Britannia Pier Amusement Arcade Great Yarmouth

Newly updated info for the exciting 2025 upgrade and renovations! 

Britannia Pier has recently undergone an impressive transformation. While the pier has always offered a strong range of attractions and amenities, the arcades have seen some of the most notable improvements, elevating the overall experience of this vibrant entertainment hub. 

Visitors can now enjoy a vast, lofty amusement arcade, with a distinctive new brand/logo and a completely revamped pier front façade. This features two striking architectural towers and elegant signage that glows beautifully at night. A site to behold and a great welcome to visitors approaching on foot from Regent Road. 

The new arcade space boasts rows of impressive modern arcade machines, from the latest ticket redemption games to brand-new claw machines and fairground-style games. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves! 

For those who’ve never visited (or need a refresher), here’s our updated review listing of Britannia Pier Amusement Arcade, now featuring info on the exciting new additions added for the summer 2025 season: The iconic Britannia Pier has been a cornerstone of Great Yarmouth’s tourism industry since the early 1900s.

Located at the pedestrianised end of Regent Road, where it meets Marine Parade, it stands as the first major attraction many visitors encounter when arriving on foot from the town centre or train station. 

The sweeping view of the wide beach beside the pier is exciting and Great Yarmouth’s blend of scenic coastal beauty and classic Victorian architecture has been sympathetically enhanced over the decades.  

The Britannia Pier arcade is located at the widest part of the Great Yarmouth tourist beach meaning that it occupies a large amount of square footage and has a great range of different attractions for all the family. The pier boasts two amusement arcades, bar/restaurants, rides and even a theatre. There is a traditional fish & chip shop & restaurant, burger bar and many other food kiosks serving a range of seaside staples and tasty treats. 

The entire pier complex is free to enter and has a lot to offer the entire family for both daytime and evening entertainment. Our review will focus on the (newly renovated) upper and lower amusement arcades. 

Amusement Arcade Lower 

Facing Britannia Pier, visitors are greeted by the Pier Tavern on the left side, a range of food vendors on the right side, and a wide staircase heading down to the lower arcade next to the central walkway. 

Heading down to the lower amusement arcade, it feels like a traditional seaside amusement arcade with cosy décor, coloured carpets and doors that exit onto the beach at the rear. It has a wide range of different arcade machines, perfect for the whole family. While there used to be an adult casino slots area down here, this has now been removed and is currently being replaced with even more family-friendly machines. However, there is still a great range of £5 jackpot fruit machines.

They have a fun range of tuppenny coin pushers with great shelf prizes with some of the pushers paying out ticket wins. There are also many larger fairground-style machines that pay out tickets and also classic arcade racing machines and shooting games.

There is a change kiosk next to the entrance stairway and a small display cabinet with a limited range of ticket redemption prizes in it. It’s a subtle invitation for visitors to explore the upper amusement arcade and with the recent transformation, arcade fans would be missing out if they didn’t.

A standout of the lower arcade venue is the row of Pac-Mac Ball upright 2p coin pusher from Namco. These are a fantastic addition to any arcade and really do offer great entertainment that blends the traditional fun of a coin pusher with the bright lights of a fruit machine all for just two pence per play!

Amusement Arcade Upper

This is where the biggest upgrades have taken place in 2025!

Entrance Area

Beyond the lower arcade stairs and Krispies Fish and Chips, visitors are welcomed by a spacious internal walkway featuring high ceilings and a large viewing window at one end. The right-side wall comes alive with a vibrant line-up of modern, Asian-style claw machines with large upper displays that stretch to the ceiling.

This space offers a great teaser for the main arcade, featuring rows of Colourmix claw machines, new Skill Cut-style games, a large ‘Find-a-Key’ array, and kid-friendly half-sized grabbers. Modern rotating machines (similar to Winfall Revolution) include Ferris Wheel and Castle Party 2.

New Large Atrium Area

Where the sideshows and Camel Racer once stood, there is now a lofty, expansive closed-roof atrium. Styled in red and white to match the new Britannia Pier branding, it features classic arcade carpets and large south-facing windows. On the south side, a doorway opens onto the original outdoor boardwalk, where visitors can enjoy coastal views, head down to the beach and promenade, or continue further along the pier.

The large atrium seamlessly connects to the original upper amusement arcade, marked by a drop in ceiling height and the familiar prize shop at the rear. With the arcade now so expansive, we’ll break down our review into the usual sub-sections for clarity.

Coin Pushers

Britannia Pier Arcade already offered a strong selection of well-stocked coin pushers and now, that range has grown to include more of the latest machines.

Classic ticket pushers include Clockwork Orange, Simpsons Donut Daze, Snakes and Ladders, Justice League and Tom & Jerry. The original arcade area still has a nice line-up of ticket coin pushers including Pac-Man, Space Invaders and Monopoly Gold.

There are also two brand new closed-loop pushers called Hoops Mania and Family Tumbler offering a new exciting ticket-winning experience.

Claw Machines

It’s not just the entranceway that has impressive claw machines; there are even more new grabbers to be found dotted around the venue. From half-sized Toy Cube-style machines to larger stacks of modern Asian-style machines there is an impressive range including all the classic Elaut machines that were already present.

Fairground Games

Whilst Britannia Pier already had a great line-up of fairground games, they now have even more, and fans of the fun fair will love the large Axe Master game. Along the back wall are even more fairground-style games and these include classics such as Coconut Shy, Hit the Clown and a four-player Derby Days game, which is likely a nod to the traditional camel racer that once sat as a sideshow before the upgrades.

Classic Arcade Games

There is no shortage of classic arcade machines in the Britannia Arcade and these include arcade racing games such as Super Bikes 3 and NFS Heat, arcade shooting games such as Jurassic Park by Raw Thrills, Chick-a-boom and Nerf Arcade, and a couple of boxing punch machines located outside the exits. There is also a modern Pac-Man air hockey table in Long Johns bar, which is different to Pac-Man Smash. The original section of the upper arcade still boasts many great machines that were present before the upgrades including Demolition King. 

Wheel Spinners

Several exciting wheel spinners have been added to the line-up for 2025 and these all pay out ticket wins. These include a triple-row ‘Fun Wheel’ with a bonus of over 1500 tickets! There is also a standalone Gold Ball spinner and a two-player Bonus Match.

High Striker

Perhaps the most impressive addition to the 2025 line-up is the colossal two-player Hi-Striker game, which is a modern version of the classic fairground high striker game. Beat high scores to win ticket prizes!

£5 jackpot Fruit Machines

As mentioned earlier, the lower ground arcade is still home to many Cat-D fruit machines including several Monopoly fruit machines and Deal or No Deal variants. This isn’t the only place where visitors can discover them and arcade explorers will find more in the area where the atrium meets the original building, with several triple rows including Party Time and also a fun little Golden Keys retro classic. Don’t forget to check out Long Johns bar as there may also be some fun surprises in there too!

Casino Slots Lounge

The new adult gaming area is spacious and located near the entrance of the new atrium on the left side. In here, players can find a great range of the latest casino gaming digital slots terminals including machines from Blueprint Gaming and Light & Wonder with machines ranging from £25 to £100 to £500 jackpots!

There are also some modern mechanical fruit machines with big jackpots in this section so fans of the classics will also love playing in here. They include a sit-down Party Time quad and triple-row Bar X Super Bullion and some £100 jackpot T7 machines.

Just outside the casino area, there is also a row of Zingy Skill Ball machines with £50 jackpots to enjoy.

Outside Area 

The Britannia Theatre is located at the rear of the pier and can be fully walked around by visitors, offering views of the surrounding attractions. At the end of the pier, a range of amusement park rides for both children and adults can be found. 

Along the walk around the pier, various sideshow areas feature attractions such as the classic water shooting game, a Mario Kart race track for children, and several arcade sections with rows of Elaut claw machines, basketball shooting games, and a full-sized Pac-Man Smash air hockey table.

As with all our arcade reviews, this isn't a full list - there are plenty more exciting arcade machines to be discovered by arcade adventurers. So come along and see if your favourites are here, or stumble upon a new hidden gem!

Venue Verdict

The Britannia Pier Arcade has been transformed into a fully comprehensive entertainment venue. The recent upgrades to both the arcade and wider pier have created a seamless flow between attractions and encourage visitors to explore everything on offer, right through to the end of the pier. Britannia Pier now stands confidently on par with Wellington Pier, and together, these two iconic landmarks rise well above the regular amusement arcades along Great Yarmouth’s Golden Mile.

With Britannia Pier now confidently anchoring the north end, Wellington Pier centrally located, and the Pleasure Beach drawing crowds at the south end, Great Yarmouth’s seafront is fast becoming a serious contender to Blackpool. Thanks to extensive renovations both within the piers and across the wider seafront area, this destination is truly on the rise, which is reflected in our upgraded score below.