Novelty Automation, Amusement arcade in Holborn, London, England
Novelty Automation is an amusement arcade in Holborn, London, filled with handmade mechanical games and interactive machines designed by engineer Tim Hunkin. Each machine is a one-off piece with its own theme and mechanism, operated using tokens.
The arcade opened in 2015 and continued a tradition Tim Hunkin had started years earlier with mechanical attractions at Southwold Pier. The concept grew from a long involvement with handmade machines as a form of public entertainment.
The machines here reflect a British sense of humor that shows through in the mechanical designs. Visitors experience a kind of entertainment where social topics and everyday worries are turned into something playable.
The arcade is a short walk from Holborn Underground station and easy to reach on foot from the surrounding area. Tokens are bought at the entrance and are needed to play any of the machines.
Among the machines is a housing price simulator and an automated divorce machine, showing how ordinary social anxieties can become playable devices. Tim Hunkin designs and builds each machine himself in his workshop.
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