Spare Time Entertainment — Few sports embrace puns as heartily as bowling. One need only look at the team names on any given league night for high-level examples of lowbrow punnery: the Bowling Stones, Seven Deadly Pins, Bowl Movement. While its name also employs dad joke-style wordplay, Spare Time Entertainment in Colchester is not your father's bowling alley.
2022 saw a major renovation of Chittenden County's last remaining bowling center, the flagship of Vermont's family-owned Bowl New England empire. A leveled-up Game Zone now features dozens of arcade games, from Skee-Ball to Pac-Man to virtual-reality motorcycle racing. Test your wits in one of two new escape rooms, or settle scores in the laser tag arena.
To make room for that smorgasbord of sensory overload, Spare Time removed six of its original 36 bowling lanes. But it refreshed the remaining 30 to evoke the feel of a swanky cocktail lounge, complete with lane-side food and beverage service.
All those updates are meant to appeal to a wider spectrum of fun seekers, especially families. And judging by the swarming weekend crowds, it's worked. But Spare Time still caters to bowling diehards: Weeknights are ruled by leagues ranging from casual to competitive.
Other Finalists
- Stowe Bowl
- Twin City Family Fun Center
- Valley Bowl