Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Retro Room?
The Retro Room is Belfast's only vintage video arcade. We've a wide selection of 70s, 80s and 90s original arcade cabinets, tons of classic consoles with thousands of games, terrific and unique tabletop games and some oddities too.
We also hold special events roughly once a month. So far these have included Robot Wars style robot fighting, showing 80s movies with our partners at Movie House Cinema, racing Deloreans and soon well have live wrestling and a Subbuteo World Cup tournament for the 40th anniversay of Mexico 86.
What are the opening hours?
Currently the Retro Room is open to the public on the following days:
Friday 11am - 10pm
Saturday 11am - 10pm
Sunday 12pm - 8pm
Do I need to book ahead?
On our public days you don't need to book ahead however for our Special Events some will require booking ahead. We always send our special events details to our mailing list members first so make sure you're signed up to get first dibs on those tickets!
Can I hire the arcade for a private party?
Yep, private hire of the arcade for birthdays, stags and hens, corporate entertainment and more is available Monday - Thursday each week from only £10 per person per hour. You can book online and pay your deposit at https://book.retroroombelfast.com
Where is Cityside?
Some of you might still call it Yorkgate. It's a 5 minute walk from the University of Ulster in Belfast or the Cathedral Quarter and a one minute walk from York Street train station. Here's how to find us
How does The Retro Room work and what does it cost?
Public Entry
First off, no coins are required we think that's just daft in this day and age and card readers to play these games are a rip off too. £1 or £2 for a game that typically lasts minutes isn't for us! We want you to have fun, not leave disappointed.
Instead you'll buy a ticket at the door and pay by the hour. Our pricing is £7 per hour or £25 for an all day ticket (up to 12 hours of gaming goodness, come and go as you please!) Of course all of the games, consoles etc will be free to play once inside. That's it, no extras we promise!
Age Policy
We'd really encourage that kids are 8+ (mostly because they need to be tall enough to play the games on a wee stool) but we won't have a strict limit. All kids under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Our detailed venue policy is here
Is there parking?
Yep there's tons of parking at Cityside and it's free too! Around 1000 car parking spaces in fact.
Mon – Fri: Up to 5 hours free parking, for customers whilst on site only.
Sat - Sun: All day free parking.
What types of games can I expect?
We have more than 50 vintage arcade games currently in as original as possible cabinets. We're 80s kids so we love the 80s games we remember from the arcades we hung out in but we're partial to a 90s machine or two as well. Expect big shooters a la Point Blank, drivers like Enduro Racer and Sega Rally, stone cold classics like WWF Superstars, Wonderboy, R-Type and others as well as a few curve balls.
We've a range of consoles too from weird and wacky very early Pong-a-likes to Master Systems, Megadrives, SNES, Dreamcasts, Xboxes and others and we'll always try to do something you can't do at home like our GIGANTIC Guitar Hero and others.
We'll also have a gaming area for tabletop games at the front of the arcade. We'll have tabletop classics from days gone past like Rock Em Sock Em Robots, Battleships, Operation as well as some more modern classics like Carooka and Binho as well as many more.
Are they really vintage arcade games?
They are, scout's honour. We don't buy Arcade 1Ups from Argos and call them retro machines. We're recreating the arcades of our youth from 1986 not a hipster's garage from 2021!
Is it licensed to sell alcohol?
There's barcades (Arcade Club, NQ64 etc) and then there's arcades like they were back in the 80s. We wanted as authentic an 80s experience as possible and wanted it to be friendly to kids and teenagers also, they need somewhere to go too like we had when we were their age. Saying that there's a great bar just across the floor at Gallahers with pool, darts, football and a full range of beers, ciders and more.
Who's behind the Retro Room?
We're Marty and Cathy, two 70s and 80s kids with a passion for retro gaming. We've been thinking about opening a retro arcade in Belfast since we met in the early 2000s and now, we have!
How can I stay updated?
Join our mailing list or follow us on social media for timely updates on our events, new games as they arrive, 80s metal, the wonders of kale, football board games (what else) and so much more.