The Cyberdrome Crystal Maze

Playing The Crystal Maze game at CC2000, near Narbeth, Wales.

The Cyberdrome Crystal Maze in 2009

Challenge TV are showing repeats of The Crystal Maze every weekday evening at 6pm and I'm addicted to watching it. It was a staple of my childhood and teenage years, and it would've been brilliant to go on the show. Perhaps I should apply if and when a new series is made.

Rewatching the show has reminded me of our holiday around the Welsh coast in 2009 when we took a break from playing Crazy Golf to visit the Oakwood Indoor Family Entertainment Centre - where we entered The Crystal Maze!

At that time it was the last remaining Cyberdrome Crystal Maze game in the UK. Sadly it closed for good in June 2010. It would've been brilliant to return for a few more games there.

The Cyberdrome Crystal Maze was absolutely awesome to play. More of them should have been built back in the day. There were a total of eight built - five in the UK, two in Japan, and one in Dubai.

Just like the TV show, games were played in four themed zones - Aztec, Futuristic Medieval, and Ocean. But unlike the TV, show players were guided around the maze by Merlin - a computerised Maze Master.

Being set a task by Merlin

Aztec Zone

Futuristic Zone

Medieval Zone

Ocean Zone

We managed to win six of the nine games we played, and in the Crystal Dome itself we collected 103 Gold and 28 Silver 'tokens' for a grand total of 75. So we didn't win the the "super-duper" prize, but we were first on the leaderboard for the day and got 1st of 1 on our souvenir certificate!

Inside the Crystal Dome

At that time the Cyberdrome Crystal Maze was the closest you could get to playing the real Crystal Maze. Now you can play The Crystal Maze LIVE Experience in London and Manchester. We Manchester venue is so close, we really ought to get a team together for a game there.

Photos of The Cyberdrome Crystal Maze in Tenby

The Cyberdrome Crystal Maze in 2009

The Cyberdrome Crystal Maze in 2009

The Cyberdrome Crystal Maze in 2009

The Cyberdrome Crystal Maze in 2009

The Cyberdrome Crystal Maze in 2009

The Cyberdrome Crystal Maze in 2009

The Cyberdrome Crystal Maze in 2009

The Cyberdrome Crystal Maze in 2009

Adventure Golf at Jimmy G's amusement arcade in Leysdown

A new Adventure Golf course is planned for Leysdown-on-Sea, Isle of Sheppey.

The new adventure golf course at Jimmy G’s Amusements on The Promenade in Leysdown will be created as part of a refurbishment of the amusement arcade.

Visit the Jimmy G's Amusements website for more information.

It'll be another course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Nu Game Arcade in Southampton

It was a nice surprise to find the Nu Game Arcade in Southampton last month. It was also brilliant that we happened to be the first customers on the opening day too!

We spotted the sign for the Nu Game Arcade on the first floor as we were leaving the Marlands shopping centre. We're glad we did as it's been a while since I've played at an arcade.

It was brilliant to have a go on two of my favourite games - Metal Slug on the Neo Geo MVS and Robocop.

Check out the Nu Game Arcade Facebook Page for more information.

WINNERS DON'T USE DRUGS

Who is your favourite Director of the FBI?

I'd have to go with William S. Sessions.

Show me a better arcade game attract screen. I'll wait

Happy National Video Game Day!

Gutterball Alley now open in North Shields

Tenpin bowling, minigolf and more at Gutterball Alley in North Shields.

The team behind Lane7 have opened a new family friendly venue with Gutterball Alley.

The first Gutterball Alley family entertainment centre in North Shields is home to tenpin bowling, guttergolf minigolf, pool, arcades, ping pong and indoor baseball batting cages.

A look at the Lane7 indoor minigolf course

Visit the Gutterball Alley website for more information, opening times and prices.

We've played minigolf at the Lane7 location in Newcastle. It's a very good 9-hole course.

Playing the Lane7 Mini Golf course last August

Arcade Club in Leeds

A visit to Arcade Club in Leeds.

We visited the new Arcade Club venue in Leeds yesterday. What a place!

Earlier this year we visited the original Arcade Club in Bury and were very impressed by the selection of games on offer to play.

Always nice to visit Pac-Land

Once you've paid your entry fee (we paid £16 per adult) you get to play hundreds of games all set on free play.

Three floors of fun

It's an amazing place to spend anything from a few hours to a whole day.

A very small selection of the hundreds of games available to play

As someone who grew up going to arcades in the 80's and 90's it's superb to relive those memories by playing arcade classics like Pac-Land, The New Zealand Story and Bubble Bobble. But I also really like the fact there are games available that I'd only had a glimpse of back in the day, or those that were out of my price range to play.

Pac-Land

One of those was The Last Bounty Hunter, a live-action on-rails LaserDisc light-gun game. Back in the day it would've been one of the expensive 50p or a pound a go games I could only dream of playing. Watching older players pumping the machine full of money while firing away at a selection of bad guys and then seeing the really cheesy cut scenes as the actors die is indelibly burned on my mind like screen burn on a CRT monitor.

The Last Bounty Hunter

I easily got my money's worth by playing The Last Bounty Hunter and managed to get to the third stage. I could've spent more time on it but I had to wander and play other games.

The ground level is home to pinball tables, quirky Japanese import games, old racing and driving games and new arcade machines.

As a big fan of Resident Evil games there was one game I spotted and immediately wanted to play. After waiting for some other players to finish their go Emily and I jumped on the Taito game Elevator Action Death Parade. It was brilliant.

We arrived at 11.30am and there was a steady flow of people of all ages into the venue while we were there. Even though it was busy, there was a nice buzz and we never felt cramped in playing machines and there are plenty of games on offer we didn't have to wait long to play any games.

Tempest. I'd never played the arcade game before, but I love the Atari Jaguar version

There were still plenty of games I could've had a go on there but there just wasn't time.

The Neo Geo section

We're looking forward to our next visit to Arcade Club. There will also be a new Arcade Club venue opening in Blackpool next year. Wonderful news.

Bubble Bobble, a true classic

You can find Arcade Club at the Abbey Retail Park in Kirkstall, Leeds.

Arcade Club - retail entertainment done right

Check out the Arcade Club website for more information, opening times and prices.

Retro Arcade in Warrington

A visit to the Retro Arcade in Warrington.

We've been to quite a few arcades, retro bars and barcades over the last few years and Retro Arcade is easily one of the best.

As I grew up playing in the amusement arcades of the 1980s and 90s I remember how brilliant it was back then.

I also remember how far I ever managed to get in games. Even though I played back in the days when a game was 10p a go I never had enough money - or patience - to play anything all the way through. I used to love having a go on as many games as I could with my pocket of change. A lot of the time my brothers and I spent in the arcades would be waiting our turn while watching older and better players on the machines. That and making out we were playing while watching the attract screens, the FBI Warning from William S. Sessions and demo modes.

Just a small selection of the original arcade cabinets available to play

There's a marvellous range of original cabinets at Retro Arcade and when I first walked in it took a few seconds for me to take it all in. Some of the rare titles on offer include Tron and Video Pinball.

As well as the quirky and rare Video Pinball cabinet Retro Arcade has a number of real pinball machines

For an £8 entry fee you receive unlimited play on stacks of arcade machines. There's also a SEGA Mega Drive, NES and PSone tucked away at the back near the bar area and I enjoyed playing Wardner on the Mega Drive. It's one of my all-time favourite arcade games.

Retro Arcade has made very good use of the space in the old railway arch

When I got inside I had a quick play on RoboCop and died on level one. I then had a go on Hyper Sports and then had a wander.

What a game

What a cool menu

We went to the bar and then I went back to the Data East RoboCop cabinet. As the machines are all set to free play mode I knew this was my opportunity to finally complete the game. And I did. If I had been spending 10p or 20p a go on it I'm certain I would've spent all my pocket money for the month playing the game the way I went through continues.

It's taken me three decades to see this screen

It was worth the wait

After accomplishing a feat 31 years in the making I had a bit of a break before stepping up to play Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Another coin eating beast and certainly a machine to play to get your money's worth at Retro Arcade. I managed to get further than I ever had before but had to give up after quite a while as my trigger finger was getting worn out.

What really made the experience perfect for me was that you could actually hear the games you were playing. Quite a feat considering all of the sounds coming from dozens of arcade cabinets. There's also a free play jukebox and that was kicking out some superb tunes from the 80's and 90's.

Part of the fun of playing a game is hearing the sound and music of it. So often I've been to an arcade bar only to find that the music at the venue is far too loud and so therefore drowns out the music and sound effects from the game.

The staff on our visit were great and it was fantastic to see a real mix of people enjoying the experience.

Retro Arcade is a must visit venue.

I'll be back

Check out the Retro Arcade website for more info, opening times and prices.

Roxy Arcade in Leeds

A visit to the new Roxy Arcade in Leeds.

While we were in Leeds for the Collectorabilia event at the weekend we visited the new Roxy Arcade.

I had a play on Defender, X-Files Pinball, Moon Cresta, Street Fighter II and Track & Field on our visit

The downstairs section

There are also consoles available to play

The new venue from the Roxy team is next door to the established Roxy Ball Room Merrion Street.

Merrion Street in Leeds

The first Roxy Ball Room we visited was the one on Boar Lane where we played the indoor Crazy Golf course in November 2016.

Roxy Ball Room venues have a lot of competitive socialising activities

We've also been to Roxy Ball Room in Manchester where we had a brilliant time last New Year's Eve.

There's a Roxy Ball Room in Liverpool we're yet to visit. That venue has a new minigolf course too.

Check out the Roxy Arcade website for more information.

Glow-in-the-dark Bowlingo at Mr B's amusement arcade in Rhyl

Playing Glow-in-the-dark Bowlingo at Mr B's amusement arcade in Rhyl.

Last month I had a fun day out in Rhyl and Prestatyn with my friend and minigolf rival Peter Jones. As it was out of season we didn't get to have a go on the miniature railway or play any of the Crazy Golf courses there. Luckily the amusement arcades were open so we were able to have a game of UV glow-in-the-dark black light Bowlingo at Mr B's amusement arcade!

The glow-in-the-dark artwork looked cool 

Arcade Club in Bury

A trip down memory lane at Arcade Club in Bury.

We finally visited Arcade Club in Bury last Saturday. I don't know why it's taken us so long!

As a big fan of retro gaming and amusement arcades I've got many brilliant memories of playing arcade games at holiday camps and seasides back in the 80's and 90's, so it was superb to visit a venue that has hundreds of arcade cabinets set-up from the era.

Arcade Club operates an entry fee policy after which you can access all of the games without having to fumble around for change. As it was our first visit we opted for the £16 price for access to both levels. For £12 you could access one or other of the levels.

About to enter Level 3 of Arcade Club

Level 2 is home to a range of modern and imported arcade games, VR games, pinball tables and gaming PCs. It's not really my cup of tea but it was still nice to have access on our visit. The floor was absolutely packed with people having fun - I haven't seen an arcade like it for years!

In my element

Level 3 was what I was interested in and I wasn't disappointed. At Arcade Club you'll find row upon row of lovingly restored arcade cabinets offering everything from Asteroids to Pac-Man - and probably a game beginning with Z.

Asteroids

The New Zealand Story

It was a bit overwhelming to see so many games to play, all set on free-play, and we didn't know quite where to begin. Luckily for us we spotted a 2-player Parodius game and jumped on that. We're big fans of Parodius on the SNES so we quickly got into the swing of things and enjoyed playing for a few credits before we were lured away with another 249 or so games to play.

When I was a kid my two brothers and I used to love visiting the arcades at Barry Island and Minehead holiday camps and when we ventured out to the seaside amusement arcades there were even more games to play.

I remember seeing the Bomb Jack arcade game at our local Chinese takeaway when I was a kid. I never ever got to play it. I made up for that at Arcade Club though

On the leader-board again

Until I bought Pac-Land for the Atari Lynx and PC Engine last year I hadn't played the game since a stay at Butlin's Somerwest World in Minehead in the 1990's. Over the all of the noise at Arcade Club I could clearly hear the music from the game playing and so had to give it a play. I wasn't disappointed.

Pac-Land

Back in the 80's and 90's there was no way I had the money to master any arcade games, but with the games set to free-play and unlimited credits available I was able to complete MERCS (a game I used to have on the SEGA Master System) and also get on the leader-board on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

2nd on the MERCS leader-board

Such a tough game

One game I wasted many many many 10p's on as a kid was RoboCop. Playing it now the graphics are still cool and my skills on it are still as rubbish as they were 30 years ago. It was still fun to play though, and just as back then it was good to watch other better players working their way through the game.

RoboCop

Arcade Club is a superb venue and I'd consider it a living museum as well as a retro throwback to those halcyon days of the 80's and 90's when an amusement arcade didn't consist of mostly ticket redemption games.

How arcades should be 

Pacmania 

We'd never played Flicky before. We're now both addicted to it 

Space Invaders Part II 

Super Pac-Man is a tough game

We had a wonderful afternoon at Arcade Club and after three hours of pretty much non-stop gaming we were ready to head outside for some fresh air and a chance to give our weary backs, necks and wrists a rest.

The last game we played at Arcade Club 

How I felt after three hours of retro gaming! 

Operation Thunderbolt, the sequel to Operation Wolf. We played both games at Arcade Club

You've got to love old video games and they're typos ;-) 

Having a nice sit down to play Pole Position

We will be back.

You can find Arcade Club at Ella Mill in Bury, Greater Manchester.

Check out the Arcade Club website for more information, opening times and prices.

The team at Arcade Club are putting the finishing touches to their second venue, with the site in Leeds opening soon. We're looking forward to visiting.

Arcade Club certainly does

Link:
- Arcade Club

Related blog posts:
- Amusement Arcades
- Greater Manchester