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A place to play...
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Engage with community...
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Make great things...
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Learn about games...
About The Arcade Vaults
We are The Arcade Vaults, an exciting and unique venue and community in the centre of Cardiff for all things gaming. If you make games, play games both old and new, want to learn about games, or would just like to engage with the community in this amazing world of games, then this is the place for you.
At the heart of The Arcade Vaults and its community is you; the players and the creators. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to play games and even more so, anyone should be able to make them and understand how they are made.
COVID-19 NOTICE
We are reopening to the public from May 18th!
As before, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our Bar/Cafe area, the Arcade and The Community Rooms are operating under COVID safe guidelines. These include:
- a limit of 6 people per group from different households (excluding children under 11, or if everyone in the group is from a single household a larger group is allowed).
- drinks and food orders will be taken at tables. If you are paying for the arcade, you may still come up to the bar, but please let us know if you will be ordering food or alcohol and we will come to you. You must remain seated whilst you are eating or drinking.
- whilst we will have a lower limit on our capacity, currently we do not require booking.
- tables, chairs in the bar and cafe areas and the keyboards/mice/controllers in the new PC suite will be cleaned in between each sitting.
- a screen at the bar.
- hand sanitiser points throughout the venue.
- the requirement that you wear masks throughout the venue unless you are eating/drinking or have a valid reason not to wear a mask.
- alcohol based anti-bacterial wipes for you to clean controllers (which we will be regularly doing throughout the day).
- alternating of available consoles throughout the venue to ensure social distancing is adhered to.
- marked points to ensure you can stay socially distant.
- staff will be COVID-safe during your visit.
Please note, we are legally required to take a name and contact information for at least one member of your party. We will be asking for ID to confirm names and addresses as necessary.
Thanks for understanding and hope to see you soon!
The Stuff We do
- Our arcade is split into two areas - we have a space featuring classic consoles and hundreds of games, with a small free-to-play area where we also serve coffee, tea, drinks and gamer friendly snacks. We are also open on selected evenings for those that like a stronger beverage with their gaming fun!
- The Community Rooms are our co-working and events space, tailored for anyone interested in making games or being part of a community who do but open to everyone to experience. There are three pricing tiers available to anyone who wants to use the space for work, with high-speed broadband (wired and wireless), tea and coffee, and a kitchen, plus various tech facilities and business support!
- Our Upper Arcade and The Community Rooms are available for hire. We can run events for you with a wide selection of retro and modern gaming consoles, or just provide the spaces on their own to you, with access to our bar.
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We organise events and parties across the UK. And we really do everything, including supplying the gaming gear and screens, promotion of the event, set-up, photography, prizes and so on! We also do educational seminars and networking events for those of you in the community looking to learn something new or meet like-minded people.
Upcoming Events
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The Kids Gaming Club
Thu | 29 July 2021 | 10:00 to 13:00Thu | 29 July 2021 | 10:00 to 13:00Parents and guardians - the Kids Gaming Club returns after a long hiatus for summer 2021!! Looking for a chance to take a break for a couple of hours? Then look no further than our morning club for children aged between 6 and 12.
We'll have a dedicated and qualified team member on hand to entertain your children with gaming related activities for a few hours. You can grab a coffee and hang out here or escape in town whilst we keep your children busy! There will even be drinks included for the kids... :)
£5 for one child or £8 for two! Payment and information will be taken on the day.
COVID-19 Rules & Regulations
Although restrictions are slowly being lifted across Wales, there will still be some safety procedures in place:
- Masks will be required by parents & guardians until legal restrictions are lifted. If you choose to stay, masks can be removed if you are sitting down at a table
- Staff will continue to maintain masks and hygiene standards during the kids club
- Controllers will still be cleaned as per normal procedures, and hand sanitiser will be provided
- Test & Trace will be required by all parents & guardians.
Please see our homepage for further information about our regular COVID-19 procedures.
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Games Wales - Cardiff July Meet-up
Thu | 29 July 2021 | 19:00 to 23:00Thu | 29 July 2021 | 19:00 to 23:00The COVID-safe Cardiff Games Wales monthly meet-up returns! This month we are following on from our new plans to rework Games Wales meetups with some discussion about the first talks in August (when we hope restrictions will be lifted).
In the meantime, if you have any thoughts or suggestions pop along and say hi!
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The Kids Gaming Club
Thu | 5 August 2021 | 10:00 to 13:00Thu | 5 August 2021 | 10:00 to 13:00Parents and guardians - the Kids Gaming Club returns after a long hiatus for summer 2021!! Looking for a chance to take a break for a couple of hours? Then look no further than our morning club for children aged between 6 and 12.
We'll have a dedicated and qualified team member on hand to entertain your children with gaming related activities for a few hours. You can grab a coffee and hang out here or escape in town whilst we keep your children busy! There will even be drinks included for the kids... :)
£5 for one child or £8 for two! Payment and information will be taken on the day.
COVID-19 Rules & Regulations
Although restrictions are slowly being lifted across Wales, there will still be some safety procedures in place:
- Masks will be required by parents & guardians until legal restrictions are lifted. If you choose to stay, masks can be removed if you are sitting down at a table
- Staff will continue to maintain masks and hygiene standards during the kids club
- Controllers will still be cleaned as per normal procedures, and hand sanitiser will be provided
- Test & Trace will be required by all parents & guardians.
Please see our homepage for further information about our regular COVID-19 procedures.
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MTG: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms Draft
Sat | 7 August 2021 | 13:00 to 17:00Sat | 7 August 2021 | 13:00 to 17:00Time to get out of the dungeon and come draft in some Adventures in the Forgotten Realms - its The Arcade Vaults' first Magic the Gathering event!
Dust off those binders and get ready to sleeve up and get some games in.
Event Details
- £15 Entry
- 1 Round of Draft
- 3 Rounds of Swiss Pairings
- 50 mins per Round
Each player will receive at least 1 additional booster pack as a prize. As a bonus, entry includes access to the arcade for the entire day!
Disclaimer
Due to stock availability Kaldheim or Strixhaven *may* be drafted instead. -
The Kids Gaming Club
Thu | 12 August 2021 | 10:00 to 13:00Thu | 12 August 2021 | 10:00 to 13:00Parents and guardians - the Kids Gaming Club returns after a long hiatus for summer 2021!! Looking for a chance to take a break for a couple of hours? Then look no further than our morning club for children aged between 6 and 12.
We'll have a dedicated and qualified team member on hand to entertain your children with gaming related activities for a few hours. You can grab a coffee and hang out here or escape in town whilst we keep your children busy! There will even be drinks included for the kids... :)
£5 for one child or £8 for two! Payment and information will be taken on the day.
COVID-19 Rules & Regulations
Although restrictions are slowly being lifted across Wales, there will still be some safety procedures in place:
- Masks will be required by parents & guardians until legal restrictions are lifted. If you choose to stay, masks can be removed if you are sitting down at a table
- Staff will continue to maintain masks and hygiene standards during the kids club
- Controllers will still be cleaned as per normal procedures, and hand sanitiser will be provided
- Test & Trace will be required by all parents & guardians.
Please see our homepage for further information about our regular COVID-19 procedures.
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Quizbit: The Revenge
Sat | 14 August 2021 | 19:00 to 20:30Sat | 14 August 2021 | 19:00 to 20:30Quizbit, the brain bending videogame pub quiz, returns for the first time in 2021, and it's here for some revenge!!
Test your knowledge in 6 (TBC) rounds of mayhem. 6 max per team, with a £2 entry per person, and with more prizes than Crufts, Wimbledon and a school end of year awards ceremony combined.
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Teen Tabletop Summer Club
Wed | 18 August 2021 | 10:00 to 16:00Wed | 18 August 2021 | 10:00 to 16:00Running 10am till 4pm at The Arcade Vaults, PlayFrame will be running boardgames, RPGs and tabletop miniatures games - and eating noodles and playing retro video games!
We have two ways to pay and play:- £12 for just tabletop games club and Arcade Access all day
- £15 for all the above + SPECIAL MEAL DEAL: a regular size noodle pot, a snack (any crisps or chocolate bar), and any 330ml can of drink.
All tickets will be sold at the venue via The Arcade Vaults.
Open to anyone aged 11+ Run by DBS checked Educational Professionals. Officially sign up to the club and we'll take 'duty of care' of you so you can pop out for some shopping and pick them up later.
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Ramen/Drink/Game
Thu | 19 August 2021 | 18:00 to 23:00Thu | 19 August 2021 | 18:00 to 23:00After a successful one-off last year, this year we're bringing back our Ramen/Drinking/Gaming night special event!!
The Community Rooms will be turned into a small pop-up restaurant, serving real, cooked in-house Ramen with a selection of meat and vegetarian toppings and a vegan broth! For a mere £10 you'll get a bowl of fresh amazinginess, access to the arcade all evening, and a 20% discount off your drinks ALL NIGHT.
Choose from either a vegan or meat based topping, with a (very slightly spicy) miso broth and a selection of fresh veg and toppings.
Also available this time, a starter/side selection of Gyoza plus we're offering something for those of you with a bit of a sweet tooth too!
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Teen Tabletop Summer Club
Wed | 25 August 2021 | 10:00 to 16:00Wed | 25 August 2021 | 10:00 to 16:00Running 10am till 4pm at The Arcade Vaults, PlayFrame will be running boardgames, RPGs and tabletop miniatures games - and eating noodles and playing retro video games!
We have two ways to pay and play:- £12 for just tabletop games club and Arcade Access all day
- £15 for all the above + SPECIAL MEAL DEAL: a regular size noodle pot, a snack (any crisps or chocolate bar), and any 330ml can of drink.
All tickets will be sold at the venue via The Arcade Vaults.
Open to anyone aged 11+ Run by DBS checked Educational Professionals. Officially sign up to the club and we'll take 'duty of care' of you so you can pop out for some shopping and pick them up later.