fun times

Pokémon GO City Safari is coming to Sydney this December

October 8, 2025 By ausretrogamer

Pokémon GO City Safari Is Coming to Sydney – Catch ‘Em All in the Harbour City!

Pokémon Trainers, get ready to dust off your Poké Balls and charge your phones – because Pokémon GO City Safari is making its Australian debut in Sydney this December! Whether you’re a seasoned Trainer or a nostalgic fan who remembers the glory days of Red and Blue, this is one event you won’t want to miss.

What’s Happening?

On December 13 and 14, 2025, Sydney will transform into a real-life Pokémon playground for Australia’s very first City Safari. From the sparkling waters of Darling Harbour to the leafy paths of Centennial Park, you’ll be able to explore iconic landmarks, discover hidden gems, and encounter Pokémon in the wild – all while meeting fellow fans and soaking up the city’s summer vibes.

Event Details

When: Saturday, December 13 & Sunday, December 14, 2025
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. AEDT
Where: All across Sydney!
Tickets: $19 AUD for a single day, or $33 AUD for both days (with the Extra Day Add-On). Tickets are limited and non-refundable, so don’t snooze!
How to Buy: Head to the official City Safari website or grab your ticket in the Pokémon GO app (Main Menu → Events).

Explore Sydney with the GO Stamp Rally

The City Safari isn’t just about catching Pokémon – it’s about exploring Sydney like never before! Take part in the Pokémon GO Stamp Rally by visiting famous spots like:

Darling Harbour
Sydney City Centre
Royal Botanic Gardens
Circular Quay
Milsons Point
Manly Beach
Centennial Park

Spin the Photo Discs at participating PokéStops to collect up to eight unique stamps each day. Each stamp earns you an encounter with Eevee wearing an adorable explorer hat – and the stamp design changes depending on how long you “press,” so every stamp is a little different!

Special Pokémon Encounters

Sydney’s streets will be teeming with event-themed Pokémon, including Mudbray (the Donkey Pokémon), which is exclusive to City Safari 2025 events. And if you’re lucky, you might even spot a Shiny Pokémon or two!

Exclusive Giveaways & Bonuses

Swing by the City Safari booth in Darling Harbour (under the Pier Street Underpass near Darling Square) to score a Pikachu sun visor – the ultimate summer accessory for Trainers on the go.

Ticket holders also get some sweet in-game bonuses:

4-hour Lure Module duration (excluding Golden Lures)
Up to 5 Special Trades per day
50% Stardust discount on trades
Your Buddy Pokémon might find a City Safari–exclusive Tiny Compass souvenir

Power Up Your Adventure with Add-Ons

Want to level up your experience? Add-ons are $9 AUD each and work across both days:

Raid Lover: Up to 12 daily Raid Passes, bonus XP, and extra Candy for raid catches
Egg-thusiast: 1/2 Egg Hatch Distance, double Stardust, XP, and Hatch Candy
Extra Day Add-On ($14 AUD): Play both days with boosted bonuses and a higher chance of finding Shiny Pokémon

How to Get Tickets

Open Pokémon GO, tap Main Menu → Events
Select Pokémon GO City Safari: Sydney
Choose your date, add-ons, or gift tickets to friends (must be Great Friends or higher)
Complete payment and keep your confirmation email handy

Ready to Safari?

Whether you’re a local or visiting for the first time, Pokémon GO City Safari is your ticket to rediscovering Sydney, making new friends, and catching ‘em all in style. Mark your calendars, Trainers – Sydney’s about to get wild!

image source: supplied

BattleKart Action In Melbourne

March 4, 2024 By ausretrogamer

Have you ever dreamed of playing Mario Kart in real life? With BattleKart, you don’t play the game; you play IN the game!

If you are in Melbourne, then you are in luck! BattleKart is the perfect combination of electric karting, video games and augmented reality (AR). A unique mix to thrill your senses! Full throttle aboard an electric kart, on a track where different circuits, bonuses and game modes are projected onto the ground, interacting with the scenery and the other players to win the game!

So put down that Switch with Mario Kart 8 and get to BattleKart to play for real!

The lowdown:

What: BattleKart Melbourne
Where: 50 McArthur St, West Footscray VIC 3012
Open: Wed – Sun (closed Mon and Tue)
Price: starting from AU$69 for a single session
Booking: https://www.battlekart.com/en/melbourne/

Moon Dog Venue Coming To Footscray

June 14, 2023 By ausretrogamer

“Grand Sale, Grand Sale, where? In Foot-is-cray!” – Franco Cozzo

Why are we quoting Franco? Well, the old Franco Cozzo furniture store in Footstcray has shutdown and will now (pending planning approval) be the future location of Moon Dog Footscray! Woohoo, this is some very welcome and good news!

The iconic site (at 54-58 Hopkins Street, Footscray) is prime real estate and in an excellent location, accessible only a few minutes from Footscray train station. As part of their planning permit, the Moon Dog folks will look to preserve the iconic building, which would be a great tribute to the legendary Franco Cozzo. This new site will have a 900 person capacity, which means (if approved) it will be far larger than the Moon Dog World in Preston, which is licensed for 725 people.

Footscray prime real estate!
image source: IL Globo

Since Moon Dog World in Preston opened in October 2019, it has remained quite popular with patrons and it even weathered the pandemic lockdowns, so let’s hope the same will happen with the new Moon Dog, where patrons can chill out (and also play some pinball). Speaking of pinball, we are hoping they follow the Preston model and ensure the Footscray venue includes some silverball action too – if they do, then we’ll definitely need to update our “Where to Play Pinball in Melbourne” article *fingers crossed*

The iconic Moon Dog World – Preston

Pinball action in the shipping container (Moon Dog World – Preston). Let’s hope they include pinball at their new venue!

The ever popular Moon Dog World – Preston
image source: Moon Dog on Facebook

Timeline Arcade Adventures With The Nintendork!

July 13, 2022 By ausretrogamer

When we stumbled upon our good friend’s, The Nintedork, thread about his super fun time with his family at Timeline Arcade, we knew we had to share their awesome experience, which was loaded with a ton of nostalgia!

The Nintendork was happy for us to share some select photos (see below) from their fun times, but if you would like to see all the photos, full of arcade and pinball nostalgia, from this amazing place, then please check out the Twitter thread below, we promise you’ll be amazed!

Had a Super fun time with my son Riley and his girlfriend at @Timeline_Arcade in York!

A thread… pic.twitter.com/w096lILv0b

— Tʜᴇ Nɪɴᴛᴇɴᴅᴏʀᴋ 🇺🇦🎮🕹️ (@Nintendork9) July 10, 2022

Thanks again to The Nintendork for allowing us to share his fun experience at Timeline Arcade!

Las Vegas Shenanigans: The Fun Dungeon At Excalibur

July 29, 2016 By ausretrogamer

In this last of our Las Vegas Shenanigans feature series, we hit the Fun Dungeon at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino! If you thought that The Big Apple Coaster & Arcade looked awesome, wait till you see how much fun we had at the Fun Dungeon! Well, what are you waiting for, take a look down below! Viva Las Vegas!