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Tucked down a side\u2011street off Red Lion Square, Novelty Automation is a compact arcade of roughly 20 hand\u2011built, coin\u2011operated automata. Created by Tim Hunkin, the machines mix Victorian mechanics with contemporary satire \u2014 bring a token bucket (c. \u00a328) and allow an hour or two.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
When a corner of Holborn can still surprise, it is worth stepping off the tourist trail. Tucked down a quiet by\u2011street just off Red Lion Square is Novelty Automation, a pint\u2011sized arcade of hand\u2011built automatons that feels like a machine\u2011age satire come to life. According to a feature in the Mirror, visitors duck into the small unit, buy a bucket of metal coins and work their way through roughly 20 coin\u2011operated contraptions that are part joke, part engineering curiosity \u2014 \u201cbrilliant if not quite weird,\u201d the piece concluded.<\/p>\n
Play is straightforward and social: drop a few shiny coins into a chute, watch the mechanism spring into life and, in many cases, find yourself the butt of the joke. The Mirror\u2019s account described sessions of an hour or two for most visitors and cited a bucket of 35 coins at about \u00a328 as ample for a group of three. Other travel guides and listings suggest similar pricing and token systems, with buckets and tiered token packs intended to encourage trying a wide variety of machines rather than prolonged, high\u2011score play.<\/p>\n
The machines themselves mix Victorian automata aesthetics with contemporary satire. Some are theatrical installations you sit inside \u2014 the Mirror described an \u201cInstant Eclipse\u201d pod that left one participant oddly reticent about what happened \u2014 while others demand simple physical input from players, such as running on the spot to power an exhausted warehouse operative in the Fulfilment Centre. Recurring favourites named in visitor reviews and listings include the chiropodist robot that massages feet, the Money Laundering coin\u2011climb, and the interactive \u201cIs it Art?\u201d booth that elevates an object to an art\u2011world verdict.<\/p>\n
That satirical edge is deliberate. The arcade has become a small stage for contemporary commentary: The Guardian reported on a \u201cHousing Ladder\u201d machine in which players dodge caricatured buy\u2011to\u2011let landlords and developers, a tongue\u2011in\u2011cheek reflection on Britain\u2019s housing pressures that the creator framed as social critique rather than mere pastime. Other pieces lampoon consumer culture and modern labour, and visitors frequently remark that the machines are as much cartoons in motion as they are games.<\/p>\n
Novelty Automation is the work of Tim Hunkin \u2014 the cartoonist\u2011engineer who presented The Secret Life of Machines and whose earlier seaside shows married wit with workshop craft. Museum and theatre listings, and summaries of Hunkin\u2019s projects, record that the Holborn venue opened in 2015 and draws on his long interest in marrying simple electromagnetic mechanics with occasional electronic controls. Several machines were adapted from earlier exhibitions and from Hunkin\u2019s Under the Pier Show, reinforcing a through\u2011line from seaside eccentricity to central\u2011London curiosity.<\/p>\n
Practical details are modest but useful: listings place the arcade close to Holborn tube and give compact opening hours, making it an easy add\u2011on to a central London itinerary. Independent reviews advise buying a token bucket if you plan to try many machines \u2014 several sources cite a bucket price in the high\u201120s to low\u201130s range, and smaller packs for one\u2011off plays are available \u2014 and suggest setting aside roughly an hour or two to enjoy the variety. Photographs and visitor tips on specialist sites underline that the attraction is best appreciated by groups or curious adults rather than by gamers seeking high\u2011score competition.<\/p>\n
For those who have ticked off the big London sights and want something small, sharp and unmistakably British, Novelty Automation offers a concentrated dose of humour and ingenuity. It revives the penny\u2011arcade spirit with a contemporary, critical edge: handcrafted machines that both entertain and nudge you to laugh at the world they parody.<\/p>\n