Merrivale Amusement Arcade Great Yarmouth

South Beach Parade

The Merrivale Amusement Arcade is set out into three separate gaming rooms within the wider Merrivale Model Village complex. One can enter via Christophers Tea Rooms, which can be accessed free of charge from Beach Parade, located between the Wellington Pier Arcade and the unique Upside-Down House. There is also an entrance to the arcade from the beach-side coastal path, which runs the entire length of the Great Yarmouth tourist area. 

The venue consists of a modern amusement arcade, the Retro Room and the Old Penny Arcade. Merrivale Arcade isn’t as noticeable as other seafront venues as it is set back from Beach Parade, though it certainly should not be missed by any arcade lover or enthusiast. 

Merrivale Amusement Arcade

Approaching Merrivale from the road, visitors will notice lots of seaside kiosks and the model village to the left hand-side.

To reach the arcade one has to walk through the café which also makes this a great venue to have a food or tea break if the kids still have some energy as they can play safe in the arcade.

Christophers café has a lovely laid-back vibe and offers a variety of food and drink options and there are plenty other options from the food kiosks in this area. Another advantage is the seating arrangement - half of the seats are undercover, providing shelter from the sun or rain, while the rest are in the sun, allowing visitors to choose the perfect spot for the day.

Upon entering, the arcade has a cosy feel and it is well laid out with a great selection of modern arcade machines offering ticket wins that can be redeemed for exciting prizes.

Crane Claw Machines

At the entrance are a row of crane claw machines offering quality plush toy and teddy prizes. Further into the arcade players can find smaller style grabber machines where with smaller cuddly toys, sweets and lollies that can be won.

Coin Pushers

In the main arcade room visitors can find a variety of exciting coin pushers to play on with most paying out ticket wins as well as generous tuppenny falls and shelf prizes. 

Ticket paying coin pushers include an Only Fools and Horses, Push Yer Luck, Crazy Caterpillar and Snacks & Ladders machine with upper feature board. They also have a retro Cromptons Carousel flipper, which is always fun to see.

Fairground Games

There are lots of different ways to win tickets at Merrivale and if patrons have come to see the Old Penny Arcade, then they will likely enjoy playing the roll-down machines that are located in the corner. Here we have a Tower of Terror and Ticket Raider, where players can roll-down two pence pieces in an attempt to get them through the different holes to win ticket prizes. 

There is also a SpongeBob Pineapple Arcade game which is like a hybrid coin pusher / pachinko ticket machine, perfect for fans of the show.

Just before entering the rear area is a large gaming machine in the shape of a clocktower called ‘Catch – Can u Beat Ben?’. This is a a unique and interesting machine, certainly made for the British market. The idea of the game is to steer the balls that fall down into the right columns. With a jackpot of 500 tickets, it is certainly well-worth having a go. 

£5 Jackpot Fruit Machines

Merrivale is geared toward arcade enthusiasts and families so does not have an adult casino slots area. There are also no ticket slot machines. However, there are two £5 jackpot fruit machines, which are retro in style, though are modern standalone mechanical machines. These are Bar-X 7 and Double Spin-to-Win chrome cabinet machines. 

The Retro Room at Merrivale Arcade

At the rear of the main amusements are two entrances to further gaming areas. The left-hand side takes visitors into the Old Penny Arcade and the right takes players to the Retro Room. 

With cool neon signage and lighting straight out of an eighties retro arcade, the Retro Room has been designed to feel like one is stepping back in time. Here they have a great selection of retro joystick cabinet style machines from the golden age of video arcade. As a new concept at Merrivale, a recent article from the BBC featured The Retro Room Arcade to positive acclaim.

To play the machines is easy. Simply find one of the Retro change machines that will swap your regular notes and coins for retro arcade machine tokens. These tokens can then be inserted into any of the machines to play them. All machines indicate how many tokens are required per play and everything is well signposted.

Playing these types of arcade games in such an atmospheric setting will ignite the nostalgia of video game enthusiasts from all generations. Many of the games are two-player so why not play with a friend, and some (such as The Simpsons Arcade Game) have four-player simultaneous action. 

The walls are lined with video arcade games with many favourites including Donkey Kong, Mortal Kombat, Metal Slug, Final Fight and Turtles. 

They also have some larger retro arcade racing machines including Sega Rally and Ridge Racer and a two-player motorbike game (back in the main arcade room). For those who prefer arcade shooting games there is also a two-player Time Crisis with the ducking foot pedal.

There are simply too many classic titles to name, so please bring a friend and let your retro nostalgia run wild!

Williamson’s Old Penny Arcade

This has been part of Merrivale longer than The Retro Room and over time, has been expanded from a personal collection into a largescale interactive exhibit, adored by enthusiasts coming from up and down the country to enjoy.  

Some say, ‘they don’t make um like they used to’ and the Old Penny Arcade is a perfect example of this, with many games and machines being well over 100 years old. 

While arcade fans won’t find much digital circuitry or microchips here, visitors can find exquisite hard-crafted wooden cabinets and mechanical engineering that lasts. These vintage games are hearty enough to be played and enjoyed by patrons the same as if they were on a pier in their Victorian hey-day.

The way the Old Penny Arcade works is the same as the Retro Room, except players use the vintage change machines to change modern day coins and notes into real old one penny denominations, which were used in the machines originally back in the day. 

There are many types of vintage machines available from coin pushers to penny slots to crane grabbers that offer prizes. So have a play and try to win something from each of the three separate arcades!

Be careful not to mix up a modern two pence pieces with the larger Victorian one pence (pre-decimal coins).

Venue Verdict

Merrivale Amusements is perfect for a lunchtime visit as it offers unrivalled amenities and variety for all the family. The older generations will love the vintage Penny Arcade, whilst Mum & Dad might find some competitive nostalgia in the retro room. 

The kids will love exploring all 3 areas, whilst winning tickets that can be exchanged for a wide range of items at the prize shop located at the very rear of the venue. 

Easily missed, yet unmissable. An absolute must for any visitor to Great Yarmouth. 

Featured Machine: The Simpsons Arcade Game