Fairgame Canary Wharf Review
A rare grown-up day out in London without the kids saw me searching for fun things to do in town. I knew I wanted to end up in the Canary Wharf region as I had tickets to see the new Hunger Games Live Show. Scouting around I found Electric Shuffle and as a fan of shuffleboard I made an enquiry. I was too close to Christmas to book a table for two as the minimum party size is six during the festive period.
Their loss was my gain, as I continued to search the area for something to do. Fairgame sprung up and I remembered it from an Instagram advert or post that was shared with me. It sounded like fun so I booked in.
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It was really easy to find from the underground, but I felt like somebody had hidden the entrance as every door I went to said use main entrance, persevering around I finally got in. We walked in to a warm welcome and staff explained how to get our play cards. I absorbed the cacophony of colours, sounds and food smells while Shelley deposited our coats in the cloakroom. I headed straight to the bar and ordered two mojitos, it was after all, a rare day without the kids!
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Fairgame is an over eighteens experience, I hasten to add that is out of their choice not because of any adult themes. The plates of food that were being delivered looked good. The pizzas that wafted past looked particularly tempting but we had dinner reservations elsewhere so we proceeded to the game area. Awaiting us were nine games reminiscent of the fairground, although for me it reminded me of Brighton Pier too. There was no particular order that you had to play the games in so we headed for the shortest queue and played a game of whack-a-mole aptly named ‘Gopher broke’. Your games card allows you to tap into a game where you get two attempts. Your highest score is registered on the leader board and at any time you can head over to one of three screens to see how you are fairing in your group. As there was only two of us we did all games in unison, but you wouldn’t have to if you were in a bigger group.
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All the fairground favourites were there, from water pistol shooting, to basketball hoops, to a tin-can alley. My favourite was The Final Furlong where you have to roll balls into holes to make your horse move, my nag was aptly named ‘Passing Wind’ and came close but didn’t get first in either race. It was a blast though!
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I was a little surprised how energetic a lot of the games were. So I was grateful to go back to the bar for another drink halfway round. Speaking of drinks each game had a handy nook to place your drink so you never had to leave it unattended. In a world of drink spiking I thought this was a very nicely considered idea that should be applauded.
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We finished the games and while Shelley led in points for most of the games, a savagely bad performance on the shooting gallery ‘Phoney Island’, saw me edge out a confident win overall. We were both impressed with the games and the value for money (£19 per person), drinks and food prices were not astronomical either. Overall, we had a great time and would both heartily recommend it. I can imagine it being even more fun and competitive with a bigger group of friends!
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Key Facts
Location: Canary Wharf, London
Time: 1.5 hours plus more if you eat
Our Team: 2 adults
Website: https://www.wearefairgame.com/canary-wharf
Reviewer’s Note
For clarity: we don’t get paid for our reviews. I paid for my time at Fairgame with money from my own pocket. We have tried not to let this affect our review in any way.
