A night out with a big group goes better when there is something to do besides sit at a long table. The best group activities in Cleveland give everyone something to do with their hands, mix people into teams and leave room to talk, and many of them are in Ohio City, Lakewood and the southern suburbs.
The picks below are chosen for groups: places that book lanes or rooms for a party, games that work with a crowd, and a couple of spots where you can bring your own food. For date-night arcades, mini golf and more, open the full Cleveland nights out guide.
Reserve ahead for a group and confirm the size limits for your party before you send the invite.
Bring the whole crew
Where to take a group for a night out
Middleburg Heights
Game Show Duels
Best for: A group that likes friendly competition
Game Show Duels runs live game shows on Eastland Road in Middleburg Heights, where groups compete in trivia, spin-the-wheel and feud-style rounds. There is a second location on Athens Avenue in Lakewood. Guests can bring their own food and drinks, which keeps a party simple: pick up trays on the way and split into teams. It is run by Escape Room Cleveland, which also has rooms on Eastland Road.
Strongsville
Escape Room Cleveland
Best for: Puzzle lovers and team outings
Escape Room Cleveland is a local company with rooms on Pearl Road in Strongsville, on Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights and on Eastland Road in Middleburg Heights. The Strongsville location includes the multi-room Asylum, one of the hardest rooms in the area, which suits a group that has done a few escape rooms already. At Eastland Road, axe throwing is in the same building, so a bigger party can split up and swap.
Valley View
Lumber Legends
Best for: Axe throwing for a party
Lumber Legends is an axe throwing venue in Valley View, at the northern edge of the Cuyahoga Valley, with lanes set up for groups and private events. It is a good fit for a birthday or bachelor party where people want to try something new and cheer each other on. Book a private event if you want the lanes to yourselves.
Ohio City
Tabletop Board Game Cafe
Best for: A talkative group that wants to sit
Tabletop Board Game Cafe is a board game cafe and bar on West 25th Street in Ohio City. It suits a group that would rather sit around one big table than stand in a lane, and it mixes well with people who do not know each other yet. Perplexity Games is a short walk away on the same stretch, which makes it easy to add a second stop.
Ohio City
Pins Mechanical Co.
Best for: Duckpin bowling with your own food
Pins Mechanical Co. is a duckpin bowling bar on West 25th Street in Ohio City with a large free-play arcade. There is no kitchen, so bring outside food or order delivery to the table. Duckpin balls are small and light, which keeps the game even for a group that includes people who never bowl.
Ohio City
16-Bit Bar+Arcade
Best for: Retro arcade games in the same building
16-Bit Bar+Arcade shares the 1880 West 25th Street address with Pins Mechanical Co. in Ohio City. It has a big lineup of free-play retro arcade games, with more downstairs. For a group, that means people can drift between games at their own pace and regroup at the bar, and it pairs easily with duckpin next door.
Downtown
The Corner Alley
Best for: Bowling and a meal downtown
The Corner Alley is a bar-style bowling alley on East Fourth Street downtown with a full bar and a grill menu of starters, pizza, burgers and sandwiches. Everything happens in one room, which helps with a group. It works well before or after a game at the ballpark or the arena, when the whole party is already downtown.
Lakewood
Mahall's
Best for: Bowling and a band in Lakewood
Mahall’s is a Lakewood bowling alley on Madison Avenue that has been open since 1924. It has a bar, a cocktail lounge and The Roxy music venue in the same building, and the kitchen is known for smash burgers. A group can bowl, eat and catch a show without leaving the building.
Wickliffe
Wickliffe Lanes
Best for: Big east side groups on a budget
Wickliffe Lanes is a big bowling center on Euclid Avenue in Wickliffe, in the eastern suburbs, with billiards tables and inexpensive open bowling. For a large group coming from the east side, it saves the drive across town, and the pool tables give people something to do while they wait for a lane.
Match the group
How to pick the right activity
Competitive groups do best with a clear winner at the end of the night: Game Show Duels, axe throwing at Lumber Legends or bowling at The Corner Alley. Groups that want to talk more than compete will be happier at Tabletop Board Game Cafe or drifting around the arcade at 16-Bit.
Escape rooms reward a group that works well together, and Escape Room Cleveland’s harder rooms are best saved for people who have done one before. If the group mixes ages or skill levels, duckpin at Pins Mechanical Co. is forgiving for beginners.
Two stops, one street
A West 25th Street group night in Ohio City
Ohio City is the easiest place to stack two stops on foot. Start at Tabletop Board Game Cafe on West 25th, then walk a block to 1880 West 25th Street, where Pins Mechanical Co. and 16-Bit Bar+Arcade share a building. Since Pins has no kitchen, pick up food on the way or order delivery. Everyone can split between duckpin and arcade games and meet up again at the bar. See every night out spot on the map to add a third stop.
Good to know
Questions before you go.
Is there anything outdoors for a group?
Birdietown on Madison Avenue in Lakewood is an outdoor mini golf course, and Swings-N-Things Fun Park in Olmsted Falls adds go-karts, bumper boats and batting cages to its mini golf.
Is there a group spot in Tremont?
HI and DRY Bowling & Beer on Professor Avenue has duckpin bowling, an arcade, craft beer, cocktails and American food.
Where can a group play games and catch a band on the west side?
Funhouse on West 117th Street has skee-ball, boozy slushies and live punk shows, and Yorktown Lanes in Parma Heights has a bar that books local and touring bands.
More ways to spend an evening
See every night out spot in Cleveland
Arcades, bowling alleys, mini golf and game bars across the city and suburbs are in the full nights out guide.