Chicago's place for FUN toys, games, puzzles, and more! Conveniently located in the West Loop at 111 Conveniently located in the West Loop at 1112 W. Madison St.
Permanently closed.
03/23/2022
Friends, you've done such a great job shopping at our liquidation sale that THIS SUNDAY will be our last day in business. We also have some bookcases and other fixtures for sale so come on by. Thank you one and all!
Today through Saturday 3/26, 10am-6pm. All merchandise is 50% off. Sunday 3/27, 10am-5pm. Any remaining merchandise will be 70% off for ONE FINAL DAY!
02/10/2022
I'm going through some old files and here's a real blast from the past for everyone who enjoyed YoYo University at our old Bucktown shop! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msQ6YdxA7Ns
National YoYo Day promo with Ben Conde for Cat & Mouse Games (2013)
Info about the next two months at Cat & Mouse By now you've heard (hopefully!) that Cat & Mouse will be going out of business later this S...
02/01/2022
Fourteen years ago when we first opened Cat & Mouse, we honestly didn't believe that the shop would last this long. What started as a wacky idea turned into a legitimate thriving business, with all of the joys and challenges that that entails. But the last two years have changed our perspectives on a lot of things, and Andre and I have decided to retire earlier than we originally planned. So it is with a mixture of sadness and excitement that we make the announcement that Cat & Mouse will close its doors for good this Spring. Click on the newsletter link below to read on.
It's been an AWESOME ride, but we'll be closing up shop later this Spring and moving on to other adventures! Fourteen years ago when we first ...
01/27/2022
Our annual jigsaw puzzle sale is THIS WEEKEND, Friday through Sunday! 10% off all in stock puzzles, either shop in store or use promo code WELOVEPUZZLES online!
01/13/2022
It's been almost two YEARS since we've been able to really stock Ravensburger puzzles. But this week the shelve are full of old favorites and new images, from 49 to 18,000 pieces, and everything in between.
Somehow it feels like we're turning a corner. 🥰 https://cat-n-mouse.com/collections/in-stock-jigsaw-puzzles/ravensburger
12/09/2021
Scenes from around the shop, two weeks before Christmas. We're wrapping, we're shipping, we're getting new things, we're making gift packs for a donation, and Jordan is wearing antlers! Ho Ho Ho!! Visit us 10am-6pm Thursday-Monday, 10am-7pm on Tuesdays and Wednesday, and let us help you wrap up Christmas with fun!
12/04/2021
Saturday morning playtesting... The Key is a clever logical deduction game, perfect for families who have outgrown Guess Who but aren't ready yet for a full-blown mystery-solving game. We played three games in a row! Tranquility is a lovely co-op card game, with game play that reminds me of Hanabi and The Game, two personal favorites. The included expansion cards add some spice and make it tougher to win. Takes up a lot of table space, so not one to play on a plane. 🙂
11/30/2021
And now, we present the toys that have been flying off the shelves during the early shopping season. I'm happy to say that sensory, active play, and open-ended building toys continue to be top picks for kids of all ages and genders. Thanks to all the fantastic vendors who have helped us make this a great holiday season so far! Magna-Tiles Brand Magnetic Building Sets Waboba AirFort Educational Insights Fat Brain Toys Schylling Toys Fun In Motion Toys .
11/30/2021
People always ask us what the hottest games and toys of the season are. Usually the answer is "that depends" because we like to give personalized recommendations. But today, I thought it would be a public service to highlight some of the things that are proving to be super popular AND have good availability. It doesn't matter how cool something is if you can't put your hands on a copy, am I right?!? 😜 First up are the games, top five strategy, and then top five family-fun party games. This afternoon I'll post the TOP TEN TOYS. A special shout out goes to and , who have been great partners to work with during this crazy year!
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We are Linda Schmidt and Andre LeMoine (collectively known as "The Schlemoines") and this is our store. Yes that's right, Cat & Mouse Games is locally-owned and family-run!
Who are we? Well, at various times we have been: a teacher, a librarian, an IT specialist, a pastry chef, parents, artists, gardeners, dreamers, geeks, travelers, and business owners. Clearly we are easily distracted and happily entertained. Mostly though, we're a couple of kids at heart who really love games and puzzles, and that's why we opened the first Cat & Mouse Games in 2008.
In 2014 we added a second store in the heart of Chicago's West Loop, which proved to be the perfect location for a store chock full of fun! So perfect in fact, that we quickly doubled the size of that store and added a whole slew of new playthings. Eventually we closed or original shop in Bucktown so that we could concentrate all of our efforts on our larger shop. Today, our store is 2500 sq ft of pure joy, centrally located in the city that we love and call home!
We believe everyone likes to play, and we love to help you find the game that's just right for YOU!
And because we believe this, we have hundreds of unique game titles in stock, from games for young children to advanced strategy games for adults, and we continuously expand our selection. We read reviews, talk to customers and manufacturers, play tons of demo copies of board games, and attend conventions to find the very best in games and make them available at our store in Chicago. In addition to kids' games, family games, party games, and strategy games, we carry classics such as chess, backgammon, and Go; roleplaying games; and trading card games. If we don't have what you're looking for let us know, 'cause we always like to hear about what kind of games and puzzles people are interested in.
BUT we're more than just games!
Here's the deal. We're young at heart! We've never thought that fun and games were just for kids, so we've always surrounded ourselves with wacky, creative, ingenious, beautiful, or playful people and things. We like:
toys for infants and toddlers
building toys
educational toys
cars and trucks and things that go
children's books (of course!)
arts & crafts
putties and squishies and other smooshie things
science kits
brainteasers
jigsaw puzzles (LOTS of jigsaw puzzles!)
and more!
And so, you'll find all of those sorts of things here at Cat & Mouse, because we just can't help ourselves!
Thank you for visiting us online; we hope we meet you in our shop soon!