What is that makes these annoying amusement arcades so darn alluring?! Walking by Palladium…read moreearlier, I barely batted an eyelid. That is, until I spotted the 2p machine. Looking all lonesome and unoccupied. And I was in, darn it. With my three 2ps, which were naturally gone within seconds. Scouring the room, I noticed a variety of different 2p and 10p machines, plus a lovely little machine which offers to transfer your larger coins into 10ps. How nice of it. Armed with my ten 10ps, I dashed to the nearest machine and stuck the first coin in. Out popped a wealth of 10ps...first time lucky or what?! Ha, well within five minutes, the rest of those 10ps, plus the nine remaining from my pound had disappeared into oblivion. Isn't that always the way? Another pound later, and I was in exactly the same position, except a couple of pounds poorer. Fortunately, I knew it was time to stop, and so I avoided the second half of the arcade (18+ only, and given past circumstances, I would probably be ID-ed, and due to lack of ID, wouldn't have gotten awfully far anyway). If you have a couple of 2ps and happen to be walking past Palladium...BEWARE. That's all I'm saying.

I cant believe anyone would go into the Palladium without at least some vaccinations, the palladium…read morehas been around for years and years and used to be a proud amusement arcade that would attract families and kids on a seaside getaway but now it is run down and attracts the local teenagers planning no good. The facilities are not what they used to be, they have got a bit dated and I really think the Palladium is in need of a facelift. Maybe it is because I am from Bangor and therefore no longer see the novelty in this place. I am going to try and look at it from a tourists eyes for the rest of the review. Okay, so what does the Palladium have to offer? 18+ gaming, a few two penny nudgers, some teddy scams, sorry I mean teddy machines with the big claw and a few pool tables. I suppose if you are visiting a seaside town you expect to see this sort of place but it could portray itself in a much better light and with a lick of paint could rake in the summer time cash. One redeeming feature is definitely the staff who are always friendly and polite even if the customers are not.

Lisburn Bowl is the 1st 10-pin bowling alley in Ireland to offer BESX bowling, with the latest…read morestate of the art graphics. They offer a private function space with separate bowling lanes for up to 50 people, for parties/corporate events. There are some good food offers through their Pins restaurants, including: - 1 course & bowling for £9.99 - 2 courses & bowling for 12.99 - 3 courses & bowling 14.99 Food options include burgers, chicken strips, lasagne and it also has a fully licensed bar. In addition to the bowling, they have a good selection of arcade games & pool. It's a good wee spot for an evening with friends or to entertain the kids

This is a newly opened 18 lane bowling alley with a restaurant and bar area and a small but…read moreentertaining arcade area. It's really modern and is the first bowling centre in Ireland to offer the BESX bowling system which has lots of features, Games and huge quality art graphics. The arcade area has various ride on games, basketball shooting, Teddy grabbers, air hockey and pool. They also have computer rooms with loads of xbox's hooked up to flatscreens for birthday parties and private hire. Theres a simulator screen for football, golf etc but both times I've been it has not been on which is disappointing. The majority of the arcade games dispense tickets based on the number of points you score and these can then be taken to a prizes counter and depending on how many tickets you collect you can win anything from haribo to coffee mugs to skateboards and kids toys etc. The centre is situated beside the leisure centre, cinema and lots of different restaurants/cafes so there's plenty to entertain the kids and the adult kids too. Not a bad spot to spend a rainy day.

I recently was invited to some magical new fangled gathering (for me anyway) call a Lan party at…read morePONG. I discovered quite to my pleasure that this meant sitting around with a bunch of friends, playing computer games and digitally kicking each others arses in an all nighter at PONG. For the gaming nerd, this place is a god send. To my knowledge, this is only shop of its kind in Belfast. There was one in Cityside, before it became Cityside but that was a long time ago. At £20 for an all night session of online gaming adventures, get your spot cream and pot noodles ready (but please don't eat by the computers!)

This is a gamers' paradise. If you're into online gaming then this is the place for you. Regular…read moretournaments and all-nighters every 2-3 weeks ensure that this place has a strong following among the local youth. Prices start from £3 per hour, and £20 for the all-nighters. For me it's a good place to go print out things from the internet, as there's a lack of internet cafes in this area, and in Belfast as a whole for that matter.

Since my sister turned 18, she's been itching to do all the legal stuff, bless her. We've been to a…read morepub for a drink, and er, that's it really...but today she decided she wanted to go into an arcade, and this one was strictly over 18s, so that made it all the more exciting. Unfortunately, her dreams of 2p machines ("I'm soooo good at them Lynne") came to an abrupt end when we ventured into Pleasuredome. Apart from a couple of pool tables, there were only slot machines, and a few casino style games. Oh deary. I must admit, I was a bit gutted myself. What is an arcade without 2p machines? If you go to any decent amusement arcade in the likes of Portrush or Newcastle, there will always be plenty of 2p / 10p machines, simulation games, dance mats and the like, so this was ever so slightly disappointing. As my sister uttered on the way out (completely inadvertently), "I am not amused..." Amused...amusements, geddit?

I decided to take my nephews out today but before I took them out I thought to myself, what would…read morean 8 and 10 year old boy like to do? They seem to love computer games so I decided to take them somewhere as close to a computer game as possible. We ended up at Urban Assault or Laser Quest as us oldies call it. I called first thing this morning and was able to book four of us in for just after lunch. It cost £7 per person for a 40 minute session of laser fun! You had to share your session with strangers but this was fine as there were 14 in total and the space was easily able to cope with that many players. The space is made up of dark corners, barrels and windowed walls. It really does resemble a war zone! Each player is given a vest, sensors and a laser gun and the aim of the game is obviously to shoot the opposing team without being shot at. The great thins about Urban assault is that you don't run out of bullets and the guns keep individual scores. At the end of the session the staff take you in to the briefing room and ask who got the highest kills. I thought this was the only thing that could have been better - they could invest in trophies for the individual winners - especially for kids! Overall I really enjoyed it and got carried away within minutes of the game started.

No, not a club run by Belfast paramilitaries (of course since the ceasefire there are no…read moreparamilitaries), but a laser gun shooting type place for kids. And some sad adults who enjoy dressing up and pretending to be in the army. We have had several of the kids birthday parties here and have been really impressed. Mainly because the staff take over completely and organise the kids, shouting at them if necessary. Well, this is the army soldier. Now drop and give me ten. The kids love it as the first thing you do is go into a briefing room - this is the stage at which parents can opt out, although the waiting area is small with just a few vending machines for snacks. In the briefing room, one of the staff who will be dressed in army gear gives the kids all the rules and explains to them how to play the game. Then it's on to the uniform room to get kitted up. I'm sure there's a macho military name for this room - locker room? Kit room? Get your tough uniform on room? Then the kids are unleashed and will get about half an hour of good old running about shooting each other with lasers. It's quite dark in the combat zone so the minimum age is 6, but sensitive 6 or 7 year olds may not like it. The staff stay in this room too and the whole place is done out to be like an underground bunker, very atmospheric and military feeling. If you are taking a large group, you can book out the facility but if there are just a few of you, you just join in with whoever else is there. In theory this may mean that your 7 year old is playing against some crazed adult who is convinced he's in the army, so call and check who else is booked in when you are planning to go.