One of the best benefits of having kids is getting to be a kid yourself and Megazone is a great…read moreplace to do just that. I never understand when parents don't partake in childish activities - we even had a boys' birthday party here where a dad went INSIDE the warzone to just stand and watch. If you have no idea what all this is about, laserstrike is the preferred birthday party choice of boys (and some girls) aged 7 to 12 and probably older - we're not there yet. You rally your troops, divide them into two teams, tool up and go to war. There's an instruction video and staff on hand to help you get into your harness-thing. The harness-thing has light targets for your enemy to see and of course your laser gun. You then go run around in the dark shooting each other and the team with the most points wins. Most excellent entertainment - especially getting those kids that are, let's say, not your favourites. So ring up, book your group and they'll give you a room where you can do the food and cake thing along with two 20 minute game sessions. Get pizzas delivered and it's simple and fairly affordable as far as these things go. Just make sure you join in - it's bloody good exercise and wicked fun.

Laserstrike! You can do it here. What else do I need to say? Only that's it crazy good fun, and if…read moreyou're not totally exhausted by the end of it from running up and down ramps, hiding from the other team, and ambushing your opponents, you're not playing it right. This is one of the more fun laserstrike places I've been to, because it's got two floors, plenty of hiding spots and full on ATTACK music. They also give you an extremely serious briefing, which is pretty funny considering what a dork you look like when you put on the harness. Try and get a couple of groups together, it's more fun when you know the people you are playing with and against, not to mention it being a pretty good way of finding out who is a take-no-prisoners, no-mercy type, (yes, it's always the quiet one) and who is a big scardy cat.

Awesome team @ the CBD branch A++ would recommend highly special salute to Oshyun, who was…read morehelpful as cheers

In some ways Timezone have blurred the line between traditional arcade gaming and more of a…read morecarnival style of entertainment. Quiet a few of their games are more interactive than your button bashing joystick classics. Some being extremely physical. When you see somebody who is really good at the dance game you cannot help but stare, the combination of their lightning fast dance moves and the lights and sounds coming out of the game machine is really quite striking. In true carnival fashion, some of their games do not work through simulated graphics but are purely mechanical. There is a basketball game where you shoot hoops for prizes, and other kinds of strategy games which require real physical skill. I find that these more physically interactive games gives the place a a much more festive atmosphere. Go there if your're young or if you have young.

This is a great attraction for someone with kids (maybe 8-12 age range?)…read more I went on my own as an adult, because it was rainy and it seemed like a fun adventure. It was! As long as you remember this is a family-friendly experience, and don't set the bar too high, you'll enjoy it. It starts with some lighted tunnels, a dark "jungle room," and another with a "haunted" theme. My favorite was the hall of mirrors. Such a cool effect! There's a balloon room and a walkway covered in pool noodles. It's light-hearted fun. It isn't the best way to spend $20 as an adult, but I don't have regrets. For kids, it's a great idea.

A super fun way to spend half an hour or so. Great for kids and adults. Feel your way through an…read moreodyssey of senses. Very cool visuals and illusions and a dark room forest. Not for the faint of heart or those who panic easily but it's a super fun activity. Spend your time in there and Don't rush it and you'll feel like you got your money's worth. Adults $19.50. Child $15,50. Family pass $60. Students $17.50. Second go only extra $5. In the same complex there is mini golf, arcades, a cool bowling alley that allows over 18s for drink (bonus) and I believe there is paintball and other activities too. A food court is in the building and aotea square is right outside. A vibrant party central complex for all ages.

Please don't judge me for this review. My significant other is mad on Warhammer (for those of you…read morenot in the know this is a sorta strategic war game using models as board pieces). I for one had never heard of it until we started dating but as they say there is a niche for everything, and Games Workshop caters for one of these. The store itself purveys wares related to games, collectibles and models with a special focus on Warhammer 40 K. The guys who work here at super knowledgeable, friendly and always trying to get you involved in store events (I prefer to be a silent supporter who is 'allowed' to help paint the models every once in a while) What's cool about this place is how it functions as a social club, there are tutorials and workshops held often and people are encouraged to meet up with their mates and challenge each other on the terrain which is available in-store. Perhaps my favourite thing about Games Workshop though is that it's right next door to some of my favourite shops on queen street, so it is more than easy to do the whole extraction mission without my partner even noticing I have gone.

Another example of the Imax complex trying to do too much and achieving too little. Having failed…read moreat being a great movie house and a great foodcourt, they've also had a go at being a great arcade. And like the previous examples, this is not the end result. A predictable range of games, in a haphazard layout. The same problem that the rest of the Imax building suffers - you cannot find your way around anywhere. How do I get into the arcade? Not sure. Now that I've stumbled into it, how do I find the Dance Dance Revolution machine? Don't know. I'm sick of this place, how do I leave? Good luck, buddy. It's just ... it's just not that fun. And really, that's all this place needs to be. It's an arcade; its one purpose is to be entertaining. It's a shame.

Time Out is a video arcade underneath the large Sky City Cinema and above the Foodcourt, so you…read moreknow it's going to be full of coke-slurping, gum-smacking teenagers. They tried to funky the place up years ago with an organic alien textured wall but it still just seems to be a place for Crane Machines and Car Racing games. They slapped a pool table between games so watch your posterior. The worst part are the slumped, grunting staff members who look like they have been held back a few years from graduating to Popcorn Dispenser. They usually loll behind a plexi-glass booth to protect them from frenzied Street Fighter players. (Although if they aren't there, don't bother waiting around for them. Just accept the machine ate your $2 and move along.) Also the whole place sits in some weird dimension between the main floors, so more often than not you will find yourself back out on Queen St before finding it. But that's okay because any decent pub should have a pool table or pinball machine any way. Go find one.

I don't really get Next Level, but that's OK because I don't really think, other than the fact I…read moremight be away from home and need to print a document, that I'm part of their demographic. Their website says they sell electronics and are a print shop, as well as being a venue for playing high speed cyber games. The latter is definitely true, as there are rows of massive grunty looking computers lined up beneath posters of World of Warcraft etc, in the dark on a Tuesday afternoon. Yep this is definitely an internet cafe for gamers. You can even buy memberships, like a gym, so that instead of running on a treadmill each day, you can come in and pit your warlords against somebody else's dragons. Or something like that.

A group of friends and I went here for a birthday. All 8 of us twenty-something year olds had a a…read moreblast. Marlene and Ruan Odendaal, went above and beyond for us and even gave us loads of tokens for their arcade games afterwards. I can't stress enough how hospitable they were! The lasertag was pretty hilarious; there was a kid's birthday party going on and it was us 'oldies' versus them HAHA. They did mix it up a bit after the first game though so that was cool. I didn't realize that they had teles outside, so people were watching us while we were in there #embarassing haha. We paid $17 each for 4 games and by the end of it a lot of us were really hot, tired but satisfied. Was SO worth the money! Will definitely come here again!

The ultimate kids birthday party experience, bar none. Every North Shore child had a birthday party…read morehere at some stage, and it never got old. Like seriously, still epic at the age of 21. It's laser tag set in a kinda trippy spaceship-styled maze with cool dry ice effects and strobes and stuff. It'd be cool on acid I imagine. Anyway you get a laser gun and a vest each and shoot eachother. Paintball without the pain really. Everything's wired up to a scoring system so you get a readout at the end, and I figured out how to win at the age of 10 - you just hide under a ramp and shoot everyone that runs past. But nobody does that - you aimlessly run around yelling - much more fun. Grown ups can watch on the video screens from outside and chuckle at how manic the kids get. Their website also says they do team building. Wouldn't mind working for a company that sends their employees to Laser Force!

Come here for the bowling - not for the customer service or the food…read more Overpriced bar food that targets the children/family market - not alot else to expect from a bowling alley really. But you'd think they would try to offer something on their menu that didn't come from a frozen box. The bowling lanes are fine - they block every now and then and the gutters play up- but they work and are reasonably priced. They have a jukebox that plays the videos above the lanes - which is great if you like Ariana Grande dancing across your tenpins while you're trying to land a strike. The carpet glows in the dark which makes for easy fun with the kids if you're waiting. Which brings me to the main problem. The wait. We showed up on an easy going Thursday night around 7pm to be told a lane wouldn't be ready until 10pm for our group. Understandably we needed 2 lanes, but even when we dropped the numbers for one lane- we were advised "we should have booked ahead". Moral of the story - don't do drop bys here, they're 'popular' and probably wont be able to accommodate your spontaneity. We went across the road to Paradice Ice Skating instead.

Xtreme Entertainment has the best bowling lanes in almost all of Auckland. Not too narrow lanes,…read morethe score screens are easy to read, there's a great range of bowling balls to choose from, the seating is roomy and the music is generally good (not a small feat for a bowling place!). On Thursdays they do half price bowling, an awesome date night option or something fun to do after work with mates. There's an arcade aswell with a few staples such as Tekken and Time Crisis and a number of pool tables. The bar also does good deals on drinks and a Happy Hour- they even bring them to your bowling lane! They also have a selection of snacks you can order for the kids or to accompany that drinks of yours. I can't wait for this place to re-open looking bigger and even better. A great place for all ages!