Dr. G's BrainWorks

Family-run game store at Champaign's Market Place mall stocking Pokemon, Magic, and Yu-Gi-Oh! alongside a wall of puzzles and brainteasers.

Dr. G's BrainWorks comes at the hobby from a different angle than the average card shop in Champaign. Family owned since 2013 and voted the No. 1 educational/game store in The News-Gazette's People's Choice Awards three years running, it pairs its trading card selection — Pokemon, Magic: The Gathering, and Yu-Gi-Oh! — with an enormous inventory of puzzles, brainteasers, science kits, and board games. For families where one kid collects Pokemon cards and another wants a chess set, it's a one-stop trip.

The store sits inside Market Place Shopping Center at 2000 N Neil St, Suite 118, on Champaign's north side, which makes it the easiest card stop to fold into a regular errand run. Mall hours work in its favor too: open 11AM to 7PM Monday through Thursday, until 8PM Friday and Saturday, and noon to 6PM on Sunday — meaning it's one of the few places to grab Pokemon cards in Champaign on a Sunday evening.

The staff are the shop's calling card. Reviewers consistently describe the crew as deeply knowledgeable and passionate about what's on the shelves, and they're as comfortable recommending a first booster box as they are steering a puzzle-obsessed grandparent toward the right brainteaser. The shop also runs a dedicated chess section, Dr. G's Chessworks, which has quietly become a resource for the local chess community.

One practical note: return policies are stricter than big-box stores — cash purchases are generally final — so check before buying gifts. That aside, the combination of TCG stock, long weekend hours, and a genuinely browsable store makes this a worthwhile stop on any Champaign card run, especially with kids in tow.