Virtual & Retro

Call Directions Website Contact the establishment

Virtual & Retro Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Virtual & Retro, Arts and entertainment, 208 Havelock Street, Ashburton.

Canterbury's premier Virtual Reality Arcade

🥽 VR Escape Rooms
🎮 VR Games & Immersive Experiences
🏎️ Racing Simulators
🕹️ Retro Games

💼 Work Functions
🤝 Team Building
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Families
🧑 Solo Players
🎉 Friends & Groups

Ashburton, New Zealand

Thank you to the Ashburton District Council for supporting the Ashburton College eSports team, which will be coming back...
15/10/2026

Thank you to the Ashburton District Council for supporting the Ashburton College eSports team, which will be coming back to Virtual & Retro this term.

Thank you HobbyCon New Zealand for hosting us at your Christchurch event! It was great giving people a taste of both vir...
11/10/2026

Thank you HobbyCon New Zealand for hosting us at your Christchurch event!
It was great giving people a taste of both virtual reality and retro gaming - hopefully we'll see them in Ashburton soon 😄

10/10/2026

We'll be closing the venue tomorrow (Sunday) on 3pm for a private function.

Running as usual (from 11:30am) until then.

We loved sponsoring BGBTB through VR escape room vouchers for a couple of lucky winners. They'll get to pick a room out ...
09/10/2026

We loved sponsoring BGBTB through VR escape room vouchers for a couple of lucky winners.
They'll get to pick a room out of our collection of 30+ virtual escape rooms from all genres and play styles.

Through partnership with Takiwātanga Whakatere (the team behind Arofa Koha Cafe) and thanks to funding from Sport Canter...
08/10/2026

Through partnership with Takiwātanga Whakatere (the team behind Arofa Koha Cafe) and thanks to funding from Sport Canterbury we’ll be offering fully-funded FREE VR activity sessions for Neuro Diverse tamariki and rangatahi (ages 10 to 18).

Please contact us for further information.

Meet the Staff - HarveyWe have already introduced Adi, the owner. Here is the other half of the team: Hi I'm Harvey, I h...
07/10/2026

Meet the Staff - Harvey

We have already introduced Adi, the owner. Here is the other half of the team:

Hi I'm Harvey, I have been a lead employee at Virtual and Retro since 2022, (so I've seen it all!) I am currently studying music at Ara in Christchurch.

When I'm not working or studying, I spend a lot of my time practicing playing the drums, going to concerts and spending time with my friends and flatmates.

I grew up in Ashburton and although it's a lovely town, there's not much for kids and teens to do here, especially on a rainy day, so I think Virtual and retro is the perfect place to bring your kids during the holidays for something a bit different, I would have loved this place growing up! 😅

I look forward to helping more customers over my time here and if you have any music recommendations feel free to let me know 🤣🙂

- Harvey

2nd week of school holdiays — and if your house is anything like ours, the question becomes: “What are we doing with the...
05/10/2026

2nd week of school holdiays — and if your house is anything like ours, the question becomes: “What are we doing with the kids this week?” 😊

I want to talk about something many families are feeling right now: Costs.
Running a virtual reality arcade in a small rural town like Ashburton, my goal has always been simple — make Virtual & Retro something local families can actually enjoy without it feeling like a big outing expense.

That’s why during the school holidays:
🎮 30 minutes is only $19
🎮 1 hour is only $29 per person
These are the lowest VR session prices in the South Island (and very likely New Zealand).

If you’ve been thinking about trying VR with your kids but weren’t sure if it was “one of those expensive activities”, this is a great time to come in and give it a go.
No experience needed — we help everyone get started.

If your kids have already visited Virtual & Retro before, I’d love to know:
👉 what was their favourite game?
And if you haven’t visited yet — are your kids more into racing 🏎️, adventures 🗺️, or just trying VR for the first time?

Bookings are open through the holidays, or you can just pop in during opening hours.

When technology malfunctions: while the tilted floor displayed here was an interesting experience, it was likely a resul...
05/10/2026

When technology malfunctions: while the tilted floor displayed here was an interesting experience, it was likely a result of a lighthouse malfunction today, and quickly fixed.

With as many different working pieces of tech that we have, things go wrong some times, but we always strive to give our customers the best experience. In today's scenario we added about 20m time (over the paid 30m) and moved players to another pair of headsets.

The offending lighthouse resumed normal operation after the time-tested method of turning it off and on again.
How often do you use this method to fix things yourself?

03/10/2026

Good morning - did you have your VR coffee this morning?

Looking for something to do tonight (Saturday) in Christchurch? Try out Board Games By The Bay
03/10/2026

Looking for something to do tonight (Saturday) in Christchurch?
Try out Board Games By The Bay

Address

208 Havelock Street
Ashburton
7700

Opening Hours

Friday 3pm - 7pm
Saturday 11am - 7pm
Sunday 11:30am - 6pm

Telephone

+64226482418

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Virtual & Retro posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Establishment

Send a message to Virtual & Retro:

Shortcuts

Share

Category