Happy Play soft-opens in Chalan Kanoa

Happy Play is located next to Pepoy’s Restaurant Cafe along Beach Road in Chalan Kanoa. (MARK RABAGO)

A new boutique amusement arcade has opened in Chalan Kanoa with Happy Play offering residents in the area a momentary escape from the daily grind.

Operations manager Linda Lyu said they named the business Happy Play in hopes that everyone can release all their stress and pressures in their life by playing games.

“When I feel that life is boring and my heart is under too much pressure, I will release and resolve it by playing games, so that the satisfaction in my heart will be overwhelming. At the same time, I also play games and entertainment in my spare time, because playing games can improve one’s reflexes, improve memory, develop creativity, and prevent Alzheimer’s disease.”

Lyu acknowledged the negative effects of playing too much, “playing games for a long time is also harmful to the eyes, and the time should not exceed 2-3 hours,” she said.

Happy Play operations manager Linda Lyu, right, and staff pose next to the amusement arcade’s player-friendly claw machines. (MARK RABAGO)

At the end of the day, Happy Play and other amusement arcades like it, Lyu said, offer a new and different kind of entertainment to the island community. 

“[These types of businesses] make people healthy and happy both physically and mentally. Because people living today are under too much pressure from all aspects. Whether they are teenagers, middle-aged, or old, playing games is one of the most effective ways to relieve stress. So, we named it Happy Play, hoping that our business can bring happiness to everyone.”  

Just some of the familiar arcade games at Happy Hour include the coin game Gold Fort, the feat of strength World Boxing, the Magic Shoot basketball game, a 3-D fishing game, and claw games like The Cute Bears and Manx Maria.

As far as setting up shop in Chalan Kanoa, Saipan’s former capital, Lyu said the village is centrally located and is home to many residents.

“We chose CK because CK is a place where locals and people working on Saipan live relatively densely, which can bring them convenience.”

Some of the arcade game prizes that await players at Happy Play include high quality garlands, costumes, stuffed toys, dolls, and more. 

“What’s more, we don’t charge any venue fee when you come to hold a party.”

Lyu said what also sets Happy Play apart from other amusement arcades on Saipan is they have no age limit.

“Moreover, our games are all positive, without any unhealthy games such as violence and pornography. We are also very cautious in choosing games. We are based on the purpose of being healthy, positive, serving everyone, and joy. In the future, we will add competition games, and we will also provide free prizes.”

Happy Play is open Monday-Thursday, from 3pm to 8pm; Friday, from 3pm to 9pm, and Saturday-Sunday from 11am to 9pm. 

“Our closing time is very early because we don’t want to affect everyone’s sleep time and work quality because of playing games.  We are based on the principle of healthy everyone and happy everyone.”

Happy Play is located next to Pepoy’s Restaurant Cafe along Beach Road in Chalan Kanoa. For more information, call (670) 989-0401.