CARLISLE's new mixed entertainment venue is 'really pleased' by the reception it has received from the community - and is excited for the future.

Game On! opened under the radar in December 2023 in English Gate Plaza, Botchergate in what was formerly a bingo hall.

The new venue features several activities including ten-pin bowling, mini-golf, shuffleboarding, augmented reality darts, and much more.

Game On!'s managing director Daryl Davidson was on hand to detail why the new mixed venue was keen to perfect its offerings before stepping up their marketing campaign. 

News and Star: Game On!'s ten-pin bowling alleyGame On!'s ten-pin bowling alley (Image: Matthew O'Hara/NQ)She said: "We opened quietly. This is a new venture for us and we haven't done bowling before, or any of the activities, and we wanted to make sure that we could deliver before we started shouting about what are doing.

"We are confident that people will come in and like what we offer and will come back again, and we are already seeing that so we are really pleased.

"If you have got a competitive spirit, it will come out when you come in here."

News and Star: Laura Davidson, Game On!'s manager, also highlighted how the mixed entertainment venue has gone the extra mile to incorporate a number of Carlisle 'personal touches'.

She said: "As a company, we are very community-orientated and because we are a family business in Cumbria we want to have ties to the community.

"That goes down to using the Pioneer for our food. We want it to be used as a community asset and support other businesses within that so any kind of link we can have with the racecourse or the football club is good for us and we want to help support the people around us.

News and Star: "We don't want it to feel corporate or stuffy, we want it to be individual to Carlisle."

Despite not committing to heavy marketing immediately after Game On!'s opening in December, Daryl explained that the reception from the community has been immense and shared her excitement about the future.

She said: "We are so pleased with how it turned out. It was painful - we turned this around in about six or seven weeks - but the local contractors all chipped into achieving this and we could not have done this without them.

News and Star: "The response from the public since we have opened, as I say it has been quiet as we have not pushed it, but the number of people who are coming, we are really pleased and we think there is a real future in this.

"We will put every effort in to make it the best that it can be."