*This will be just a short post as I don't want to go into too much detail on this and spoil the fun!*
Describing itself as "a new London arcade of satirical home-made machines" this strange little place sits right in the heart of the City of London, but remains pretty much unheard of to most Londoners.
I can't even remember how I stumbled across it, but stumble across it I did, and ended up spending the afternoon playing on the likes of Divorce, Instant Weightloss and Instant Eclipse. And if you're a fan of old school arcade games, I suggest you do too.
The machines are the brainchild of artist and inventor Tim Hunkin and his real love amusement arcades. First starting up "The Under The Pier Show" in Southend in 2001, with this London branch opening just a few years ago. It's free to go in, but you'll have to purchase some tokens if you want to play any of the games.
Some of my favourites included the very first machine Tim made, the Chiropodist. If you're brave enough to take off your shoe and put your foot in a hole to let a scary looking woman do her work, go right ahead. My friend Rambling London had a go at Money Laundering in the City of London but sadly failed, but she did win a Nobel Prize on another game so hats off to her.
I didn't do so well on Test Your Nerve, it was really scary risking having your fingers bitten off by a fake dog, but my absolute favourite was i-Zombie, but I can't give anything away, so you'll just have to find out for yourself!
You'll find Novelty Automation just a few minutes walk from Holborn station at 1a Princeton Street. It's open Wednesday to Saturday 11am to 6pm, with a late opening on Thursdays (8pm), see the website for more details, or why not just pop along and re-live your childhood holidays to Blackpool like me!
Heard in London