Astro City in Southend-on-Sea has been named the UK’s top seaside arcade, according to a new study published as soaring temperatures send thousands of Brits flocking to coastal resorts. The venue scored 9.85 out of 10, earning its ranking on the strength of 56 games spread across 11 categories — a mix that includes retro staples such as Pac-Man and Donkey Kong alongside modern racing, rhythm and shooter titles.
The research, carried out by Live Casinos, assessed arcade venues located within two miles of the UK coastline, scoring each one using a combination of total game count and breadth of game categories. Search interest in coastal destinations has surged alongside the warm weather, with UK queries for the best seaside towns reportedly spiking by 5,000% in the past week.
Top seaside arcades ranked
Golden Horseshoe in Southsea came second with a score of 9.75, praised for its immersive and modern line-up that includes virtual reality experiences such as Halo: Fireteam Raven and Star Wars Battle Pod. Wellington Pier in Great Yarmouth took third place (9.69), offering 37 games across 10 categories including racing hits and classic redemption machines. Great Yarmouth emerged as the strongest overall arcade destination in the country, with three venues placing inside the top 12. NQ64 in Cardiff and ArCains in Liverpool shared fourth spot, both scoring 9.58, while Grand Pier in Weston-super-Mare — home to the largest indoor theme park in the South West — rounded out the top ten with a score of 9.21.
Across all venues analysed, racing was found to be the most common arcade category, appearing 232 times in total. Mario Kart Arcade GP DX was the single most frequently featured game, present in 74 arcades. NQ64 in Cardiff offered the widest variety, with 13 distinct game categories despite having fewer machines than some larger rivals.
The full dataset covering all ranked venues is publicly available. Data was collected on 22 June 2026 and reflects arcade listings sourced from a publicly available directory at that time.
