On the pricy side but when we miss Japan, we always come back. Keep kids happy with claw machine. 99 cent ice cream is a plus. They have bowling, pool table, kids zone, arcade, snacks, alcohol, and claw machine. read more

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This place is cool! It's huge and so many different things to do from arcade games, bowling, karaoke, several claw machines, and a big jungle gym play area for toddlers and little kids. We threw our 5 year old's bday party here in the jungle gym area. We got the whole upstairs dining area to ourselves, which was awesome. Had about 25 guest and the dining area was nice and spacious. Our designated party planners were great, they did the best they could with what they got. A lot of back and forth with the drinks as they only give you one pitcher of water and 2 pitchers of pop. The drinks were unlimited with the party package but the kitchen was far from the play area so it took a while to get it refilled. The kids had a great time. Unlike other jungle gym places though , they didn't allow kids older than 12 to go up the slides and play areas. If your kid does get stuck then they said it was okay to go in there. They do kick you out after your allotted time. So if your party is only there for 3 hours, you have to vacate the party area after that. You can still go outside the kiddie area and press your luck to try to win a prize at the claw machines. They have lots of cute plushy items to choose from. It's kinda like a Dave N Busters but with way more stuff to do. Located inside Gurnee Mills Mall but they have their own entrance from the parking lot. read more

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The only reason I continue to give you my business is because you're the only place in the area where you can have all-in-one fun and stay open past midnight. But after my recent experience, I understand why your place stays empty. The staff at the counters were rude and unprofessional. Even though they're young, that doesn't excuse the lack of customer service or service-recovery skills. Management wasn't any better -- completely unhelpful. You would think that after spending over $75 on bowling with pins that barely fall, and on overpriced, reheated food, I wouldn't be denied something as simple as a courtesy cup of water. After bowling nonstop for 120 minutes, I went to the counter where plastic cups were sitting out and politely asked for one. You would have thought I asked to bowl for free all night based on the stares and attitudes I received. When I asked management why I couldn't have a cup of water, I was told it was "against policy." So I can spend my money in your facility, get ripped off on games and food, but I can't even get a drink of water without paying for it? And companies wonder why their stores continue to perform poorly. How disappointing. read more

PUNKED?! Sadly going to spend our fun money elsewhere. Today we went and more than half of the crane game prizes were replaced with things that could be bought from a DOLLAR STORE - sponges, off brand sandwich bags, baby wipes, tissue box, cheap ramen, Gatorade, mini pretzels, etc. WTH? Who is going to pay $5 plus to win one $1 Ramen I could but a block over? It's beyond me how they thought this would be a good move. My family and I came here once a month and spent a lot of money on the games. The food was overpriced and ick. read more

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Imagine being isolated for 9 weeks in Great Lakes, IL w only your own thoughts and NO phone access to the outside world, where you were shaped and disciplined... and after those 9 weeks you then emerge into Round 1 at Gurnee Mills, a flashing, beeping wonderland where claw machines whisper, "You could win that plushie... or lose your dignity trying." It's a mini Vegas for kids and parents who've given up on budgeting. For $55, you get a game card and a reusable Jujutsu Kaisen cup, bc hydration is important when you're sweating over claw machines!! My kids won a few cool prizes from here!! Btw, there's also a bowling alley (which we didn't have time to check out). If you're ready to trade your post-isolation sanity for flashing lights, anime merch, and the sweet sound of arcade victory (or defeat), Round 1 is your spiritual awakening!!! Splurge a little, you deserve it!!! read more

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Claw machines are more rigged than they usually are. Claw lowered around the plush and went back up without even attempting to grab. Group of 10 rotating on four machines so no one else could play them. Save your money and just go somewhere else. read more

Finally got a chance to visit this new Round1 location in Gurnee! I was surprised to see the huge kid zone area, so there's definitely more for the kids to do here. The space can seem a bit intimidating in size, but once you get the lay of the land, it's easy to navigate around. It's a great place to dump several of your hours and maybe several more of your dollars. It was shockingly easy to lose 5+ hours during my visit. A couple of the downsides: We went in the evening on a Saturday, so obviously, there were a ton of people and children. Even fully staffed, you'd expect some kind of delays in service. However, we ended up waiting 40+ min for our food orders which were simple orders of burgers and fries. Orders came out of the kitchen extremely slow and, when they did, they never came with the drinks ordered, so you were trapped there for another 5 min trying to catch someone's attention to get your drink. Additionally, I wish there were more actual video games. There were plenty of UFO catchers, the usual Chuck E Cheese type ticket games and like a weirdly large amount of those coin/marble pusher games that I do enjoy, but I wanted some more regular video games. Round1 is a Japanese store chain, so I was hoping to see some more Japanese arcade games. If I had to make recommendations to people visiting, if you're over the age of 21, come by around 9pm. There's a 10pm curfew for those under 18 and a midnight curfew for those under 21. It gets a lot less hectic in there once those curfews kick in. read more

Caution to anyone going here: this is a dishonest, petty and desperate business actively committing fraud. After spending $228 over two visits, I attempted to redeem my points for a Nintendo Switch 2 controller. After 10 minutes of what felt like a criminal investigation conducted by a 20 year old manager, I was told my game card had patterns of "unfair play." The manager could not elaborate on how my play was unfair and refused to award me the prize I had rightfully earned. DO NOT SPEND YOUR MONEY HERE; LET THIS DISHONEST BUSINESS FAIL. read more

Round1 Bowling & Arcade is a really fun experience. It's brand new, refreshed and remodeled and took over part of the old Sears Grand. This is like a Dave & Busters/Gameworks with a focus on Japanese games/prizes. There's a ton to do for people of all ages - there is a quick service restaurant inside, arcade games, video games and bowling lanes. I personally really liked the mini claw machines with small prizes inside - they're actually winnable which is surprising for this game lol. The prices are comparable to your average Dave & Busters location. It's definitely worth a visit, especially since it's brand new. read more

Round1 Bowling & Arcade - Entrance in the Gurnee Mills Mall - Arcades Near Me - Gurnee, Illinois

Really wanted to love this place cause they are awesome in Japan. Unfortunately it's not the same experience. I was looking forward to winning some plushies but they're totally rigged. The claws are weak. The other games are cool and I'm sure bowling is fun. But the big draw for me was the toy claw machines and I was extremely disappointed. read more

Round 1 Bowling & Arcade was fun! We went here for my boyfriend's birthday. We played a game of bowling and then pool. It was fun and very affordable. During the bowling game, they had a surprise lightning round, which involved all lanes participating, and it was fun. We enjoyed our Icees. They do have food here, but we were going to eat afterwards, so we did not buy any food. I noticed a few things - a bounce house/jumping gym for smaller kids. Of course, there is an arcade with games. For a date night, we had a really fun experience. read more

Pool tables are garbage for $18 an hour???? Insanely overpriced. Avoid this place at all costs

New, big with a lot of arcades. We were able to try bowling out too and it was great as well. read more

Round1 Bowling & Arcade - Arcades Near Me - Gurnee, Illinois

i spent all my money here on anime figures. the food is good, service is kind and help when games are being awful. ambiance is ok, its a bit loud but really fun and i spent every dollar i have. read more

Poor management, terrible customer service. We came in today, 7 of us to play some games. The bar was closed because apparently they forgot to renew their liquor license. The security was harassing us about our water bottles. The ping pong area did not have a table or sufficient seating to accommodate people renting them. We moved a small table from 10 feet away, the adjacent billiards area and the manager along with five guys came to get the table back. He literally interrupted our game, and said he needs the table back. When tried to reason with him, pointing out that there are 7 of us and we rented both ping pong tables, we bought food and have nowhere to sit or put our stuff, the billiards didn't have anyone to use this table, he didn't care. His response was "this is how my company wants to run things". I mean we are paying customers. Has he not heard of customer service? This is bad customer service, I let him know (in case he didn't know). Seriously, who does that?? Coming in, interrupting our fun game (while our rental time is ticking) and getting the table and chairs from under us?? This is not just bad customer service, this is bad manners. Left very bad impression of this whole experiences I don't think we'd be coming back. Would not recommend this place. read more

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I brought my toddler thinking I could purchase my own ticket if need be, but was told an adult fee is included with the child price as minors must be accompanied by an adult. Makes sense! But then we start playing and I was scolded by an employee as apparently nobody over 18 is actually allowed on the playground?!So a playground that is not family friendly?To bad...I will not be returning and will make sure all other parents know not to waste their time if they expect to actually play with their kids. Bowling and arcade look like they could be fun? Hopefully there isnt an age restriction on those as well! read more

Great place to spend a day. There's arcade machines, claw machines, bowling and you can grab food and drinks. read more

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This place is awesome !!!! So many cool people food and drinks. Lobe the winning vibe and Alan was super nice !!! All time favorite round 1's by far !! So thankful to have such great staff and team !!! Godbless Round 1 read more

Round1 Bowling & Arcade - Great plushies - Arcades Near Me - Gurnee, Illinois

Kids play area- super clean, but where the seats are you can't see your kids so you end up standing the whole time. Would love seating more centrally located so I can keep an eye on my kids. It's a little boring for adults. It would be cool if they put some games or something in there since there are no adults allowed in the climbing structure, even if your child is too little to do them alone. They do have a tiny toddler type area, but it would be tough for kids who want to do the bigger areas but need help. Most places allow you to help your younger child, here they don't. It is a huge area with a lot to do and my 9 and 13 year old had an awesome time. Just some areas to think about improving. read more

Round1 Bowling & Arcade - Obstacle course - Arcades Near Me - Gurnee, Illinois

First of all, Me and my friend were waiting in line to order our 99 cent ice cream, and the worker (did not catch his name but he was around 5'8, dark skin, coily hair, and to me, seemed gay. he was working January 11 2026 and the time this happened was around 7:30 pm) gave me and my friend so much attitude, first of all, we asked what flavors they had because the sign was covering most of them and we didn't want to be rude and move the sign, so we asked. He said in words like this not exactly the same because I can't really remember "if you guys look at my menu you can see the flavors we have." Then started listing out the flavors, so me and my friend didn't want any problems so we just said "ok" and payed. He postponed our order even tho we ordered before other people and didn't serve us until we were the last ones waiting, we were obviously mad because we wanted out ice cream so it really pissed us off. After, he put the wrong order in, mind you we ordered 2 cookies and cream, and one sorbet something I can't remember the name of, also forgot to mention my brother was with us, so he finally gives us our order but it was wrong, so we tell him and he tries to start problems by saying "no you guys ordered this blah blah blah" and I told him "no, we did not order this." He then said "yes you guys did you guys said 1 mint chocolate chip and 2 cookies and cream" I said " but then we changed the flavor because we said the wrong one and you said ok" " and he was just yapping about how we didn't and did do this and that and it was just really getting me mad because me, my friend, and my brother, are all 3 minors. No adult should be giving minors attitude like that unless they gave it to you first. You guys don't know how hard I held myself back to not punch him. 2 stars because the ice cream was good. Overall the setting was very bad, the place itself isn't that bad, but that man will catch these hands if he wants to play in my face again. Clock it read more

The food is not good and overpriced, the staffing is low so wait times to order take forever the over all ambiance is good and the facilities are clean but I would not come back here again honestly. I did have a good time but I could get better service and more affordable food faster at many other places in the area. Overall below average. It's most likely that myself and my family and friends will not be coming back. read more

After going over the rules and paying $25.00 for my 3-year-old son to play in the KIDS ZONE the "manager" Dimitri told me the play area is for children only. I advised Dimitri that I lost sight of my 3-year-old son and was looking for him. (The design of the KIDS ZONE is 3 stories tall making some areas impossible to view the child.) I entered the first floor entry level to look around the slide to see if I could find my 3 year old son. Dimitri told me the play area is only for kids. I advised Dimitri I lost sight of my son and I was attempting to locate him. Round1 has NO child security checks when leaving the area and NO secure door when leaving the area. This location is located in a large mall and has NO security anywhere to be seen. Dimitri again told me to leave the kids zone or he will call the police. I advised him again I can't find my sone and I am not leaving until I find him. Dimitri called the Gurnee police and had me and my son removed from the property. I asked for any paperwork or rules that I had broken as I was told by the person when I entered told me that my son must be accompanied by an adult at all times. The "manager" Dimitri obviously has no children and has no idea what it feels like to lose sight of your 3-year-old son in a large play area. Dimitri did nothing to help me locate my son and only continued to say the area is for Kids only. Even though Round1 rules state "Parents are PROHIBITED from leaving the kids play zone area without participants" I asked Dimitri for a refund, and he advised their policy is no refunds. I wish I would have read the other YELP reviews before visiting this Round1 read more

Best round one that we have been to. Something for everyone, play area for kids, pool tables, bowling and many many video games. They had an extensive menu, we didn't try anything this trip. Plenty of employees offered great service, the inside of was beautifully laid out and bathrooms were pristine! read more

Pretty cool, spacious, and has some fun things to do. Decent, and I hope it has great business in the Gurnee area as I hope for any arcade. It was pretty busy so I assume it will be fine read more

my best friend was yelled for no reason at by the worst female bartender yesterday night. that bartender claimed that my friend snatched her ID from her hand, even though it was thrown back at her. terrible experience, terrible management, and terrible drinks. 0/10 never going here again. do better. read more

Was just there on Saturday morning right at opening. At least 25% of the machine had nothing in them. Several other machines were not setup correctly making them unwinnable. For being a new location they need to step up their game. You would think this was. 10 year old small market arcade. Very disappointed. read more

Went twice and had a negative experience both times, food is overpriced, staff hates the manager he's a little prick, no wonder it's always empty. Uninviting environment. read more

went here to celebrate my friends birthday. it was so much fun and i was pleasantly surprised. great selection of games, all of them were working and were clean, had a bowling alley, kids play area, resturant and bar, and also a huge claw machine area as well. we ended up winning a good amount of prizes from them including a giant kirby which we were thrilled about. the staff was very welcoming and professional. i would come back here for sure, you just have to be willing to spend a little bit of money but it was a blast! 10/10 read more

The place pretty fun but if you come here trying to eat. DONT. The wait was ridiculous for everyone around us . We waited right in front of the order counter for almost an hour, in front of the guy that took our order and come to find out an hour after waiting. Our ticket never printed . We only order a piece of pizza and a salad. There was another guy waiting next to us, waited 45 min just for some cheese fries. Ridiculous. Eat before you come . Other than that it was fun. read more

The games where good and so was the environment but the only thing I have to say is, the prices are too expensive on each game compared to the $ to points ratio I suggest they lower the game point prices by a bit or give more per dollar. Give more points or lower the prices it's too high for kids and teens just to have fun with friends. read more

awesome job dude! my kids loved it!!! yall killed it on the food #sogood #definetlycomingagain #americandream

Round 1 costumer service horrible I don't recommend coming to this location specially if the employee Karen is on the job she has a horrible attitude instead of saying can you please turn the screen she told me turn the screen don't you see what it says also when we left another employee name quen was very rude it looked like she hates her job or just don't wanna be there when I went to turn in the billiards balls back she told me where's the billiards table number card at? I told her I think I lost it she gonna tell me well go find it so I went to look for it and ended up finding it gave it to her mind it when I first came up to her I told her my name she gonna ask me again with a attitude what's your name I told her she gonna look at me with my id in her hand quiet I had to repeat my self again cause she didn't not want to give it to me it was like she thought I was lying about my name horrible experience not coming to this location ever again read more