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    Shift Arcade

    4.8 (73 reviews)
    Closed 10:00 am - 10:00 pm
    Updated 2 months ago

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    Vettori racing sim
    Arnold B.

    I've been here twice, and both times were a blast. You have to reserve your appointment ahead of time, and the second time I went I didn't get a seat directly next to my +1, but it was cool. I think it's a real cool experience to have. They've got modes for automatic cars, and if you know how to drive stick they've got options for 6 speeds. They explain how to use the simulators prior, and ask if you want a certain course or car. They've got a ton of cars and courses so I just ask for whatever they think will go well with the cars I want to drive. The place is clean but it does tend to get hot, so bring a water just in case. I won't lie I got sweaty after a 30 minute session so you might smell some smells in there, but all in all it's a fun experience, especially if you're into cars. Recommend going here at least once!

    Trinh P.

    This place is sooooo much fun!! Even for a person that doesn't like to drive. Make sure to book a reservation as the weekends are packed! 8 of us booked the entire space which was so nice to drive an hour with friends and family. The manager was so nice and helpful! My daughter had a blast as she isn't old enough to drive IRL. It really gives you the full experience of racing on a track with all the impacts of the crashing into other cars and walls lol. We got headphones to speak to everyone which was so much fun. Be aware for those who get motion sickness! After the first half hour I had I stop bc the motion sickness got real. It's such a great fun experience for an affordable price! They are here at this location until March I think until they expand. Make sure to book ASAP!!

    Haptic Racing Set Up
    Andrew V.

    Everything looks nice, staff was very helpful - Josh gave great advice during our races. Recommend making a reservation ahead of time for any number of people but especially if 3+

    Scotty C.

    My brother loves F1 and looked up shift arcade and discovered it's the best virtual driving experience you can get in the area. We are staying in San Fran but made the trip over to San Ramon to check this place out. We made a reservation for an hour each on the simulators. We started off with some general instruction before starting our time then throughout the hour we worked our way up in difficulty. The simulators are no joke! After our session, we were both sweating because it really feels like you're driving a race car. I do wish we could've tried some of the other options like running from the police or other non-F1 game modes but overall we had a really great time. I would also say that an hour and a half would be better if you wanna try some extra stuff it took a while to get the hang of things and didn't really feel like we got the hang of it until the last couple races.

    Luz T.

    Cool spot if you're into F1 or sim racing and need a spot to hang out. Book a seat online! Super easy

    Eric C.

    This place is amazing. I'm in the process of building my own rig, so I've been researching my own parts. They really spared no expense giving you the best experience with top of the line hardware. Bill is also very friendly and talked me through the whole process and was straight forward. Their prices are very reasonable for the experience you get. Just go and give it a try! The area around is also very nice, plenty of food , drinks, or just walk around.

    Dani M.

    They've rebranded to "Shift Arcade" and moved locations to City Center Bishop Ranch mall in San Ramon (downstairs, next to Equinox)! My boyfriend and I decided to visit their new location and the employee working, Chris, was extremely helpful and kind. It wasn't too busy so My boyfriend did a walk-in 30 minute session- there were tons of cars to choose from in the game including some niche models like the GR Corolla! I just watched this time, but next time I'll try it out for sure!

    Marvin F.

    Great experience! Came in with a group of 5. Would recommend reserving online if you have a group. The hosts went over everything and were very helpful the whole time. Everyone had a good time.

    A really fun place to book! Had a great time here Bill is a cool guy. I believe he is the manager. Had a great experience, 10/10 will come again

    Lobby
    Desiree G.

    Wow this place is cool!! Our family went to Drive Simulations for the first time and my teenage sons and husband had a blast. We'll definitely return. I reserved and paid for the simulators online ahead of time through their website. It's very simple. Once we arrived, we were greeted with enthusiasm by a fantastic guy named Chris. He is so incredibly helpful and has a super personality. He has a huge passion for cars and shared great convo with my sons. He also loves his job and it shows. He explained the different types of simulations available and steering wheel choices. Then they were off! Figuratively speaking. Omg they all had a ton of fun. Highly recommend this place! I should also mention these are high tech, high quality race simulators, and with a little coaching from Chris everyone was able to feel like a pro. Before we left, a couple other players joined in the conversation about cars. This is clearly a place where car enthusiasts like to hang, which is so awesome.

    Go Racer Go!!

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    1 year ago

    Staff was excellent and extremely helpful. Had a great time! Would recommend to anyone thinking about going.

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    1 year ago

    If you ever wanted to slap shift a lambo like your in a high speed chase this is the place to do it. Very demure would come here again.

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    2 years ago

    Awesome if you like the idea of driving a real race car around any track you choose. These are not arcade games but real driving simulators

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    2 years ago

    My 10 year old grandson really enjoys their drive simulation! Kind owner and quality simulators! We will continue to visit!

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    3 years ago

    Fantastic experience!! A real adrenaline rush. So realistic. Definitely coming back. Staff were so helpful and friendly.

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    Paul B.

    Thank you David :)

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    3 years ago

    Love this place. Equipment is top notch and staff friendly. Reasonable pricing for the equipment!

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    2 years ago

    Went well! This was an interesting experience, and the staff member who helped us was really kind and helpful.

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    Can not believe how fast the 30 minutes went. Multiple cars and courses to choose from! So realistic it made me car sick!

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    2 years ago

    Shout out Chris. Super friendly and chill guy. The entire time he was very helpful to us and taught us how to control everything. W dude.

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    3 years ago

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    Page 2 of 2

    Ask the Community - Shift Arcade

    When are women's days?

    Hi Nancy, everyone is welcome at Shift Arcade everyday that we’re open.

    Do we need to bring our own racing gloves or do they provide gloves? Is it a separate charge?

    Hello. You are welcome to bring your own gloves if you wish. We will also provide a pair of disposable cotton gloves for all drivers. Racing gloves are also available for sale at $28.

    Ihow much does it cost to experience the best drive simulators?

    They are $25 per 30 mins

    What's the minimum age/height to participate?

    We use full-sized, professional simulators, so we have age guidelines to ensure that all guests have the best experience. Being able to reach the pedals and have some basic… 

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

    Review Highlights - Shift Arcade

    Our family went to Drive Simulations for the first time and my teenage sons and husband had a blast.

    Mentioned in 4 reviews

    Read more highlights

    Starbunni

    Starbunni

    4.8(100 reviews)
    3.4 mi

    A solid place, went here on a Saturday around 3pm. The machines weren't that full and there were…read moreonly three that had plushies we wanted. Spent $25 and go at least 15 plays which we split up between three machines. We were able to hit on two of them and apparently we were guaranteed three items so we got the third one anyways. I thought there would be more machines that we'd be Into, so that limited the amount of time we wanted to stick around. I may go back again just to see if they have new items.

    This was a fun find for my kids and I. Typically I steer away from claw machine games because let's…read moreface it, you lose more than you win. With the incentive of receiving 2 plushies with a minimum game purchase amount, it alleviated the anxiety of walking away with nothing to show for my kids. The space was well lit and clean. We were the only patrons during the last hour of day. Heads up- once the claw retracts and moves back towards the prize drop zone, it shakes A LOT and we end up losing the plush animal any way. Occasionally we managed to get 2 or 3 wins. As I mentioned earlier, you're guaranteed two plushies when you purchase a minimum game card amount, so that made the losses more manageable. Overall, it was a fun experience and I'd take my kiddos there again. The gentleman that helped us was friendly and reassured us about the two guaranteed plushies to put us at ease so we can try to enjoy our time.

    Photos
    Starbunni
    Starbunni - Front desk area and prices

    Front desk area and prices

    Starbunni - Lots of claw machines!

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    Lots of claw machines!

    Sector 19

    Sector 19

    4.5(96 reviews)
    9.0 mi

    Okay, I'll be honest--I have lived in Hayward and driven past this place so many times, but I never…read moreeven noticed Sector 19. I'm so happy my kid's team chose to celebrate here after our championship-winning game! This location is so clean and has so many fun things for the kids to do. As soon as we got there, the gentleman at the register was ON IT. He was helping everyone and making sure the entire team was well taken care of. The league covered the kids' meals, while the parents purchased their own food and drinks. It did take a while to get our food, but it was completely understandable. About 15 families walked in all at once, and they still had regular customers there enjoying the World Cup game on their many TVs. They have an arcade and laser tag. The arcade prices weren't bad at all. The kids each got a $25 game card and had enough credits to play for about an hour. Once we got our pizza, it was definitely worth the wait! Even though it was a personal-sized pizza, my husband and I were both able to eat from it, and it was enough to satisfy us. To be fair, we had also sampled some of the other parents' food while we waited, but I still thought it was a pretty good portion. Overall, I would love to come back whenever we're in the area or after one of our games. A special thank you to the gentleman at the register. He was truly a team player. Not only was he helping customers at the front, but he was also bringing out pizzas, checking to make sure everyone was doing well, and just had awesome energy the entire time.

    Great addition to downtown Hayward. Perfect for kids - it a smaller version of chuck e cheese…read more I love this place and want it to succeed. Hayward is an underdog city - and this is such a unique space. If I was the mayor of Hayward I would shine a light on this place as I think its an important piece of the city. I live just 2 blocks away and have never gotten any note on my front door or advertisement or coupon. I think that is a shame. If I was head of marketing for this business I would place a flyer under every door mat in a 5 or 10 block radius. This is a missed opportunity for core customers. There are new high rise buildings also popping up - a huge senior building - why not a special flyer offering seniors discounts if they show up for an early bird dinner? Often times you can also tell if kids live in any given home in the neighborhood. There are kiddie pools, tiny shoes left out front, bikes thrown around in the front yard - these homes should be targeted even more aggressively with fliers and some sort of incentive to come in. Another huge problem with this place is the lack of emphasis on ease of 'searchability' of the place. I had lived so close since 2016 and had not known about the place until maybe 2020 during the pandemic. How is that possible? It's all about not knowing this is an arcade. Sector 19 doesn't mean anything to me. It should be called 'Sector 19 Arcade' so that people can find it with a Google or Waze search. The arcade is clean and bright and fun for little kids. Its a safe place too - where parents can hang outside more in the restaurant part and not worry they wandered off - there is only one way out. The arcade needs to be front and center - this is why people come. Pizza House or Susie Qs have no competition in this arena.... so lean in on this. I will say that a Susie Qs has an edge with food quality - so again, more reason to make the family friendly atmosphere the center of attention.

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    Sector 19 - Laser tag 25+ kids !

    Laser tag 25+ kids !

    Sector 19 - Interior

    Interior

    Sector 19 - Basketball

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    Basketball

    K1 Speed

    K1 Speed

    2.9(288 reviews)
    4.6 mi

    This is a review for the Dublin location We arrived and got…read moreto race immediately. The kids were stoked. All the staff was curteous at the front desk, racetrack and "restaurant". The restaurant is a MAJOR let down though. The portions are not even kids menu worthy but the pricetag is huge! Kids left hungry, I was more angry. Do yourself a favor, Nations burgers and In and out are 5 minutes away. No brainer!

    The facility itself is fun, and the kids had a great time, but I wouldn't recommend it for a…read morebirthday party given the cost. At $80 per child for the most basic package on a weekend I expected a higher level of service. Throughout the party, I had to ask for everything. I had to request water pitchers, ask for a candle and lighter, and no one offered to help cut the cake. The staff didn't offer much help coordinating the event. I've had parties at Pump It Up, where the staff was much more attentive and proactive. I also had an unpleasant interaction with an employee (Scott?). The employee's old white car was parked in front of the facility, with its windows completely down and a cracked windshield, and its alarm went off. The employee came outside, WALKED ON THE HOOD OF HIS CAR to turn off the alarm, and then accused me of hitting his car. My husband and the five children in my car all confirmed that I didn't. After confronting me in the parking lot, he walked back into K1 while I followed behind. I found it very inappropriate for an employee to yell at a customer, especially as they were entering the business. The kids enjoyed themselves, but the overall customer service was not up to my expectations. When I book a party I like to be stress free, otherwise I would just host a party at my own house.

    Photos
    K1 Speed - Our all-electric go karts are the fastest in the industry and capable of reaching speeds of up to 45 mph!

    Our all-electric go karts are the fastest in the industry and capable of reaching speeds of up to 45 mph!

    K1 Speed - Enjoy the ambiance of our Paddock Lounge, with Edison lights and vintage photographs from racing's past

    Enjoy the ambiance of our Paddock Lounge, with Edison lights and vintage photographs from racing's past

    K1 Speed - Rain or shine, any day is a good day for racing on our indoor kart track!

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    Rain or shine, any day is a good day for racing on our indoor kart track!

    Golden Tee Golfland - Castle on a pretty night

    Golden Tee Golfland

    4.3(373 reviews)
    8.5 mi

    Roll up your sleeves, loosen your hips, steady your stance and get ready for some putt-putt at…read moreGolden Tee Golfland! Castro Valley hosts this mini golf spot that's an affiliate of the Golfland family and features its two 18-hole ranges perfect for beginners and experts alike. After a few rounds on the green, consider venturing into their arcades to play some good old fashioned video games (Time Crisis and other dual player shooters, Mario Kart and other racing games, and fighting games) and skill games (like skee ball, table air hockey, and claw machines). Be wary, however, for those who have game cards from other Golflands, they're location specific so they won't work here unless you have one from this spot. Starting from the giant parking lot which is just off of a busy street, you'll make your way through the gates and stroll up the long walkway to the front desk where you'll register to get your clubs and balls (you'll get your choice from among a few colors). From there, you'll have your pick of the two courses, one for novices and one for the more adventurous. Make your way through the obstacles and mark your scorecard to determine the winner of bragging rights! We came for a birthday party and logistically, they have the main room amongst the beginner course which is well lit from all the open windows but I believe they have another space near the arcade for those looking for a more enclosed, private gathering. Once the guests arrived, they hosted an orientation and got the members all equipped and ready to go. The youngsters had a lot of fun and can't wait to return! The staff were all very friendly and helpful. You'll interact with them more at the arcades especially if you'll be redeeming prizes with your hard-earned digital tickets. The ticket values on the top tier prizes were pretty large but for frequent visitors or lucky winners, you can get some pretty neat stuff here. The mini prizes definitely reminded me of my times at the arcades when I was a kid, very nostalgic! Overall, Golden Tee Golfland is a well-maintained, family friendly environment conducive to an awesome time outdoors as well as an exhilarating experience soaking up the old school arcade vibe. We accumulated a ton of steps during our visit here and the kids could not stop hitting the greens to get their fluorescently colored balls into the holes. The obstacles are fun - there are water effects and moving doors and bridges. While most of them functioned as expected, there were a few hiccups with some like balls getting stuck or certain doors just not functioning as expected. For wetter seasons, the holes for the balls do end up pooling which makes picking the balls out a bit of an unpleasant endeavor. For being exposed to the outdoors, the place was in pretty good shape, however. It's a bummer that the Golflands don't have a unified system for the game cards as it just incentivizes families to just pick one and stick with it instead of venturing out and exploring the other amazing locations like this one. If you're a local, this is a great place to take a date or the family - it'll tee you up for a good time!

    I took my daughter here today after school as little daddy daughter date surprise. We did the more…read moredifficult course and we had a good time. There was hardly anybody there because of the time of day - got there about 315pm. The place was clean and reasonably priced. I did online ticketing to save a few bucks. The one thing I noticed that there wasn't anybody at the front counter. I had to go inside to get somebody attention. A bell to call attention would be a simple solution.

    Photos
    Golden Tee Golfland
    Golden Tee Golfland
    Golden Tee Golfland

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    Da Boccery - Mozzarella sticks. They were okay.

    Da Boccery

    4.0(285 reviews)
    11.5 mi
    $$

    Wide open spaced restaurant…read more Has a full bar Has plenty to do for the whole family...bocce court, video golf and limited arcade Plenty of indokr seating and can also accommodate a relaxing outdoir seating vibe as well. Their food is italian based...sorta fusion tastes type of menu Hosting and wait staff was welcomig and attentive My family chose this place fir a late lunch as a tryout for a future large gathering to celebrate at and i think they made a great choice based on the size of the place and the atmosphere. Not everyone can be a fan of italian food but the menu here is divese enough that guests will still enjoy the flavors they choose. What helps is that this food does not come out skimpy at alk, they hook up their portions...at least our orders were a nice amount at the time. Overall....would come back here again for a meal just for being in the area

    Surprisingly really good food. Kind of pricey, but was worth it for a proper meal to be made…read more Wasn't expecting the Turkey Club Sandwich to taste that great. They smoke their turkey in house apparently, and you definitely got that smokey flavor from it. I ordered a Caesar Salad too as the side and it was delicious. A properly made Caesar Salad that you can still taste the anchovies in the dressing. Minus a star because our waiter kept forgetting things, whether it was one or two sets of utensils, one or two waters, one or two straws, he kept having to come back and forth from the kitchen which is kind of a far walk in the establishment (on opposite ends from our table, really). Also I would've appreciated if they had mentioned to us to book the games in advanced before it became all sold out. We had a big party and the least they could've done is to foresee that we would potentially like to play some bocce ball or whatnot after and ask us about it.

    Photos
    Da Boccery - Full bar with multiple screens

    Full bar with multiple screens

    Da Boccery
    Da Boccery - Games

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    Games

    Round1 Bowling & Arcade

    Round1 Bowling & Arcade

    2.7(367 reviews)
    11.0 mi
    $$
    Kid friendly
    Large group friendly

    Not my favorite Round 1 but still love going here after dinner in the area. Shout out to Derik for…read morealways being there to help us reset and claim prizes (though it is much more resetting than claiming prizes). Staff as a whole has been helpful when I've been there, even when they're definitely slammed. Have seen the improvements over the years! Think the variety is pretty good, though wish there weren't so many of those cheap plastic minis. Feels like quality in prizes has gone down over the years.

    I am so sad. I've been coming here for years and each time i spend over a hundred bucks and always…read moreend up with a few plushies. These past couple times? NOTHING. They are so greedy now. This time around i used my saved up tickets to get a small plush just so i can leave with a prize. Back then, you see everyone holding plushies and walking around. Now, maybe a few lucky winners? They filled a lot of the space with the mini claw machines. Do not play these!! You will not win! The claw strength for most of the machines are zero to none now and they have bumped up the prices for all of the claw machine games. They even force you to pay more for less credits now. Now it's either $120 or $140 ($110 before) and the credits definitely don't last as long anymore. Bad economy i guess. Don't come here if you actually want the prizes After using up 450 credits, i gave up and tried playing one of the marble games, the machine malfunctioned and refused to pay out the tickets. Asked someone to come look, a angry mechanic lady came by and walked around the machine, took a glance and left. I thought they needed to get help or something so i'm just sitting here and waiting for 30 minutes for them to come and try to fix it. Spoiler: they didn't come back to fix it nor come back to give an explanation to us. When i checked back at the reception, they said they sent someone to look at the machine but no one was at the machine(?) I AM LITERALLY SITTING IN FRONT OF THE MACHINE ARE YOU KIDDING ME. Then they sent the same angry mechanic to come back, who gave me a mean glare, opened and tinkered with the machine, couldn't fix anything, and proceeded to walk away without saying a word. Another 15 minutes went by, so i went back to the counter to just ask for my credits back since i don't want to wait anymore. They said they are fixing it and i will get the tickets once they finish fixing the machine. I'm like they aren't even there. But they said they can't give me back my credits -.- Ended up taking an L and just killing off the rest of the card and leaving. It's like they can't afford to let you win It's such a scam Imma just wait until I go back to Japan where it's like a dollar each play and there's actually a chance to win things. Good bye Hayward Round one.

    Photos
    Round1 Bowling & Arcade
    Round1 Bowling & Arcade
    Round1 Bowling & Arcade

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    Shift Arcade - arcades - Updated August 2026

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