Circus Circus Amusements Southend

Circus Circus Amusements is a large entertainment venue centrally located along the main pedestrian thoroughfare that takes visitors to the beach from Southend centre. The arcade venue used to be two separate venues called Sunspot Amusements and Mr R's, though now a single entertainment venue stretching the full length of the Olympia building.

Recently, the arcade has undergone a program of renovation and changed its name to Circus Circus. Visitors can experience the fantastic new signage that adorns the front of the building. With a nod to classic seaside/fairground signage of the past, the new design blends traditional seafront aesthetics with modern LED lighting. An impressive spectacle for tourists and fans of the seaside. It is highly recommended to experience the impressive artistic design in the daytime and also see the exciting bright lights at night. 

Arcade Enchantment

The venue signage is not the only impressive thing that visitors can notice as the arcade is packed full of a fantastic range of both classic and modern arcade machines for the whole family to enjoy. The frontage of the amusement venue is very long and there is a wide pedestrianised zone here with a row of planter boxes separating it from the road and making it the perfect place for people to congregate and meet on holiday. 

The venue boasts several wide entrances along its frontage and these are flanked by several crane claw machines for passers-by to play on. There are also several young kiddie rides for smaller children in between some boxing punch machines for the MMA fans, teenagers and young adults. 

Entering the arcade from the right-hand side visitors are greeted with lots of large modern and classic arcade games and there is also a two-lane mini bowling (bowlingo) alley at the very rear. 

Coin Pushers

There are many different types of modern coin pushers to play in this amusement arcade and most of them pay out ticket wins. These include Bingo, Pac Man, Monopoly, Cops and Robbers, Pharaohs Golden Ticket and Aladdin with most having upper ticket feature boards.

Some of the older style coin pushers on offer include Strictly Dance and Pokémon Poke Push that do not pay out ticket wins. The tuppenny coins fall generously here, and the shelf prizes are quality. Players can easily win keychains, toys, sweets & lollies among other great prizes. Some of the coin pushers are also ten pence versions where you can win ten-pound notes on the shelf!

Crane Claw Machines

The Circus Circus venue has a great range of crane grabber machines, both out the front of the venue and many inside too. They have modern style grabber machines such as Win Fall Revolutions, where you win a prize from the rotating wheel and also classic machines with claws that grab sweets.

One can also play unique claw machines including Lego and twenty (pound) drop and iDrop machines where you can win electronics and Lego sets.

The claw machines at the front of the venue all have quality licenced plush toys to win including Winnie the Pooh, Spiderman and a wide range of Disney teddy bears. 

Classic Arcade Games

Do you enjoy playing on classic arcade machines? Then the Circus Circus venue has a great selection for classic and retro fans. Players who enjoy racing games are certainly in for a treat here as there are many car and motorcycle arcade racing machines to choose from.

Car driving games include two two-player Outrun arcade machines with oversized cars that you sit in to play. There are also Mario Kart DX and Batman Racing two player machines, where you can play against your friends and a modern four player Bump and Smash. 

For those who prefer motorbike racing games over cars, the Moto GP two-player game is worth checking out. Additionally, the Jet Blaster two-player jet ski arcade machine offers a similar fun experience.

Fans of arcade shooting games will appreciate the section nearest the bowlingo lanes as there is a great range of machines here including House of the Dead 4 and Scarlet Dawn, Terminator Salvation, The Walking Dead, Jurassic Park arcade and Time Crisis 4. 

Energetic players may enjoy a dance off on the Konami Dance Stage Euromix 2 Dance machine though could also be calmed down on the classic electric chair shocker machine.

Fairground Games

Circus Circus Southend has an enormous selection of fairground style ticket arcade games, more so than any other type of game. Fun fair fans will love the aiming, shooting and throwing games that offer challenging fun and pay out ticket prizes.

There is a large, dedicated prize shop / ticket window in the central rear section of the arcade, where players can redeem won tickets for a huge range of quality prizes. From sweets and lollies to Disney branded souvenirs, there are prizes here that the whole family will enjoy. 

Fairground ticket machines include Pixel Chase, Ring Toss, Axe Master, Down the Clown, All In and To the Net / All Star / Sonic Basketball arcade machines. They also have Power Roll, Milk Jug Toss, Coconut Shy, Lane Master bowling, Ship Wreck and an Ice Ball skee ball arcade game.

If two pence games are preferred then players will love the 2p roll-down style machines such as Ticket Raider (where players roll a two pence piece to try and get it into the slot to win tickets). There is also Whack-a-Clown and the giant Dodgeball Arena.

Big Ticket Arcade Machines

Circus Circus has many large ticket paying sit-down machines and these include Dinosaur Era, a row of three Pearl Fishery, Typhoon simulator and Injustice Arcade. They also have some giant machines including two-player Whack-a-Clown, Dodgeball Arena and Zombies Ready Deady Go!

Wheel Spinners

This Southend arcade has many wheel spinner style machines that pay out big ticket wins to players with skill and luck on their side. These include Big Bass Wheel, Magicians Wheel, two Monopoly Roll-n-Go ticket games, Wheel of Fortune and a Fidget Spinner Frenzy.

Ticket Slot Machines

There are a few different ticket slot machines dotted around the venue so be sure to keep an eye out for several Ticket Raider style triples, a quadruple sit-down Dracula ticket slot with upper feature board reels and Crazy Chicken, where you can win a jackpot of 1600 tickets!

£5 Jackpot Fruit Machines

One of the great things about the Circus Circus amusements is it a huge range of standalone £5 jackpot fruit machine. With far too many to mention and several triples and quads to play on, here are some noted.

Donkey Kong, Queen, Adders and Ladders and an Italian Job remake can all be found nearer the rear of the venue where they also have a selection of arch top chrome cabinet machines and Monopoly variants. There are also sit-down and stand-up Party Time machines, alongside Monopoly, Bullion Bars and Golden-X triple machines. 

They also have a Pac-Man skill ball machine, and a similar game called Pharaohs Gold, where players have to use aiming skill to hit targets and win a top prize of £50. 

Just outside the slots lounge, there is a charming working display of vintage one-armed bandit mechanical slot machines from Aristocrat Gaming, including a noughts and crosses machine.

Casino Slots Lounge

The adult casino slots lounge is at the very rear of the venue and has a huge range of digital gaming terminals and both modern and classic fruit machines. Here, players can enjoy the latest Blueprint Gaming and Light and Wonder games with top prizes ranging from £25 all the way to £500 jackpots with many of the fruit and slot machines having £100 jackpots.

Venue Verdict

Great location, great range of arcade games and a modern classic in seaside signage. For those who love exploring the latest arcade games or playing fairground games with friends, where large amounts of tickets can be won, this venue is a must-see destination.

Featured Machine: Zombies – Ready Deady Go!