Arcades in Canterbury
Looking for flashing lights and high scores in Canterbury, Kent? There are 32 arcades mapped here. That's 32 arcades mapped around Canterbury. Machine condition varies wildly between venues, so the one with the best-maintained cabinets wins regardless of size. Check whether the venue runs on tokens, cards or coins before you arrive with the wrong currency.
This guide covers every arcade we could verify in and around Canterbury (within about 40 km), built from OpenStreetMap's community-maintained data. Names you'll run into include Pier View Amusement Arcade and Down the Coast Amusements, plus Amusement Park. If an arcade's missing from Canterbury's list, it probably just hasn't been mapped yet.
The Canterbury arcade lineup
32 mapped within about 40 km:
Pier View Amusement Arcade
Arcade
Pier View Amusement Arcade — Arcade, found on 71 Beach Street in Deal.
71 Beach Street, Deal, CT14 6JA
Down the Coast Amusements
Arcade
Down the Coast Amusements is Arcade.
Amusement Park
Arcade
Amusement Park — Arcade.
Arcade
Arcade
Arcade is Arcade.
Sidequest
Arcade
Sidequest — Arcade, found on 1 Sturry Road in Canterbury. Also worth knowing about Sidequest: the map lists its hours as Mo-Su 12:00-22:00; it has a website with more detail.
1 Sturry Road, Canterbury, CT1 1BU
Hours: Mo-Su 12:00-22:00
Astro City Amusements
Arcade
Astro City Amusements — Arcade, found on 2c Southchurch Road in Southend-on-Sea. Also worth knowing about Astro City Amusements: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
2c Southchurch Road, Southend-on-Sea, SS1 2NE
Phone: +44 7979 547193
Fantasia
Arcade
Fantasia — Arcade.
Happidrome
Arcade
Happidrome is Arcade on 52 Marine Parade, Southend-on-Sea.
52 Marine Parade, Southend-on-Sea, SS1 2EN
Las Vagas
Arcade
Las Vagas — Arcade, found on 46 Marine Parade in Southend-on-Sea.
46 Marine Parade, Southend-on-Sea, SS1 2EN
Stardust
Arcade
Stardust — Arcade.
New York Arcade
Arcade
New York Arcade — Arcade.
Circus Circus Amusements
Arcade
Circus Circus Amusements is Arcade.
Electric Avenue
Arcade
Electric Avenue — Arcade, found on Marine Parade in Southend-on-Sea.
Marine Parade, Southend-on-Sea
Monte Carlo
Arcade
Monte Carlo — Arcade.
Retropolis
Arcade
Retropolis is Arcade.
The Flamingo
Arcade
The Flamingo — Arcade, found on Marine Terrace in Margate.
Marine Terrace, Margate
Life's-A-Beach
Arcade
Life's-A-Beach — Arcade, found on 24-25 Marine Terrace in Margate.
24-25 Marine Terrace, Margate, CT9 1XJ
Jimmy G's Amusements
ArcadeRun by Rotunda Systems
Run by Rotunda Systems, Jimmy G's Amusements is Arcade, found on The Promenade in Leysdown-on-Sea. Also worth knowing about Jimmy G's Amusements: the map lists its hours as Mo-Fr 10:00-21:00; Sa-Su 09:00-22:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
The Promenade, Leysdown-on-Sea, ME12 4QB
Hours: Mo-Fr 10:00-21:00; Sa-Su 09:00-22:00
Phone: +44 1795 511080
Jimmy G's Amusements
ArcadeRun by Rotunda Systems
Run by Rotunda Systems, Jimmy G's Amusements is Arcade, found on The Promenade in Leysdown-on-Sea. Also worth knowing about Jimmy G's Amusements: the map lists its hours as Mo-Fr 10:00-21:00; Sa-Su 09:00-22:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
The Promenade, Leysdown-on-Sea, ME12 4QB
Hours: Mo-Fr 10:00-21:00; Sa-Su 09:00-22:00
Phone: +44 1795 511080
Playtime Amusements
ArcadeRun by Cain's Amusements
Playtime Amusements is Arcade run by Cain's Amusements on 36-38 The Promenade, Leysdown-on-Sea. Playtime Amusements also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Su 12:00-18:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
36-38 The Promenade, Leysdown-on-Sea, ME12 4QB
Hours: Mo-Su 12:00-18:00
Phone: +44 1795 510357
Cain's Family Amusements
Arcade
Cain's Family Amusements is Arcade on 11 Neptune Terrace, Sheerness. Cain's Family Amusements also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Su 10:00-23:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
11 Neptune Terrace, Sheerness, ME12 2AW
Hours: Mo-Su 10:00-23:00
Phone: +44 1795 662037
Cain Amusements
Arcade
Cain Amusements is Arcade on Ethelbert Crescent, Margate. Cain Amusements also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as 24/7; it has a website with more detail.
Ethelbert Crescent, Margate, CT9 2DY
Hours: 24/7
Margate Amusements
Arcade
Margate Amusements is Arcade on Marine Terrace, Margate.
Marine Terrace, Margate
Hook a Duck
Arcade
Hook a Duck — Arcade.
iFun
Arcade
iFun — Arcade. Also worth knowing about iFun: the map lists its hours as Mo-Su 09:00-21:00; it has a website with more detail.
Hours: Mo-Su 09:00-21:00
Cains Amusements
Arcade
Cains Amusements is Arcade.
Broadstairs Leisure
Arcade
Broadstairs Leisure — Arcade, found on 4 Harbour Street in Broadstairs.
4 Harbour Street, Broadstairs
Tivoli Amusements
Arcade
Tivoli Amusements — Arcade.
Margate
Coin Castle Amusements
ArcadeRun by Cain's Amusements
Run by Cain's Amusements, Coin Castle Amusements is Arcade, found on 21 The Promenade in Leysdown-on-Sea. Also worth knowing about Coin Castle Amusements: the map lists its hours as Mo-Su 12:00-18:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
21 The Promenade, Leysdown-on-Sea, ME12 4PX
Hours: Mo-Su 12:00-18:00
Phone: +44 1795 511678
Rivals Social
Arcade
Rivals Social — Arcade, found on 4A Simmonds Road in Canterbury. Also worth knowing about Rivals Social: the map lists its hours as Mo-Su 09:00-23:00; it has a website with more detail.
4A Simmonds Road, Canterbury, CT1 3RA
Hours: Mo-Su 09:00-23:00
Bensons Amusement Centre
Arcade
Bensons Amusement Centre is Arcade on 91 High Street, Gillingham.
91 High Street, Gillingham, ME7 1BL
Funtopia
Arcade
Funtopia — Arcade.
What the map tells us about arcades in Canterbury
9 of the 32 list their opening hours on the map, which is genuinely useful — arcades keep long hours, so the listed times are usually good.
10 have websites listed. Worth a look for tournament nights and free-play evenings.
There's a cluster: 2 of them sit on Marine Terrace, so you can string those into one walk and drive between the rest.
10 arcades list websites — worth a look for opening times and whether they run leagues or tournament nights.
The Canterbury arcade run
Making a day of it in Canterbury? Work this order: Pier View Amusement Arcade on 71 Beach Street, Down the Coast Amusements, Amusement Park, Arcade, Sidequest on 1 Sturry Road, Astro City Amusements on 2c Southchurch Road, Fantasia, and Happidrome on 52 Marine Parade. That's the arcade run in one sensible loop, no backtracking. 24 more are listed below.
Arcade tips for Canterbury
The regulars' rules for Canterbury's arcades:
- Eat before the big session at Pier View Amusement Arcade. Arcade food is priced for captives. Eat properly beforehand and save the budget for games.
- Learn one game deeply at Down the Coast Amusements. Regulars pick a machine and master it. Chasing high scores on one game beats dabbling across twenty.
- Comfortable shoes. You'll stand for hours. This is not the outing for new boots.
- Nudge (gently). Pinball machines tolerate nudging; they tilt at abuse. Learn the line and your scores double.
Good to know
We searched about 40 km around Canterbury — that covers the town itself plus the surrounding communities you'd reasonably drive to. Listings come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by local volunteers, so a brand-new arcade in Canterbury can take a while to appear. Spotted a closure among the 32, or a arcade we missed entirely? The map is the source of truth here — one OpenStreetMap edit corrects it for everyone.
We don't list machine lineups — they change too often. What we list is the where: real venues, verified by real mappers.
If you run one of the 32 listed here and something's wrong — a closure, a move, new hours — the fix is the same: update the shop on OpenStreetMap and the correction flows through to this page on the next daily refresh.
Arcade listings for Canterbury: 32 mapped from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Photos from Wikimedia Commons contributors; individual photo credits appear in captions. Listing data was last refreshed automatically — verify hours before visiting.