Arcades in Southend-on-Sea
Arcades are pure joy per dollar. Southend-on-Sea, Essex has 29 mapped right now. That's 29 arcades mapped around Southend-on-Sea. Machine condition varies wildly between venues, so the one with the best-maintained cabinets wins regardless of size. Off-peak hours mean shorter waits on the good machines and your pick of the racing seats.
This guide covers every arcade we could verify in and around Southend-on-Sea (within about 40 km), built from OpenStreetMap's community-maintained data. Names you'll run into include Boom Battle Bar and Gravity Active, plus Nickelodeon Adventure. If an arcade's missing from Southend-on-Sea's list, it probably just hasn't been mapped yet.
The Southend-on-Sea arcade lineup
29 mapped within about 40 km:
Boom Battle Bar
Arcade
Boom Battle Bar is Arcade on 106 Bond Street, Chelmsford. Boom Battle Bar also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Th 12:00-23:00; Fr,Sa 12:00-01:00, Su 12:00-23:00; it has a website with more detail.
106 Bond Street, Chelmsford, CM1 1GD
Hours: Mo-Th 12:00-23:00; Fr,Sa 12:00-01:00, Su 12:00-23:00
Gravity Active
Arcade
Gravity Active is Arcade on Rose Gallery, Greenhithe. Gravity Active also notes on the map: it has a website with more detail.
Rose Gallery, Greenhithe, DA9 9ST
Nickelodeon Adventure
Arcade
Nickelodeon Adventure is Arcade on West Thurrock Way, Grays. Nickelodeon Adventure also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Fr 10:00-15:00; Sa-Su 10:00-18:00; it has a website with more detail.
West Thurrock Way, Grays, RM20 2AD
Hours: Mo-Fr 10:00-15:00; Sa-Su 10:00-18:00
Laser Quest Romford
Arcade
Laser Quest Romford is Arcade on 57-59 High Street, Romford. Laser Quest Romford also notes on the map: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
57-59 High Street, Romford, RM1 1JL
Phone: +44 1708 579929
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.
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
Hook a Duck
Arcade
Hook a Duck — Arcade.
Sailor Boy Amusements
Arcade
Sailor Boy Amusements is 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.
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 Southend-on-Sea
10 of the 29 list their opening hours on the map, which is genuinely useful — arcades keep long hours, so the listed times are usually good.
13 have websites listed. Worth a look for tournament nights and free-play evenings.
There's a cluster: 2 of them sit on The Promenade, so you can string those into one walk and drive between the rest.
13 arcades list websites — worth a look for opening times and whether they run leagues or tournament nights.
The Southend-on-Sea arcade run
Making a day of it in Southend-on-Sea? Work this order: Boom Battle Bar on 106 Bond Street, Gravity Active on Rose Gallery, Nickelodeon Adventure on West Thurrock Way, Laser Quest Romford on 57-59 High Street, Amusement Park, Arcade, Sidequest on 1 Sturry Road, and Astro City Amusements on 2c Southchurch Road. That's the arcade run in one sensible loop, no backtracking. 21 more are listed below.
Arcade tips for Southend-on-Sea
Hitting the arcades in Southend-on-Sea? Play smarter:
- Don't feed a broken machine at Boom Battle Bar. If it eats your credit without starting, tell staff immediately. Good venues refund; all venues should know.
- Check machine maintenance at Gravity Active. A venue that maintains its machines cares. Dead screens and sticky buttons are a review of the management.
- Pinball rewards regulars. Pinball tables have personalities and moods. Play the same table a few times and you'll start reading it.
- Ask about tournaments. Fighting game and pinball tournaments run weekly in many towns. Beginners are usually welcome and it's the fastest way to improve.
Good to know
We searched about 40 km around Southend-on-Sea — 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 Southend-on-Sea can take a while to appear. Spotted a closure among the 29, 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 29 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 Southend-on-Sea: 29 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.