Two days in a row now, this place is closed when it should be open, with nothing other than a…read morehand-written note on the door saying "closed at 4pm." My children and I are disappointed, and angry, and confused.

My video game loving children have been eagerly awaiting for this to open. It's finally open and…read morehas some great kid friendly neighbors- a toy store and ice cream/gelato parlor. Kid heaven! When my kids first walked into Games on Lincoln they were a little disappointed by how small it is, especially in comparison to places like Nickel City. That being said i like that it's small because it's a great way to kill a bit of time, but also easy to get out of there within the hour. I usually have to bribe my kids to get them out of Nickel City within a few hours. And because it's new Games on Lincoln is very clean and due to the size should be easy to keep clean! Fingers crossed. You put money on a card and like all arcades you go thru money pretty fast here. I loaded up my kids cards with $10 several times and they seemed to run out fast- a combo of the games being a little expensive and I think they may have swiped a few extra times (so teach your kids to just swipe once). The machine itself is a little glitchy, but the staff was helpful...and can also take cash up by the cash register. I do think some sort of unlimited game card would be great- whether it's for one specific time or even a monthly membership. The games itself are perfect for my 8 and 6 year olds, but my 3 year old is a little young for it (although they were nice to pull up a chair so he could play his favorite game, pac-man). They didn't get enough tickets to get any cool prizes so are keeping their cards for next time. And I'm sure there will be a next time since it's an easy way to kill some time after dinner in the area (Stacked and Folded, Little Rickys, etc) before or after ice cream. Speaking of ice cream seems like a no brainer to get rid of their crappy prizes and let people redeem tickets at the ice cream parlor and toy store...also a great way to drive business to those businesses as well. According to the staff they may be taking over the hair salon next door and making this way bigger, which would also give the ability to host birthday parties. My kids were excited about the possibility of even more games. And if that happens there goes my ability to get them in and out fast, but then again always looking for good places to kill time with the kids in the winter.

Noggin Buiders Summer Camp is absolutely terrible! First of all, the rooms are very tiny, messy,…read moredirty, and cramped, which is unexpected given how expensive the price for the summer camp is ($600 for a week! There are cheaper and better summer camps). Not only that, there camp is boring, unuseful, and they follow the material that another university provided for them, and all they did was supply the parts. The instructors are unprofessional (high schoolers at a STEM academy? what?), and it was the worst summer camp ever. The stuff is unengaging and the experience from both the parent and the kid is terrible. Don't come here!

LOVED The Escape Room created just for kids! Ever since I went to an Escape Room with my husband,…read morethe kids have been begging to go to one. I could never find one that was appropriate for my kids (ages 4,6 and 8). This one in Northbrook Court was absolutely brilliant because it's designed for kids and involves math and science. We had a blast, did it with one other family (ages 3,5,6) and were down to the wire in solving the mystery for Professor Quarkenstein. The kids loved it so much they can't wait to come back and do another one!

I've been meaning for my 3 year old to follow in his siblings Lil Kickers footsteps for about 1.5…read moreyears now, but when it comes to the 3rd child convenience is key...and the old Hi-Five location just wasn't convenient for us. However, when I saw they were moving to Northbrook Court and had a morning class that worked with my little one's schedule I signed up immediately. He's been in the class about a month now and I get pics from my nanny every week of him with a huge smile kicking the ball. It turns out he's not totally following in his big sister's footsteps who instead of participating would twirl in the middle of the soccer field. Last week I joined my little one for his class and was so impressed. The space itself is absolutely amazing. The old space was fine, but nothing in comparison to what they've built here in Northbrook Court. And the Lil Kickers class itself was great too. It's not easy to keep the attention of a group of rowdy 2 and 3 year olds, but they were all listening perfectly to Coach Dan...and I couldn't believe it was the same child who had been a terror for me all morning. A few days later we attended a birthday party with Coach PJ. My 3 year old went running towards Hi-Five screaming "Yay! It's kicker time!" and my 6 year old was also eager to check out his little brother's favorite activity. PJ worked his magic and did organized games with a large group of 2 and 3 year olds for an hour ( + my equally enthused 6 year old). I"m not sure what his secret is, but he may need to move in with me to teach me how to control my own children. They had rented a portion of the space so there were a bunch of classes going on at the same time, but the bday party was in a private enough space that it was perfect. However, I couldn't help, but already start thinking about doing a joint bday party for my own boys later this year since it's one of the few spaces that would work for a vary large group with multiple ages. My little ones will be excited when they realize our calendar the next few months is booked solid with hi-five parties. I highly recommend looking into their classes (their flag football looked really fun too!) and checking it out for your bday party needs.

My son is taking a multi sport class during the week. He loves the variety of the activities and…read morethe enthusiasm of the coaches. He's excited to go every week and counts down the days.

Vintage style bowling alley, with paper score cards and everything. Friendly staff, and if I…read moredidn't have the kids I would have enjoyed the bar up front too...

Probably a high maintenance patron's worst nightmare. It's dirty, but in a retro, endearing way…read more The water WILL be black when you wash your hands after your games. But it's such a unique place. You gotta keep your score the "old fashioned way" which is a nice brain exercise. Cheap drinks, cheap games/shoe rental. You can abuse TouchTunes. Smells like cigarettes. Everything that a bowling alley should be!

"Northbrook Play" is a children's play area located inside the Northbrook Court. It's a wonderful…read moreuse of a vacant space, as many retailers have closed their brick and mortar stores nowadays. I would say if you happen to be nearby with a young toddler, stop by and let your kid release some energy and gain some fun playtime. It's a small venue. Parents get to sit down on comfy couches and watch their love ones play. I would say some parents there were too comfortable and they were on their phones while the kids were left unattended for a little bit... Anyways, all I wanted to say was that parents may take a short break to catch a breath. There are a theater stage, a walkway leading to a small slide, climbing obstacles, a fun selfie station and an infant playground. There is not much else, so don't make a long trip coming here. There is a designated stroller parking and shoes are asked to be taken off. I saw most kids do that, yet the parents were walking with shoes on. I wasn't sure what the policy really was. Certainly everyone's shoes should be dirty enough and shouldn't be worn on this relatively clean area. Our 2-year old toddler had fun. There is a tree house downstairs in the mall for kids as well, free of charge. I found this mall pretty boring and noticed a good amount of vacancies. I think they started some type of renovation or expansion. The restrooms were quite clean and maintained, with toliet covers provided. "Northbrook Play" is completely free and anyone is welcome.

Can't believe this place is free. The cleanliness and well-made decor remind me of other play areas…read morethat you have to pay to get into. We came here with some friends who also have young kids. The parents hung out on the comfy couches (enough room for us and much more) while the kids ran around and played. There's no staff on site, so I'm amazed how well they keep it clean. There's things to climb, a slide, a stage for pretend play. Not too many interactive activities like at a children's museum per say, but my kids just needed a place to run and climb around. There are certain times of the day it's closed (for cleaning I'm guessing). We came at 4pm on a Sunday afternoon and had the whole place to ourselves. It was luxurious. I'll definitely be back again.

They refused to release my child to me unless I show them a photo ID everyday. It doesn't matter if…read morethe child says hi daddy or I showed them my ID yesterday. They treat parents they know as unknown persons. This policy is beyond annoying and I'm sick of seeing the scorn on their faces at pickup. I will not patronize this business in the future.

If you want value for money, The Science Lab is not it. I don't know who is giving all the positive…read morereviews but Im being generous giving 3 stars. We had my son's 5th birthday party at the Northbrook location this past June and I was shocked. The kids had fun with the experiments but the place was dirty and unkempt. The overalls the staff and kids had on needed a good clean. The room we were given for the party was small and a dump. For almost $800 and just 2 hours start to finish was a joke. I don't know what i was thinking. This place is not worth it, it is a complete rip off. And the do called gift box that comes with the package is laughable. It probably cost them $2.

One of my grand-darlings had her birthday bash here and it was a ton of fun for all involved…read more  There are a bunch of ninja stations for the kiddos to burn up much of their energy before a birthday celebration meal.  They get 2 hours of supervised fun and it is broken up into 80 minutes of ninja stations and then 40 minutes birthday meal time.  My daughter arranged everything and I was just one of several parent/grandparent photographers/observers basically. Maggie was the welcoming receptionist and she provided a gift t-shirt to the birthday girl (part of the BD package) and got everyone signed in and made sure they had all of their waiver forms signed haha.  This place isn't cheap (ballpark $600 for the birthday package per the daughter) but it seems you get what you pay for - a clean and well maintained facility, a staffer to direct the kids' activities and help serve food, plenty of fun ninja activities to choose from, a private room (there are 2 of them) for the birthday meal, and pizza (by Viccino's, a local favorite anyway) and fruit provided from a local vendor, plates and utensils, and most importantly - a big and grand blast of a time for all the kiddo participants and us by-standers as well.  Apparently, you can also bring your own food in, but there is a healthy $25 per entree charge for doing so, and besides it's an additional hassle.  There is a downstairs and upstairs party room and both are nice and spacious.  One of my grand-darlings has been here several times as a birthday party guest, and she has always had a great time.  I didn't pay, but I still can say a big thumbs up for this place!

Had my kids birthday party here - and everyone had an amazing time. This place is great for all…read moreages, which I loved! The staff was phenomenal and went above and beyond with making sure everything went smoothly. HIGHLY recommend this place to host an event!

Update on this beautiful facility: Parking lot under…read moreconstruction. They have an elevator so no need to take the stairs if you have issues. Pro shop on site. Impressive effort by local families in showing hospitality to the visitors from Sweden.

We enjoyed our first visit to this very nice Glenview Community Ice Center.  A major $30 million…read morerenovation was completed on it back in 2020, but I never saw the former facility, only the current brand newish state.  It has two NHL sized hockey rinks and a 2nd floor grandstand along with a small bar for one of the rinks.  It also has a pro shop, training rooms, and offers the usual skating classes and hockey programs.  They currently have a couple hours of public skating during each day of the week and that's what the grand-darlings and their mom came in for during a school holiday today and we took the opportunity to visit.  They have a family pass and it only takes 3.5 visits to break even on that pass, so it's a good deal at a first rate facility.  Visiting here brought back memories of the many hours we spent in the stands of the Skokie Skatium ice arena and a Houston ice arena as the parents of a youth figure skater, and I can attest that this is a very nice facility.  Big thumbs up!