A spontaneous jaunt to the FLGS was rewarded indeed! On the occasion of my daughter's joining a…read moreDungeons and Dragons club at her school, we endeavored to seek a set of dice and a sack to contain them. The local shoppe keep demonstrated extensive knowledge of sacks, and of their inventory of said sacks. They showed cunning a guile as none of the obvious sacks met with our approval and recommended a "Blind Sack" that contained, among other items, a random dice sack. Relying upon their nerdy insight, we purchased the "Blind Sack" and couldn't be happier! It contained a high quality dice sack, and 2 other sacks. One carried the dice and was marked "Rare"! The other a mysterious coin of fair quality, marked with the image of a Darklord on one side, the other a powerful incantation. 5/5 Would recommend for sacks.

Living in what used to be Sycamore Mall, on the east side of town, The Hobby Corner is a great spot…read moreto find radio controlled items, games, models, puzzles, trains, tools, rockets, educational sets and all sorts of cool toys! It's got a wide variety of items. I popped in on a Saturday evening and perused the shop. There are so many unique items, all priced appropriately. I was impressed to overhear a regular customer pop in and chat with the staff. There is definitely a sense of community at this shop. My daughter saw a daffodil Lego set and was thrilled have it purchased for her. (You're welcome.) It's cool that they have board game night (Thursdays) and that you can come play a board game yourself anytime during the day. On the same note-- if you have an old board game you can sell it here. You can now sell your used games in our store. To do this simply follow these few steps. You set the price and once it is sold you get 80% of that price as store credit. The coolest thing about The Hobby Corner is that they will order anything for you if you can't find it in the store-- at NO additional cost!

Besides rocks and chocolate, my other Amana must see is Catiri's. The shop is fairly small, but…read moreoverflowing with a variety of mostly local made artwork from jewelry to ceramics to oil paintings. It's easy to get lost in time while looking through everything. Pricing is in line with other galleries I've been to and handmade art I see online, but there seems to be a decent range suitable for most budgets. I last visited during this year's Wurst Fest and the highlight of my day was making my first purchases here. I scored a horsehair raku vase and a neat architectural etching, both of which I am super excited about. Highly recommend even just to window shop!

A must-see in Amana. This shop has been here for many years. Beautiful and wide selection of…read morecreations from Midwest artists. You'll find jewelry, pottery, blown glass, wall art and much more here. This is a shop that exudes 'if you break it, you buy it,' so maybe not appropriate for little ones. Moderate-high prices, but affordable (if that makes sense). 4/5 stars because the customer service was non existent. A friendly 'hello' goes a long way, especially when no one else is in your shop.

We stumbled across Vintage Heaven after seeing a few of his Facebook posts in local Cedar Rapids…read moregroups, and I would highly recommend anyone who is into ANYTHING to stop by this place. David, one of the two owners, is a fantastic guy. He is very knowledgeable, super helpful and the reason we have visited again and again. We have also seen him outside the store, and he has remembered our faces and handed us items we knew that we would love. David is truly a great guy. The place has everything you can think of; buttons, vintage legos, toys, NFL items, sports card, CDS, tapes, DVDs, clothes, cups, hats, banners. This store truly has something for everyone for a reasonable price.

Lots of stuff to look at in there, service was amazing he was really nice and everything was…read moreamazingly priced!

I am a mom of a comic loving eight year old…read more One Saturday we decided to treat him to a comic of his choice, so of course we popped into Daydreams Comics. I was insanely surprised by their section. They have books for babies to adults that encompasses far more than Marvel or DC. There's something for everyone and I feel ashamed I assumed it wasn't! My son was set on Deadpool. (Because why not. He's not allowed to watch it, so why not assumed he could read it? SMH.) Rather than argue a losing battle with my little, we asked the employee at the register his thoughts on that. He very kindly said that, while it was up to his parents, all of the Deadpool literature in the store was a bit grown up and that he was a few years off. He offered some other options and our kiddo walked out with an X-Men X-Villan book that was perfect for his age/reading level. Shout out to that kind and knowledgable employee. Pricing is on point. Staff is wonderful. Selection, again, goes beyond a typical 'comic book' store. This gem has been around for over 30 years and it is no wonder. Open daily, pop in!

Customer service was incredibly kind and helpful, selection was great, I really liked it!read more

They have changed locations, the pictures are not updated. They now have a large showroom and…read moreindoor track area for crawling and carpet racing. Great service, second to none in selection and they keep up with manufacturers prices and sales.

I purchased some tires for a vintage car.They were unopened with receipt from 10 days earlier. They…read morewould only give me store credit. I will definitely be purchasing online for 1/2 the price in the future. I like to support local businesses. Crash and Bash did me wrong. what a terrible way to treat customers

Creative colony is the kind of place that my grandparents would have loved. They would've bought…read moreout the whole store or been making things to sell there. There's a large variety crafty items at a wide range of prices. There's person working there was friendly. I specifically like the store for its "grandparent" vibe.

Enjoyed our stop in the middle of a world tour of the Amana Colonies!…read more This is a wonderful collection of 40 or more local artists whose work is sold within the store. Great items in abundance, something for everyone, and set in a spacious setting without feeling like you're jammed into a store. The highlight for me was meeting John and Wayne, a pair of artisans who were kind and were there displaying their own items. They had such great pride in their respective works, and were just good people to chat with!

I'm shocked it took me so long to explore this IC gem. Critical Hit Games is insanely niche but a…read moregreat spot for gamers to both game, get new cool stuff or meet like-minded folks. I popped in with my eight year old on a random weekend evening. Wowza. It was packed with folks at tables, playing card games and board games. I thought their selection was unlike any other spot in the IC area. (There is a semi-similar spot on the East side but I think CHG has a bigger selection. It also boasts some arcade games to play.) It sells magic sets, board games, pokemon cards, role playing games, card games, retro video games and so, so much more. I thought the pricing seemed on par, I thought the vibes were rad. The staff was nice. It was down a bunch of stairs (not sure if there was an elevator...) The closest parking is probably the Dubuque Street Ramp (first hour free).

The nerd factor is on point here for all you fellow gamers. Trying to see if some magic the…read moregathering cards after 30 years in prime condition were worth anything but they passed. Was really cool to see that this type of place still exists with arcade games and fellow gamers playing board games on a Sunday. It's a niche business and community, but I have to say they do what they do well. If you're not one of "them" you are a little bit of an outsider, and I think they smelled the former jock on me.

This is the first place I visit when I am in need of a book. Over the years, I have purchased books…read moreof many different genres from this independently-owned bookstore, novels ranging from popular fiction, historic fiction, mystery, fantasy, classics, romance, young adult, parenting books and children books. They sometime carry newer books, but the majority of their selection is used books. Therefore, their selection is largely dependent on what people bring in to sell. However, when they have the book I am look for or have been wanting to read it feels like I won the lottery. They can also order a copy of most books they don't have in stock. The staff is always friendly and helpful. I usually talk with the owner for 10 minutes every time I pop in, either about books he recommends or what I have recently read. I am particular fond of their two sweet dogs that are usually "working". I find the prices reasonable compared to other used bookstores. I also enjoy selling back my more popular books to them so I can get in-store credit for my next read and someone else can enjoy the book. I recommend checking out this bookstore.

Great inventory and very helpful staff. I wish this store was in my town!…read more They had a little bit of everything, but a lot of classic sci-fi and mysteries.