A look at places to play a range of competitive socialising games and activities in Manchester city centre.
Looking for fun places to play some games in Manchester, then read on...
While minigolf is the main game we play, we're big fans of a wide-range of what are now termed 'competitive socialising' activities.
And luckily for us, Manchester city centre has a brilliant variety of different places to play.
The landscape of competitive socialising venues is constantly changing, with locations opening, closing, and being refurbished, while others expand or change the activities available entirely.
That said, please do check with the venue in advance to make sure they are open and have the game(s) you want to play before travelling!
Places to play some fun games in Manchester city centre.
Below is a list of places to play a range of different games in Manchester city centre.
Have we missed any places to play in Manchester city centre? Do let us know.
Your favourite games and places?
What's your favourite game and place to play? Let us know in the comments.
Beyond Manchester city centre.
Moving out from the city centre you'll find several more places to play games in the borough of Manchester, such as the Parrs Wood Entertainment Centre where you can find tenpin bowling, indoor minigolf, laser tag, escape rooms and more. And over at The Trafford Centre and Trafford Palazzo - and some of their neighbours - you can find a lot of fun things to see, do and play too.
Our home town of Stockport is also increasing in the number of competitive socialising places to play a range of games.
And when you take into account all of the competitive socialising venues in Manchester's metropolitan boroughs of Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, and Wigan you have got an incredible choice of places to play!
Competitive socialising, activity bars, entertainment, and leisure venues in Manchester.
A look at places to play a range of competitive socialising games and activities in Manchester city centre.
Looking for fun places to play some games in Manchester, then read on...
While minigolf is the main game we play, we're big fans of a wide-range of what are now termed 'competitive socialising' activities. And luckily for us, Manchester city centre has a brilliant variety of different places to play.
The landscape of competitive socialising venues is constantly changing, with locations opening, closing, and being refurbished, while others expand or change the activities available entirely. That said, please do check with the venue in advance to make sure they are open and have the game(s) you want to play before travelling!
Places to play some fun games in Manchester city centre.
Below is a list of places to play a range of different games in Manchester city centre (as at July 2025).
Have we missed any places to play in Manchester city centre? Do let us know.
Your favourite games and places?
What's your favourite game and place to play? Let us know in the comments on this post.
Beyond Manchester city centre.
Moving out from the city centre you'll find several more places to play games in the borough of Manchester, such as the Parrs Wood Entertainment Centre (our nearest venue) where you can find tenpin bowling, indoor minigolf, laser tag, escape rooms and more.
And when you take into account all of the competitive socialising venues in Manchester's metropolitan boroughs of Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, and Wigan you have got an incredible choice of places to play!
Blockbuster Golf & Games was an entertainment centre that gathered together mini golf, batting cages, a giant arcade and more in one location. It didn't go as far as Netflix House in its use of popular brands and licences from the world of TV, film and entertainment though, with the Blockbuster branding being prominent.
Blockbuster Golf & Games was located in Sunrise, Florida, USA and opened in 1994. It closed in the year 2000.
Every so often old golf balls from Blockbuster Golf & Games appear for sale, however there isn't a lot of information or photos of the actual course available online.
Block Party
Also in 1994 Blockbuster Video opened two 'Block Party' locations - one in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and another in Indianapolis, Indiana. They closed in 2002.
Block Party was an indoor entertainment centre that brought together recreational activities in a retail environment including virtual reality games, laser tag, arcade games, indoor rides, 4D experiences and more.
Dead Mall Walking did a nice deep-dive into Block Party (and includes Blockbuster Golf & Games) and you can watch it at this link and the video below.
Did you ever visit Blockbuster Golf & Games or Block Party? Do you have memories of the place and the minigolf course at Blockbuster Golf & Games?
Blockbuster Video nostalgia
Nowadays there is nostalgia for the Blockbuster brand, and while there is still one solitary Blockbuster Video store still operating - in Bend, Oregon - you are more likely to see the Blockbuster name adorning pop-ups at events. One of the more recent was a collaboration with KitKat.
During the pandemic my interest in lost brands and retail history was piqued and since then I've been to several former Blockbuster Video stores around the UK, as well as finding some other old, and some still open, video shops on our travels!
At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 Blockbuster Video stores around the world. 500+ of which were in England, Scotland and Wales. Interestingly in Northern Ireland the Xtra-Vision brand was used by the owners in-line with the Republic of Ireland. The last Blockbuster Video shop ceased trading in the UK in December 2013.
Butlin's Minehead postcard M13. The Monorail. Postally unused. Undated
I love the British seaside with all its quirks, eccentricity and traditional entertainment. I grew up on holidays at Butlin's holiday camps in Minehead, Bognor Regis and Ayr - and spent many summers in the 1980's and 1990's at the Barry Island Holiday Camp which used to be a Butlin's camp.
I've got brilliant memories of the monorail, funfair, laser tag and arcades at Butlin's Minehead. It's little wonder that even now I'm such a big fan of the British seaside, monorails, crazy golf and video-games.
Riding the monorail at Butlin's Somerwest World in Minehead in the early 1990's
Emily and I also visited Butlin's Minehead (formerly Somerwest World) on one of our first holidays together in 2004.
Butlin's Holidays postcard from Somerwest World Minehead. Postally unused. Undated
Over the years we've built up a big collection of minigolf postcards, and we always keep an eye out for Butlin's cards as they're such colourful and fun cards, and seeing the monorail at Minehead brings back many happy memories.
Butlin's Minehead postcard M15. Monorail over a Main Avenue. Postally unused. Undated
Butlin's Minehead - Monorail over Outdoor Swimming Pool by John Hinde Studios. Postally unused. Undated
A Typical Butlin Monorail. Postcard S25. I also have a variation of this postcard with the caption 'BUTLIN'S SKEGNESS Monorail'. That card was posted on 27 July 1971
It's brilliant collecting old postcards of minigolf courses, monorails and holiday camps as they are superb pieces of social history.
Back in the 1970's the minigolf courses at Butlin's holiday camps featured some very big golf balls and tees - they make for a striking image!
Butlinland Skegness - Putting Green and Monorail by John Hinde Studios. Sent on 4 August 1980
Check out the Butlin's website for more information on their holiday parks.
There are currently Goolfy course in eight countries, located in a range of places including shopping malls, tourist areas, campsite and multi-activity centres, with the indoor blacklight minigolf courses covering themes including ocean, jungle, space, pirates and more.
Pierre Maréchal from Funny Prod Leisure Concepts kindly sent over the following images from the Goolfy mini-golf courses. Goolfy are indoor fluorescent / blacklight minigolf layouts. You can see more on the Goolfy section of their website.
Another concept from the team is Digi Goolfy Virtual Minigolf, where a video projector displays a range of 18 different holes with a range of obstacles and special effects onto the floor, with a wall projector showing game animations and player scores too.
Emily has been to Belgium and went to several minigolf courses there on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, while I haven't been to Belgium since I visited while at college back in 1999.
We're big fans of indoor glow-in-the-dark minigolf courses and hopefully we'll get to play the Goolfy courses in the future. We also want to try out the Digi Goolfy and Smoolfy courses.
It's interesting to see there are Goolfy courses in Chile. Emily visited the country last year and swung by some courses there. She'll have to check out the three Goolfy locations on a return visit!
As well as Goolfy, the company have created the game of Boolfy - a pop-up version of Petanque/Boules! We really enjoy playing that game too, and used to play in the Stockport league.
Funny Prod Leisure Concepts have also created the games of Smoolfy (smaller minigolf), Kidsy (kids soft play areas), Jumpy (trampoline parks), and Gunzy (laser tag)!
A film-themed mini golf course is opening at The Light in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.
Action Shots Mini Golf is a 10-hole indoor movie-themed course
The Light cinema and entertainment complex is opening in Huddersfield on Friday 11th April.
The new venue will include a film-themed mini golf course, as well as an arcade, tenpin bowling, high ropes challenge, interactive darts, skittles, street curling, batting cages, laser tag, shuffleboard, axe throwing and more!
International Laser Tag Day is celebrated on the 28th March and marks the opening of the first commercial laser tag arena - Photon in Dallas, Texas which opened in 1984!
The day is also known as 'National Laser Tag Day' and 'Laser Tag Day'. It was first celebrated in 2014.
We're fans of laser tag, and it's been far too long since we've had a game!
Marc Bazeley and me at Quasar in Milton Keynes (2011), at Laser Planet in Milton Keynes (2016), and me and Emily at Star Command Laser Tag at the Trocadero in London (2011)
A minigolf course could be created as part of a new Laser Quest centre in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
There are plans for a new Laser Quest centre to be created in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. The venue would also be home to an indoor minigolf course and arcade.
The location for the new entertainment centre would be the former Hop House pub on Knights Park in Tunbridge Wells.
There's a new indoor minigolf course in Manchester.
Challenge Point Manchester is now open in Manchester's Northern Quarter. The venue is home to a Crazy Golf course, but one with a difference.
The Crazy Golf course is one of five crazy mini games at the venue. Teams are tasked with trying to win as many points as possible by playing each of the mini challenges in their overall game.
As well as Crazy Golf, competitors need to tackle a Laser Maze, play Tokyo Tanks (remote control tanks), dive into a Ball Pit, and play a shooting game.
Information about our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.
Details of the miniature golf courses we've visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since September 2006.
At the Crazy Golf course in Prestatyn
A wide-range of minigolf courses.
We've seen the good, the bad and the ugly of minigolf courses on our travels, but feel that each and every one of them is worth a look in its own right.
The game of minigolf is one of fun and frustration and mixes skill and luck to tackle the obstacles set-up to trip you up and trick you as you play.
A BIG minigolf thank you.
We'd like to thank course owners, operators and suppliers everywhere for building, running and maintaining miniature golf courses of all shapes, sizes and types and look forward to playing and revisiting courses for more minigolfing fun in the future.
We'd also like to thank our family, friends, minigolf rivals, the wider minigolf community, and everyone who has let us know about a course over the years!
Visiting the Crazy Golf course at the end of the Pier in Southend-on-Sea
How many minigolf courses have we visited so far?
Below is the list of the 1,111 miniature golf courses visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour to date. 1,050 of them have been in the British Isles.
As well as playing minigolf in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Jersey and the Isle of Man we’ve travelled to minigolf courses in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Finland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Spain (including Lanzarote and Majorca), Sweden and the USA.
We've been able to play a total of 594 of them as many have been found to be abandoned, closed, out-of-season or derelict on our initial visit. Luckily some courses that were closed on our original visit have since been played. And we've played some of these courses many many times over as they're so good. It's interesting to return to a course some time later to see what has, or hasn't, changed.
The Himalayas at St Andrews - the world's first Miniature Golf course
The list of minigolf courses we've been to.
Please be aware that courses come and go and this list is not a 'live' list of miniature golf courses. If you find that a course is no longer there, or has significantly changed, please let us know by leaving a comment.
Here's a list of the courses we have played between the 30th September 2006 and the 17th October 2025.
6a (see also #166) Felixstowe (Ocean Boulevard Golf/Hollywood Holes/Grand Canyon Golf - Sea Front) - Crazy Golf - the 8-holes were formerly at the Sea Road course
80 Bluewater - Pro Tour Putting - Update: April 2011 - Course removed to make way for two new 18-hole Pirate Adventure Golf Courses - Played 2nd December 2011 - See also #278 and #279
190 East Finchley - Garden Minigolf - The course was also the 'Landmark' 250th course location visited on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour (Private Course - no Public Access)
192 Newport (Tredegar Park) - Minigolf - Update: Revisited and played 25th August 2012 - now open with flags on the course and equipment to hire - Revisited in April 2015
49 Felixstowe (Sea Front) - Putting Green - Update April 2010. Now removed to make way for Donkey Rides! - See also Actual Course Visited and Played #53
- Littlehampton (Maltravers Park) - Putting - Followed a Brown Tourist sign there, but couldn't see the course - may have been too early in the season for the course to have been set out
- Littlehampton (Mewsbrook Park) - Minigolf - No course found - Note: The Miniature Railway does pass through the Pitch & Putt course that sits between Norfolk Gardens & Mewsbrook Park
- Yattendon (Yattendon & Frilsham Fete) - Crazy Golf - Course advertised, but no course at the event. There was however a Christmas Tree Throwing Competition!
979 Spalding (Springfields Adventure Land) - Dino Golf - formerly Secret Garden Adventure Golf (see course played 243). Course was closed on day of our visit
1,110 St Albans (Verulamium Park) - Rockin' Romans Golf
* Due to closure, flooding, dereliction, or a number of other reasons. Some of these layouts have since been revisited and played.
Another branch of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.
My brother Christopher was with us when we played the first minigolf course on what would become the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.
Christopher and his family have visited courses around the British Isles as well as visits to courses in Türkiye, Spain (Majorca), Italy, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, France, Indonesia, Croatia and the USA.
The Minigolf course at Vista Alegre in Porto Cristo, Majorca
Here's a list of minigolf courses visited by Christopher Gottfried on he and his family's branch of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour 2011-2025.
The combined total of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour is now at 1,165 courses visited!
New minigolf courses in the UK.
Minigolf is an incredibly popular leisure and sporting activity for all ages, and we're seeing an exciting boom in new courses opening up across the UK. From vibrant indoor venues in towns and city centres to sprawling outdoor adventure golf parks, the game continues to evolve and captivate players all year round.
While minigolf was traditionally a seaside summer pastime in the UK, the last decade or so has seen its growth into more urban settings, with many venues now catering to a late night audience. It can be the perfect activity for groups of friends, families, and young and old alike.
The UK minigolf landscape: How many courses are there?