Went bowling, the glo night was down due to tech difficulties. But Ashley H. Was a MAJOR W!!! Absolutely loved and appreciated her! She gave me a very professional answer every time I asked her a question & was overall extremely helpful! read more

Playdrome Lanes - Bowling Near Me - Toms River, New Jersey

Great place that treats us great!!! We come every week!!! Great lanes!!!! Wish there was a snack bar.

old school bowling alley, it's always packed but it's fun, clean and always a good time

I'm rounding up slightly for this small and outdated alley due to it bringing back nice childhood memories( at other alleys) of a simpler time. This trip was my first time bowling in over 25 years, and reminded me how much I used to enjoy it. I inquired if I could throw a practice frame and was told by the woman working the counter that this was not done anymore??? But... she would let me. However that didn't happen, my first throws counted as my first frame. We bowled 3 games and I found I was still able to break 100, but need much more practice to be league worthy. Some of the amenities you will find here are a pro shop, snack bar, lockers that remind one of a HS gym and video games and vending machines. Missing is a bar. I felt like the cost was a bit high for games and shoe rental on this afternoon visit, had we come on a Tuesday or Thursday we could have had unlimited bowling for less. I guess that is the way to cut costs in this sport(?), do some research and find out what days and times have reduced pricing. Sadly there were no Yelp checkin offers at this time. read more

This is one of three bowling alleys that I frequent - the other two are up north by me. I was torn between giving this place three stars or four stars, but we are coming out of a pandemic and you SHOULD support local business, so four stars it is. I've have been bowling in leagues for a few years now. During the height of the pandemic last summer, I spent a lot of time down the shore, and my home alley was closed. Once Murphy announced that bowling alleys can be opened, Playdrome was open within days, and you bowled by sessions. This has remained consistent at Playdrome for the past year - you pay and bowl by sessions. I'm not sure why it's still that way, as restrictions have been lifted. More on that later... The first thing you'll notice about Playdrome is that it IS outdated. A bowling alley is a bowling alley, sure, but the décor is obviously fading and the whole place needs a major facelift. To speak to this - while we were there on a 98 degree day, the air conditioner died so we were bowling with no air. To say I was a sweaty mess is an understatement! I had called before to book a session, and they said nothing about the air conditioner being broken. You figure...a hot day, bowling in an AC'd lane would be ideal - and it would be, if the AC was working. Yes, there was a technician there working on fixing it, but it would have been nice to have known about the AC. Honestly, it would have been nice to have been given a discount or a credit because we paid full price, it was hot as heck. (We only noticed it was broken when we started bowling and realized it was unusually warm.) On a positive note, most of the staff here is very nice, kind, and courteous. When I bowled last summer, they would often chat with me about my own house leagues, which I do appreciate. As a technical note, the oil pattern here is a bit odd - for me, anyway. I am a right handed bowler but I bowl with a reverse hook, and I throw a 12 lb Tropical Storm Surge. This ball is very sensitive to changes in oil patterns and I am not a consistent bowler just yet - I usually have to move around to hit the pocket. My ball goes crazy on these lanes! Also, my speed here is a bit low. I usually bowl a 7.5 mph - 9 mph ball on my home lanes; here at Playdrome, my ball was averaging 6.5 mph. Which one is right? Who knows! As I mentioned, Playdrome has been operating on a session-by-session basis since last July. For one to three people, it's 16 dollars an hour; for four to six people, it's 60 dollars flat rate. The price entitles you to two hours of bowling. I've been on both sides of this fence. I've bowled solo for practice and have gotten my money's worth by playing 3 - 4 games here. But recently, I took my niece here, and she's 7, and we played two games here in almost two hours. For me, 34 dollars for two games for two people is a little expensive. They didn't give us the option for buying two games either, it seemed like it was buy a session or nothing. I am wondering when they are going to stop this system, but it may be beneficial to them. The other thing I noticed is that this bowling alley definitely catered to the masses during Covid, probably because it was more cost efficient for them. I came here one Sunday in the last year, and there was a birthday party being held, and there were many people running around maskless. At that time, I had to call and book a session, and I would have liked to have been told that there was a 40+ person birthday party there, because I would not have attended. I came in, paid, saw the party, bowl a game, and left because I was uncomfortable. I think this (plus my story about the air conditioner) just shows that Playdrome is out for their own benefit and business... which is fine. As I said before, a bowling alley is a bowling alley. But little things like this are what break a business, and if you noticed, most of the people here are reviewing Playdrome at 3 stars or less. Little things like that do make a difference. Also, just as a note, as of now the snack shop doesn't appear to be open. I'm confused at one Yelper's experience about the snacks, because there were people yesterday with a huge party (10 people) that clearly brought their own food in. Again, inconsistencies in business. I will probably still bowl here occasionally, as I do love the sport, despite the fact that this place isn't perfect. read more

If you are an experienced bowler, this is the worst alley in NJ I've been to. I'm a collegiate bowler, I've been to many many alleys across NJ and other states. This alley in particular is closest to me currently but is poorly maintained: The pins are very dead, my ball gets brown "gook" on it and regularly torn up from the lane machines, and on top of this, the oil pattern they put out seems to change randomly based on the day even if you do a regular league here. The somewhat "typical" condition here is lanes that are flooded with oil and is not easy for a house shot. I'm no pro but easily average 220+ at other houses, yet only hover around 200-210 here due not to not only the harder than normal oil pattern but also the dead pins. When the pattern breaks down it gets extremely cliffed.. harder than most sport shots. If that wasn't enough, the pinspotters here regularly mark the wrong amount of pins on the score causing me to have to manually enter in scores. Obviously management doesn't want to put a super easy pattern out and that's cool, but I see no reason to flood the lanes with oil. The dead pins are handicap enough. The only way you can average higher than 210 here is with a big arsenal or a lot of experience. I have both and therefore can make do with the challenge, but for the average person this place I just wouldn't recommend... even without all of the terrible maintenance issues. The staff is pretty cool, and I'm not hating on them. This is pure lazy ownership and lack of direction from a management perspective. A final last note here comes from my experience in leagues here. Last year the prize fund had us at $80 won from being in 5th place. Randomly without warning, next year, we come in 1st place with the same number of teams in, weekly price, and weeks long of bowling, yet the prize fund was cut to just $20 a team with no bonus for winning. The whole thing was shady. EDIT: This is about the lanes. Allen in Carter's pro shop is a great dude and is separate. I'd recommend him as a ball driller or any other questions you have about equipment. read more

Such a great establishment love the staff and such a good environment. Amazing amenities and the food is awesome. Rob Kyle and Joe are great people. I love playdrome. read more

Absolute shit hole that was originally $60 for 2 hours bumped up to almost 100$ for non functioning vending machines and broken sensors in the alleys. if you're looking for a place to waste some money this is the place for you. read more

Only in Toms River!!! Lol! Announcement comes over the loud speaker....' just so you know, no outside beverages or food allowed in the bowling alley EXCEPT alcohol. Alcohol is permitted but no outside food or drink" Do you allow your children to drink alcohol??? PS... at the time the snack bar was not opened! read more

Playdrome Lanes - Hmmmm? - Bowling Near Me - Toms River, New Jersey

this place is a dump but its fun and fairly cheap. Come in thursday nights for BYOB Bowling under some classic rock and black lights. Some people may be discouraged bc of the alcohol but its not that bad. there have been fights here and there but nothing serious and everyone gets along pretty well and keeps to their own lanes. games are only a quarter on Thursdays... how can you beat that.. alley is equipped with 24 lanes i believe (if im counting properly from memory), locker areas, bathrooms, pool/billiard table area, some video games, a pro-shop and a snack bar. Food is pretty good for a quick bite while trying to sober up during BYO Night. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand thats all i have to say about it. read more

We were having a good time but our two hour bowling was up on the 7th frame and they wouldn't let us finish the game. Frustrating to say the least. Then we go to pay and the cashier wanted to charge us an extra $50 for a lane we didn't use at all. The guy was a TOTAL jerk and told us he was "in charge" when we asked for a a manager. Then the owner came down and apologized and made the situation right and was very friendly. If it was him from the start there would have been no issue. Management doesn't watch the lanes - there was an unruly bunch next to us and we had to ask multiple times for some help to get it controlled. It's BYOB but they charge you for styrofoam cups. Shoes run big and are newer, but all Velcro, no laces. Socks in vending machines if you need it. Touch screens at lanes are cool but need to be calibrated. Poor review for unnecessary rudeness from an employee. read more

You need to come here! Seriously! Had a good few hours at this bowling alley. It's FUN! Owner honored YELP online vouchers and was sooo nice and helpful. USE your online coupons and have fun! read more

$5 bucks a game at 1pm on a Sunday. No wonder no one bowls anymore. It's practically unaffordable. Especially for the entire teenage demographic. The older lady behind the counter was pretty rude, told me the wrong lane, then blamed me for 'hearing it wrong.' The young girl was nice and helpful though. read more

I checked Yelp for a local bowling alley while spending the weekend at the shore. I saw three local alleys to choose from and chose this one because of the $5.00 check in coupon on Yelp. Upon arrival, I decided to confirm with the woman at the counter that the offer would be accepted..she said no. The woman was very rude and I totally felt like I was bothering her, which was funny because we were the only customers in the entire place! Needless to say, I will never return to this place again. read more

Playdrome Lanes - The only restriction on coupon was for holidays..total BS! - Bowling Near Me - Toms River, New Jersey

See all

I've never been more frustrated, angry, and heated at a bowling alley. I gave them one star because 0 wasn't an option. I come to Playdrome quite frequently. it's extremely close to my house so I go for the convenience, definitely not for the service. Tonight, I came with my boyfriend and our 2 friends for a nice night out together. We were having a great time but got hungry- it was getting late. My boyfriend and I went and got some drinks and snacks for the 4 of us to hold us over. After coming back, we opened up a water bottle, when all of a sudden the snotty 20 year old girl behind the counter comes over and told us there were no outside food or beverages permitted. okay, I understand if you had the snack bar open and were selling food - but you don't. so what am I supposed to eat ? not wanting to argue, we put away our food but kept our water out. she repeated "no outside food or beverage is permitted". I replied "so I can't drink water? " "no outside food or beverage is permitted." alright. I tied everything up in the wawa bag and left it on the counter and didn't touch it. she never walked away and then told us that the bag could not even be in the building. are you serious ? I said "im not going to touch it. can't I just leave it there?" and she replied "don't you have a car?" and wouldn't walk away until we put it in my car. so we listened and continued to bowl but then saw that a group had wawa coffee and were drinking it next to us. my boyfriend thought this was ridiculous and had a few words with the rude 20 year old counter girl. the conversation went like this "I think it's ridiculous what you're doing. I had to throw out my water from wawa but the people next to us can drink wawa coffee no problem right ? are you going to ask them to throw it out too?" she replied " it's not that big of a deal. I didn't see them walk in with it." "oh so people can get drunk in here and they can have wawa coffee but I have to throw out my water from wawa, right ?" so basically, I didn't appreciate the service at all and couldn't believe what happened. I was trying to support a local business but I'm not going to waste my time if I get some of the worst customer service I've ever received here. I'd suggest finding ANY other bowling alley. it's not worth the way you're treated. read more

Playdrome lanes advertises on their website and in the bowling alley that they have endless bowling on Thursday's from 2-5 for $8. Funny thing is when you arrive at 2 you are told there are no lanes available until 3:30 at the earliest because there are leagues. And you do not get to bowl after 5 . So the advertisement is false and they have no way to explain it. False advertising! Edit....Spoke with the owner Steve who was unaware of the situation. He will be looking into it, makes changes as needed and offered make up games for my kids. He was very nice. read more

Stevie & staff provided us with a wonderful party experience. Everyone was incredibly helpful, attentive, and kind. Zero complaints, an overall fabulous day! read more

This place was full of people wearing no masks, there was no enforcement on social distancing and there was so sanitary products in site. It is overpriced compared to other bowling alleys. We had a very bad experience and will be going to other alleys after this. read more

Worst bowling experience I've ever had. I've never even written a yelp review before, but felt compelled to write one for this place. I asked to bowl two games and was told to pay at the end. We couldn't tell when the first game ended because there was no indication it was over. Our scores just kept going up. When it finally adjusted to zero we assumed we were on the second game. There was an error on almost every frame. Either we bowled twice and it wouldn't adjust to the next player, or the score wasn't even close to being correct. Like if we got a strike or a spare it would say no pins were knocked down. So every bowl we had to correct our score. After what we thought was two games, we went up to pay and our total was $36. When I tried to explain to the guy we only had two scores each, he listed off scores for three games. When you ask to play two rounds, it should shut off after two rounds. Such a rip off. Never going back ever again. read more

Terrible. Open bowling on a Friday. Called to reserve a lane and was told they no longer do that. Got there and there was league play, only 4 lanes open bowling because there was also a party reserved for the other side. One hour wait time which turned into 2 because the guy behind the desk had left lanes open but they were reserved for his friends. The staff actually said I leave some lanes open so we don't look too busy on Fridays. 2 hours later nothing but rude staff never even bowled read more

Took my 11 year old son last week . Thought it would be fun ... $36.00 for three games . He was charged as an adult ... 11 years old and charged as an adult to bowl . We were there not even a hour . Place is out dated . No soap in the restrooms to wash your hands after greasy dirty bowling balls . When I questioned why he's being charged for an adult price . I saw a sign in blue magic marker stating after 5:00 pm children pay an adult rate ! I will never patronize this dump . For $36.00 I'd rather go to the boardwalk . Place is ridiculous . read more

Place is a dump!!! Worst birthday party I've ever had for my kids. Filthy and everyone there has a bad attitude what a waste of my money don't know how this place is still in business read more

Drove up with my two kids to bowl. There website says there is open bowling all day until 530 on Wednesdays. The old nasty lady behind the counter said there was no open bowling til after 330 even though there were a bunch of lanes open. I told her the website said all day and they should change the site and she got very nasty and told me she didn't do the website. I told her she should tell someone who did to update so people don't drive and get there kids hopes up. read more

Wonderful staff, clean, and a great place to have some fun!! Priced great where else can you go and have fun for 4 hours, drink, eat wings and only spend $30.00. I love BYOB places!!! Nothing worst than having to over pay New York prices for a beer. Bowled my first 600 series here last week. The snack shop was also very clean and the food was priced correctly. They have better wings than the wing place that is named after a buffalo lol. I recommend the sweet chilli wing sauce!! read more

They had nice lanes ( 5 stars ) but staff were rude , after a friend paid for the bill they came out chasing me to pay the bill after the worker at the front said we were good . Staff rude , food court looked disgusting . read more

Bought voucher online after calling bowling alley to make sure I could use them at night for glo bowling and was told no problem. When I arrive at the alley I'm told can't use coupons after 6 pm I explained what I was told just that morning before buying the vouchers and was able to come to a compromise and use one voucher per lane. The lanes were fine and we had an enjoyable evening after that just call ahead to confirm restrictions on offer read more

Was here a few weeks ago and had a wonderful experience. The girl behind the desk was extremely friendly and helpful. Love this place going to have my daughters birthday party here! read more

I had my daughter's 10th birthday party at The Playdrome. I had 20 kids there. It was the worst experience from the minute we walked in the door. The staff is rude the woman who said she was the manager was ignorant. I paid for a 3 hour party with a party room and I got a table on the main floor that I was only able to fit 10 kids around. I could go on and on with complaints but what it comes down to is this, place sucks. read more

Service is horrendous. Everyone behind the counter looks miserable and they are extremely unhelpful. I came here with a party of 6 and played three games and during our last game the lane starting malfunctioning.. It wasn't counting the pins right and our scores were completely wrong. Twice we went up to the counter to report the problem but they told us that all they could do was reset the last persons turn and let them go again. Which didn't help because then the problem just continued to occur! Upon leaving we asked the girl at the counter if they could do anything for us to make up for the malfunctioning lane and our game that got ruined. Maybe refund us the price of one game or give us a free game or even a coupon? The girl refused and was extremely rude about.. Even telling my boyfriend to stop talking over her. The two older guys behind the counter just stared at us. I am baffled by how rude, disrespectful and unhelpful the staff was, and I am extremely angry by the way we were treated after spending our hard earned money in this establishment. Seriously, go somewhere else. This place is terrible and a waste of your money. read more

Actually NO this place is NOT a dump, and SHAME ON YOU YELP for violating my right of free speech-Iam NOT affiliated with any of the businesses. I am a customer with rights to express how i feel about playdrome, and i have a right to disagree with inaccurate reviews stating it is a dump when it really AINT!!! read more

Took my mother, niece, and nephew here for some daytime bowling. Place was clean, staff was friendly. Three of us bowled 3 games and with my YELP coupon it cost only $23 including shoes. Definitely a good place to go. Have to check out night time BYOB sounds fun. read more

Great place to bowl. Lots of fun! Great staff very helpful and the food at snack bar is good too. It's also a BYOB...

My entire family and I were down the shore for a week this summer and had the misfortune to have rain for half the week. So you can image what it was like in the house we rented, with 6 little kids, 5 teenagers, and 15 adults......Most of us wanted to scream lol. We needed something to do desperately. I got on my phone looking for some type of indoor activity we could do. There were a bunch of places I found. Chuckie cheese..no adults have nothing to do. Mini glow golf...no thank you not in the mood for clubbing mini golf lol. Then I came across Playdrome Lanes Bowling Center, ok maybe I'm not much of a bowler these days. So I called up and spoke to a young lady, Stevie. I love Stevie Nicks so how could I forget that name right? She was very helpful explained that they had lanes the could the kids and teenagers on next to ours that had automatic bumpers. It was perfect cause now the teenagers could have fun and secretly watch the kids..lol. When we got there I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with how clean it and big it was. They had a pool hall and a quite little cafe type deal. The same young lady Stevie was at the counter and was so cheerful and upbeat, not something you get in customer service these days and something we needed after being stuck on that house together for hours just staring at each other haha. She explained the pricing to me, and we really needed 4 lanes, we had alot of people. She took the time to help us and explain that we could rent the lanes for a period of time thus saving us a bunch on money. Of course the kids ended up spending that on arcade games, food from the cafe "which was surprisingly tasty, I mean its a cafe no gourmet food but worth the money for sure". I asked if they had a bar, cause at this point every adult needed a drink. She told me they were BYOB. Yes!!! even better especially when you a group our size. She gave even took the time to look up the closest liquor store on my nieces phone. I can tell you that on the entire vacation I don't think we met anyone as pleasant, its NJ so if you have been there you would get it. We had a blast and the kids loved it, hey even the teenagers were having a good time. Not something that is easily accomplished on a family vacation HAHA. If you are ever in Toms River and want to have some fun for a reasonable price check this place out!! I would of given 5 stars but no one gets 5 stars unless you know them lol. Thank you Stevie and Playdrome Lanes. You made our family vacation amazing and we made memories there we will never forget!!!! read more

Awesome bowling place with many leagues. Good food at snack bar. There is a awesome ball shop there too.

The old lady who works behind the counter is one of the rudest people I've ever met. Every time I've encountered her, she has been nasty. The first time was when my husband was unable to program the bumpers for our grandson. I approached her at the desk to inform her. She asked, "who do you need bumpers for?", Not being aware of why she wanted to know who the bumpers were for, I replied, "my grandson". She then snapped at me, "WHO IS YOUR GRANDSON?, I DON'T KNOW HIS NAME." I was totally taken back and got a little nasty myself, but she deserved it. A few weeks later, we had a "free game" coupon. Even though they were listed on the website as accepting them, she gave us a very hard time about using them and said she didn't know anything about this type of coupon. That Monday, I called the company who offered the coupon. They informed me that Playdrome has been participating for several years and should be well aware that they accept them. The next time I had the pleasure of dealing with her, was when my husband and I asked for a lane. With her usual nasty tone, she told us that it was going to get dark (glow bowling was going to start), when I told her we didn't mind, she gave us a lane right next to a bunch of little kids. If the house was full, I wouldn't mind, but the place was almost empty. The final straw and what made me take time out of my busy day to write this review, was this past Sunday. We signed up for the kids bowl free program. Playdrome participates in this program. I went up the the desk, told her that I would like a lane, she then snapped, it's $5 per game, what size shoes? I started to tell her that I have a coupon, but she cut me off and snapped, "ITS SUNDAY, WE DON'T TAKE COUPONS TODAY!" When I told her that was strange, since the coupon clearly had Sunday's date on it. She then replied, "Oh, these are different, we take these" Then she proceed to give us the very end lane, where the floor dropped down and was very worn AND right next to a family with small children. FYI, there was only one other lane taken and it was several lanes away from us and the people right next to us. We've been to many other bowling alleys and she is the only person to put people right next to other people, when the place was virtually empty. With that being said, I've also encountered a woman named, Stevie. She is the reason I gave two stars instead of one. She is very nice and informative. I need to find out her hours and only go when she is working. read more