From Family Fun to a Family Affair It’s Not All Fun and Games by Barry Zelickson From thrilling amusement park rides to an all-out rage room experience, our latest Fun Across America adventure takes us to two wildly different entertainment destinations: CJ Barrymore’s in Clinton Township, Michigan, and The Breaking Point in Austin, Texas. These venues highlight the incredible diversity of entertainment across the U.S., offering everything from family-friendly fun to high-energy stress relief. • • • CJ Barrymore’s – Clinton Township, MI youtu.be/qw_2cnhEdP4?si=2oNDrNe1QfmeeC6d For five decades, CJ Barrymore’s has been a must-visit destination for adrenaline-pumping excitement, family fun and…
Author: RePlay Editor
A Big Party in the Making Why You Want to be Part of AAMA’s Annual Meeting and Celebration By Beth Standlee, CEO, TrainerTainment Coming off the high of the big party, the AEI in March, is pretty exciting! As president of the AAMA, I have to confirm that team member Tina Schwartz is right on the money when she said, “We have been moving and shaking the Etch A Sketch.” Our committees are more diverse than ever, the energy around how we serve our community has expanded, and the AAMA of 2025 includes the entire ecosystem of entertainment. Originally, the…
About 100 industry members tuned in for AAMA’s conversation with Mainfreight’s Director of Customs/Compliance Mark Neumann last Friday, April 25. Previously open to AAMA members only, the leadership team of the association decided it was too important an issue to limit participation, opening it up to registration from the industry at large. In the hour-long session, “Tariffs: What You Need to Know to Navigate Through Uncertainty,” Neumann’s thorough presentation covered the evolution of tariffs in the U.S., the laws involved, the numerous changes to tariffs on Chinese goods and other nations, and the impact on business. He said just in…
Canada’s Paul Krenz (Aactive Coin) and Mary Lavine of Bullseye Games (Madison, Wisc.) are the newest members of the AMOA-National Dart Association’s Hall of Fame. The pair were inducted during the President’s Reception on April 15 during the 2025 Team Dart event at the Westgate in Las Vegas and are the 39th and 40th inductees, respectively. Established in 2006, this program recognizes the outstanding contributions of individuals to NDA, the industry and the sport of electronic darts. On an annual basis, candidates are nominated and elected by members of the NDA Past Presidents’ Council and each spring, two persons are…
A duckpin bowling alley recently opened in Madison, Indiana — the first since a tornado destroyed the city’s only bowling alley eight years ago. According to previous reporting by WDRB, Vintage Lanes is a two-floor, eight-lane facility featuring an upscale wine bar, born from the ashes of a former hotel. “If you’ve been to any duckpin bowling center in our region, you’ll notice they are always in historic buildings,” said Chandler, one of the owners of Vintage Lanes. “So it’s an easy fit to find a place to do this in Madison.”
A family entertainment center in Comstock Park, Michigan, recently underwent several changes amid a rebrand. GameTime Fun Park, formerly known as AJ’s Family Fun Center, reopened in April with one large go-kart course made by merging existing tracks together. “We’re so excited to tie in GameTime Fun Park with the ballpark experience for groups and private events,” says Dan Morrison, vice president of sales for the West Michigan Whitecaps Minor League Baseball Team. “If you’ve got a group coming to a ballgame, what better place to meet beforehand than a go-kart track? … Then, take the quick walk across the parking…
Dave & Buster’s recently relocated in Hawaii — from Ward to Ala Moana — according to previous reporting by KHON2. Dave & Buster’s Ala Moana offers arcade games, a beer garden, six social bays, a VIP room and banquet rooms – plus a bar and dining area. “As you walk in, you have our dining area on the left and probably one of the largest bars on island in the middle, and then it opens up into the game area,” said Andrew Shimabukuro, a Dave & Buster’s managing partner. The Ala Moana location, which opened April 14 in the Ala Moana Center, is bigger than its Ward Entertainment Center…
Retired industry veteran Jerry Marcus is celebrating his 95th birthday today! That’s right, the man whose career spanned all three tiers of the industry has a lot of candles to blow out! (A little bird by the name of Howie Rubin called to let us know so we could spread the word and get as many birthday greetings sent Jerry’s way as possible.) For newer folks to the industry, Jerry started in the business in 1957 and worked in manufacturing for Rowe International and Atari, then went into distributing when he bought the now-shuttered Atlas Distributing. After that, he became…
A Christmas-themed course is set to open at a Maryland mini golf facility in May, according to previous reporting on the Ocean City website. Nick’s Mini Golf will soon be home to “Saint Nick’s Mini Golf,” where golfers will encounter two levels of polar bears and penguins — plus a nightly snowstorm. Owner Nick Geracimos, who took over the location in 2018, had to this point retained the Australian-theming associated with the course. However, with “Down Under Golf” showing its age, he aimed to replace it with something special. “It has great bones,” Nick said of the previous course. “It was and remains one of my favorite mini golf courses to play,…
A long-dormant landfill in northeast Ohio will be converted into a $12.5 million racing complex this summer, according to previous reporting by Cleveland.com. The Lorain Ohio KartPlex — set to open in June, with its first event coming July 19 — aims to bring international kart racing competitions, recreational go-karting and youth racing programs to its namesake city. Opening in “phases,” the complex will kick off the summer with an outdoor professional kart track, a timing and scoring facility and a race shop and retail center. Autumn will bring an onsite restaurant, a racing simulation center and rental go-karts (for use on indoor and outdoor recreational tracks). Lorain Ohio KartPlex hopes to court both the recreational and professional kart racing scenes, the…