Bowling game: the Eden opens on St George's Bay in Malta Living

Looking for a bowling game you can play on your phone, with friends to come? The Eden has opened on St George's Bay in St Julian's in Malta Living, the free life sim played in your browser. It's the place you go when someone asks "what are we doing tonight?": bowling, duckpin, an arcade and a diner with a terrace bar, all under one roof, with karaoke rooms coming soon.

Five rooms, one night out

Walk in and you're at the lanes. Duckpin is next door, the arcade's cabinets and the claw glow along the back, the karaoke booths down the corridor say Coming soon, and the diner opens onto a terrace bar over the bay. The Eden's panel shows what's on and a tile for each room.

Meet Rico

Tap Bowling and Rico, at the shoe desk, asks how many of you there are. Tonight it's "Just me, a quick one" (five frames) or "Just me, a full game" (ten). He has opinions about your shoe size. He shouts your strikes over the speaker, calls a priest for three in a row, and is kind about gutter balls. Amara runs the prize counter, Jun the karaoke rooms, Priya the diner and Marco the terrace bar.

How to bowl

Put your thumb on the lane and pull back towards you. A dotted line shows where the ball will go. Pull further for more power, and curl your finger as you pull for spin: a slow ball hooks more. Let go to bowl. Every ball is rolled on the game's server, which works out the pins, so nobody can fake a strike. A game is €4, with shoes.

Duckpin is the quick, silly one: a smaller ball, squatter pins, three throws a frame, five frames in about a minute. €2.

Bowl with friends

Tell Rico "A few of us" and he gives you a lane for up to six, or "Two against two" for four, two a side. Anyone at the Eden sees your lane on the Eden's card and can sit down. When you're ready, tap Start: each of you pays your own game, on your own phone, and you take turns a frame each with 30 seconds a ball. Running late? A friend who sits down after the start joins at the next frame. On Tuesdays, Retro Tuesday, a game is €3.

A date at the lanes

Tell Rico "Two. It's a date" and type your date's username: a quieter lane for two waits, and they see your invitation on the Eden's card. While you bowl, little moments come up (their gutter ball, their strike) and you pick how you react. Kind answers make it go well; at the end you see how the date went, and you're closer for it. Whoever scored less can buy dessert for two. On Couples Wednesday, a date's two games cost one. Others can ask to join: both must say yes.

The nights

Every night is a little different. Retro Tuesday brings old-school scoring screens and €3 games. Cosmic Bowling on Friday nights turns the lights out and the pins glow. On Family Sunday the bumpers are up, so nobody ends in the gutter. Different staff work different nights too: Nikola on the lanes early in the week, Kofi at the terrace bar on Sundays.

The arcade

Credits are €1 for 4. Hoops is 40 seconds of flicks: 20 baskets beats the target, and getting there before 30 seconds earns 15 more. Duck shoot is a fairground stall with water pistols: play it alone, or with a friend who's at the Eden too. You both get the same ducks on your own phones, so you steal each other's, and the first to 20 wins. Bus Rush and Merge Drop run a minute each on the cabinets.

Everything pays tickets, up to 1,500 a day, doubled on Cosmic Bowling nights. Amara swaps them at the prize counter for things for your home: a lava lamp, a giant octopus, the mini arcade cabinet that plays Bus Rush.

The claw

Line it up with the joystick, watch its shadow on the heap, and drop. The grip can still slip, and the heap stays as it fell for your next go. The best prizes are rare for the whole island: a few rare ones a day, and one golden pharaoh hound a week. Il-Kexxun in Siġġiewi buys the rare ones, the hound for €10,000. The pinball machine you can win is a real pinball table at home.

Your bowling average

Every full game counts towards your bowling average, from your last ten. It's on the Eden's card, so you'll know if tonight helped.

The terrace bar

Marco's menu has the Eden's own cocktails (the Strike, the Gutter Ball, the Cosmic), a Bajtra Spritz, the classics, mocktails with no alcohol at all, Cisk, Hopleaf and Maltese wine. Two drinks are strong: a Long Island Iced Tea or a Sex on the Beach takes you straight to Drunk. No car after that, and your bowling wobbles. One of those an hour, Marco's rule. The diner does burgers, chicken and chips, a pizza to share and a cookie skillet.

What's next

You can now book a friend's birthday at the lanes. A weekly league with trophies comes next; the karaoke rooms open later, with laser tag and escape rooms. Start playing and bowl a game tonight.

Getting there

Tap the Eden on the map, or open Get around on your phone: it's on St George's Bay, a short walk from Paceville. For another new place, read about Harbour Bank; for the rest of the island, see real places and real prices or start with the Malta life simulator guide.

Questions people ask

How much is a game of bowling at the Eden?

€4 with shoes, five frames or ten. Duckpin is €2. In its opening week, your first paid thing there is on the house.

Can someone fake a strike?

No. Your phone only sends the throw: where you aimed, how hard and how much spin. The game's server rolls the ball and counts the pins.

How do you win the golden pharaoh hound?

At the Eden's claw. There's one a week for the whole island, so it's down to a good drop and luck. If you win one, keep it at home or sell it to Il-Kexxun in Siġġiewi for €550.

What does a Long Island Iced Tea do in the game?

It takes you straight to Drunk: no driving, a cab home, and a wobblier throw. Marco pours one of the strong two an hour.