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.

There's a saying that we get the politicians that we deserve and this is a truism like Pareto's…read moreprinciple; I mean just look at the bunch we have elected. It's the same truism for restaurants. I had the misfortune of eating in the fast food outlet here and it was very poor indeed. When I lifted a menu it was sticky with a dark tomato ketchup residue. The last time I found this lack of proper cleaning I was in a Nando's in Manchester. It's either carelessness or laziness. I then scanned the overhead display to buy the least offensive food and ended up with a kids chicken goujon meal, essentially breaded chicken & chips. It was under £4. The chips are 2 out of five and just poor. The chicken was zero out of 5 as it was just awful. Food hardly gets much cheaper than this factory-made rubbish. The meal came with a medium sized machine dispensed drink so I got Diet Coke. I also got an Americano that was alright so it is 3 out of 5. The saving grace was that they served Heinz tomato ketchup and proper HP sauce. Also the food portion was decent but I certainly didn't eat it all and the staff mega friendly. So overall it's only just a borderline 3 star as I'm in a good mood but I can say with confidence that I'll never eat in this place ever again.

This place is fun! Arcade games, bowling and cinema. What else do you want? #Legenderryread more

Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant !!! Theres very little for toddlers to do (in doors) in belfast and…read moreI'm sick of looking at Funky Monkeys. So I was delighted to know that this bowling place had small shoes for my daughters age group and also stands to help her play. They also put bumpers up for her!!!! She loved every minute of it and I would recommend this to any parent looking something different to do with there kids. Great family fun for the winter times that ticks every box, food, drink, games, music and of course bowling. :)

This brought me back to my childhood. I was taken bowling back home with my brother and my uncle…read morewhen I was little and my uncle told me all of the various ways that it was possible to get hurt in bowling, even telling me a story about a friend swinging the ball back and smashing someone in the face... Needless to say that was the last time I went bowling. I wasn't going to risk my life! I'm not stupid!.... But many years later, after getting over my fear of being hit with a bowling ball in the face, I went down during the day with my girlfriend. There was only a handful of people about so ask I broke into my stride and bowled a record score, there was no one else to witness it apart from my girlfriend who 'claims' it never happened... Never the less I won all three games! Upstairs is a wee arcade type area which is a great place to bring children, but can often attract the hoodlum crowd which seems to be drawn towards this sort of place. With food and drink available in the building as well, you are guaranteed to find something to give you pleasure... even if there is no one there to witness and confirm your record score

I wouldn't like to think about how much time I spent in her as a teen. It was where we'd go on a…read moreFriday night to play video games, pool, air hockey and eat our weight in chips. Oddly enough, we rarely went bowling though... I don't think the place has changed too much. There are just new teenagers hanging out in it now instead. In fact, I went bowling with my nieces a while ago, and the place literally looked exactly the same. However, despite the fact that it's run-down and maybe a bit irrelevant, I hope the Sportsbowl stays. It' a much a part of Glengormley as the Movie House, or the wonky Christmas tree!

The Sportsbowl is great for a family day out or just somewhere different to go with friends for a…read moregood laugh! As well as the glow in the dark bowling alley there is also a cafeteria area where you can grab a bite to eat. There is plenty of amusements to keep the little ones amused not to mention their go cart track which i wouldn't mind checking out myself as the kids all seem to love it! There is also an adults section with a variety of machines to keep the little kid in you entertained. Overall great for young and old alike! If you live local its worth trying out

Super, fantastic, joy, flashing lights, epileptic no go zone, noise, screaming kids, sirens, bandit…read moreland! This place really is an absolute joy if you are six years old but if you are any older and respect your sanity and ears then I would probably avoid it. Full of tuppeny nudgers, 10p a spin bandits and teddy bear scams I can not imagine that this is a land of fun for many parents. Sure if you have a jar of coppers and want to get rid of hem then head down to Funland. Despite my criticism of Funland, I do not think a visit to the seaside is complete without a popping in to Funland and squandering some money. You might even win a soft toy that will fall apart before you make it home. These seem to be a must for British seaside towns and Newcastle County Down is full of these types of arcades. Funland is a bout the best of a bad bunch as it has a wider variety of games and arcades. This place serves its purpose on a summers day of keeping the kids and local scallywags away from the mountains and Beach and gifting parents and the older generation some peace and quite. If you read this you would think I was 53 not 23 but I am old at heart!

If you enjoy a wee gamble and a wee go on the gambling machines then you have probably called in…read morehere but to be honest it isn't the best. The machines are all quite old and there aren't the higher stakes machines that a lot of people are looking for. The arcade itself is always a bit dingy and never all that clean. The staff are never really that helpful and there isn't the same friendly atmposphere as there is in the likes of the Twilight Zone. Its location just beside the bus stop is handy enough but if you are going to gamble in a place like this you can probably do with giving it a miss.