobs from around the house if you lose a piece or two. Add some buttons, a stray checker, or a milk cap. Why not?
While I was browsing the store, I had a chance to talk with CEO Lindsay Gaskins, who I’m pretty sure would be a cool person to hang out with on the weekends. She showed off some of their software, which is specifically selected to help people sharpen their memory, listening skills, and other brain functions. I’m looking forward to taking a closer look at some of it in the future, but I can say that they are fun ways to give your mind a workout. Studies have shown that you can develop neurons as you age, so if you’re feeling like your memory is slipping, this software can help stimulate your mind.
My time at the Marbles store actually inspired me to exercise my brain more than I have been in recent years, which is pretty exciting for me. I will definitely be back to shop! In addition to the new store in Peabody, they’re opening stores in Braintree and Natick, but you can also shop online.
Disclosure: While this is not a compensated post, I did receive a gift bag of items from Marbles: The Brain Store as a thank you for attending their preview. There was no promise of a positive review and the opinions contained in this post are my own.
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