Ohio Guide and Deals

Scallywag Tag's arena dazzles eyes with a black-lit, neon-tinged pirate ship and 18th-century Caribbean village, which provides a labyrinth of fluorescent walls for marauding swashbucklers. After being split into two competing crews, participants receive a vest, a phaser, and instructions to tally as many points as possible by tagging opponents, swarming the enemy's home base, or holding a referee hostage until he or she doctors the score. The score itself is broadcast on wide-screen LCD scoreboards, but those who are too busy taking out the adversary to look at them can take heart knowing that at the end of the game, the referees announce the winning team.

Outside the fast-paced laser-tag arena, Scallywag Tag encourages visitors to recharge with a drink or a slice of pizza from the snack bar. The arcade sections also distract patrons by featuring perennial classics such as air hockey as well as new favorites, including Time Crisis 3 and Find That W2 Form.

The West-side location additionally lures younger passersby with a pirate-themed jump house and a 35-foot-long slide in the family entertainment center. The West-side’s black-light miniature golf tests hand-eye coordination skills, leading guests through a gauntlet of 18 holes that similarly embrace the pirate theme.

Though it celebrates athleticism of all stripes, Sports of All Sorts specializes in training amateurs in America's pastime. Along with batting cages equipped for baseball and slow- or fast-pitch softball, the facility improves each player's game with a hitting and pitching tunnel and pitching mounds with L-screens. Seasoned players and area college coaches demonstrate batting skills at off-season baseball camps, which can be customized for groups of six or more.

The facility's multipurpose court hosts a range of activities such as basketball scrimmages, cheerleading practice, and royal curling tournaments while the king's ice rink gets remodeled. After practice, the arcade hosts rounds of air hockey, billiards, or video games, and Sports of All Sorts' bounce house and three-tiered indoor soft playground hosts the hopping of younger visitors.

A distributor of children's playground and sports equipment, Recreations Outlet has been fortifying playtime with safely constructed fun fixtures since 1990. The outlet houses an expansive show room brandishing apparatuses that parents can purchase and install at home, such as Amish-built playhouses, monkey towers, and fenced-in Springfree trampolines that keep kids in and competitive kangaroos out. In addition to its regular shopping hours, Recreations Outlet invites little ones to come test out the fun factor of its wares during open-play sessions or hosted birthday parties.

A sea of beeps, lights, and pinballs fills the confines of Arcade Legacy's 7,800-square-foot game room. Here, 60 classic arcade machines, along with more modern virtual challenges, represent each era of video-game history. The digital heroes of games such as Donkey Kong, Mario, and Street Fighter grace brightly lit screens during open play or competitions. Elsewhere, 16 console stations let visitors wrap their dexterous toes around controllers from the Atari to the PS3, and two HD projection screens set a virtual stage for Rock Band performances. This electronic haven also plays host to special events such as birthdays, parties, and art shows

The telltale sounds of fun fill the air at either Magic Mountain Fun Center location, as friends and families careen around tracks in go-karts, compete on mind-bending mini-golf courses, or do battle in bumper cars. Piping-hot pizzas fuel days of rides and arcade games, and the park's varied birthday packages catapult parties into a fun-filled gamut of feasting, bumper boats, and laser tag. Open late, the parks afford guests the opportunity to while the night away or lure their night terrors in front of a speeding bumper car.

Now in its 23rd year, the I-X Indoor Amusement Park returns to the International Exposition Center with more than 20 acres of rides, games, and attractions. The indoor wonderland opens its doors from late March to early April on select dates, giving Cleveland families a springtime window to zip around on more than 30 thrill rides or read poetry to farm animals at a petting zoo. The newly added Cirque Shanghai dazzles eyes with a mammoth spectacle of daring acrobatics and motorcycle daredevilry, while daily Big Cat shows showcase the abilities of rescued tigers from a Sarasota, Florida, animal sanctuary. A collection of carnival fare, such as corn dogs, cotton candy, fresh-squeezed lemonade, and deep-fried baseball caps, rounds out the summer-like atmosphere.