Best and Worst UK Amusement Arcade Towns

If you have been to any seaside town in the United Kingdom, you will have seen the arcade's bright lights and flashing lights of the slots at the end of the pier. Plenty of loose change has been spent in these establishments over the years.

Then again, arcade attractions are not just found at the seaside. With millions of visits recorded yearly, around £850m is believed to contribute to the UK’s annual turnover both at the coast and in the cities.

Not only are arcades a significant contributor to the economy and the collective employer of 20,000 people within the industry, but they are also a place where people keep returning despite the online slot site options. Perhaps the Soft Toy Grabbers, Coin Pushers, Pinball Machines and Video Games are the main attraction

Top 5 UK Arcade Towns in the UK

Of course, it is not all about aiming to win more money than what you arrived with playing Rainbow Riches or some other slot machine or even winning a cuddly toy, it is also about having plenty of fun in the couple of hours that most people tend to spend on the premises.

Are some places more fun than others? That is the question that we have attempted to answer here at OLBG. By looking at the 50 most populated towns and cities within the UK, we aim to direct you to the places to go and, perhaps more importantly, the places to avoid. 

Newcastle

Top of the list is the city of Newcastle; the Tyneside location earned a score of 4.64 under our methodology and it did so thanks to impressive scores on both the Google and Yelp listings. Of the three that were recommended on Google, it was NQ64 Newcastle that rated the highest with a score of 4.8.

Such is the popularity of this particular arcade, that people typically spend as much as two and a half hours under its roof. Therefore, those who live near the River Tyne best make sure they bring plenty of change for their next trip unless they can get some free spins.

Glasgow

In second place is Glasgow and with the Scottish city ranking with an overall score of 4.51, it is just edged out by its Newcastle counterpart. Glasgow picked up the same Google average score as Newcastle at 4.53 but with the Yelp score only coming in at 4.43, it put a dent in the final tally.

Of those recommended on Google, it was R-CADE that ranked the highest. 508 reviews giving it an average score of 4.8 and for those who try their luck at the establishment, they usually stay there for at least an hour.

Plymouth

Rounding out the top three on our list is Plymouth. The Devon location chipped in with an overall score of 4.58 but ranked higher than both Newcastle and Glasgow when it came to Google review scores. However, some indifferent rankings on Yelp would prove to be Plymouth’s undoing.

With Vue Plymouth and Harrisons Amusements only getting 3.3 and 3.8 on Yelp respectively, this seemingly undid all the hard work that Boom Battle Bar Plymouth got after receiving an average 4.9 from more than over 1,000 separate reviews. 

Stoke-on-Trent

Fourth in the list is Stoke-on-Trent and it is only just edged out by Plymouth above. Disappointing considering it ranked 4.8 out of 5 on Google and a nod must go to GAMEGRID and Pixel Busters who picked up 4.9 respectively but it was reviews on Yelp that let the overall score down. 

Bolton

Rounding out the top five is the Lancashire town of Bolton. Known as the home of Peter Kay, it is also the home of some rather decent arcades. Game Vaults 4.7 rating comes from 28 out of 32 reviewers, giving it the maximum five stars on Google. 

Birmingham

In sixth it is Birmingham and the hub of the West Midlands sits just behind Bolton with a score of 4.42. With a respectable average of 4.4 being recorded via Google reviews, there was also an average of 4.47 on Yelp – this being the second highest top 10 Yelp score behind Newcastle’s 4.97. 

The Bottom 5 Arcade Towns in the UK

Of course, with any data sample there are always going to be winners and losers and with the top 5 already revealed, it is now time to also reveal the five destinations where the arcades could do with perhaps being unplugged.

Coventry

Ranked 46th out of the 50 towns and cities where arcade quality was analysed, it is Coventry who start of the bottom five. With a Google average of 4.17 and a Yelp average of 3.84, the overall weighted average came in at 3.84.

Aberdeen 

Just a touch more than that of Aberdeen which finds itself sitting below. A score of 4.10 on Google showed some promise but the Scottish city was then let down by Yelp scores of just 2.67 – the second worse on the list, to eventually record just 3.74 overall.

Dundee

Joint-second worst on our list is Dundee and the main reason for this is thanks to such a poor average on Yelp. With Yelp averages making up 25% of the total score, Dundee will be glad it was not 100% as an average of just 2.33 was recorded on the platform. 

Warrington

Sharing that accolade of joint-second worst arcade town or city is Warrington. The Cheshire location may be better known for Premier League footballers staying in rather large houses and because of this, a trip to the arcades is often overlooked. With just a 3.80 rating on Google you can understand why. 

Portsmouth 

Last in our list is Portsmouth and although the Hampshire town is a popular destination for cruises to depart from, it seems as if customers are also departing their arcades. With a ranking of 3.60, Portsmouth has the lowest score of all the top 50 populated cities and towns in the UK.

Methodology

Took the largest 100 cities and towns in the UK: - https://www.thegeographist.com/uk-cities-population-100/

Entered Arcades in (relevant city or town) into Google – recorded the top three review scores of the arcades and then averaged those.

Entered Arcades in (relevant city or town) into Yelp – recorded the top three review scores of the arcades and then averaged those.

Applied a 75% weight to Google and a 25% weight to Yelp to calculate the weighted average to give a final score. 

Data correct as of 2nd September 2024.