4020 Capital Blvd, Raleigh, NC 27604
Stars and Strikes Family Entertainment Center opened up right before the pandemic hit in 2020. They are excited to finally be back in business and ready to wear out the kids (and parents!) with their state-of-the-art arcade, laser tag, bumper cars, and bowling alley!
Just give it a shot!
We have to admit, Stars and Strikes isn’t located in the best spot in Raleigh. When it first opened we heard from lots of people that were worried about it’s location off of Capital Blvd, due to the condition of the shopping center and the crime in the area. We were hesitant ourselves, but I’m so glad we gave it a shot!
From the outside it looks like a sketchy abandoned shopping center, but inside you will be blown away by all of the nice and clean new entertainment features all under one roof! This place is HUGE and even nicer than Dave & Buster’s in Cary. Just remember to secure your valuables and lock your car doors while you are there, but we promise you will have tons of safe fun once inside the building!
Bowling Alley
My husband and I actually visited Stars and Strikes on a date night without the kids. They are currently running some great deals on bowling and arcade packages, so it was a reasonably priced night of fun!
The scoreboard has lots of fun different games and backgrounds to choose from while you bowl. My favorite was one that lets you take a picture of each player, and each time you bowled it would add a new funny sticker to your face! Our package deal included an hour of bowling, which was conveniently counted down on our scoreboard for easy reference.
The bar is located adjacent to the bowling alley and you will have a waiter come to your lane to take your orders. You can enjoy some friendly competition in an upscale atmosphere, and have great food and drinks served right to your lane!
The best part is that Stars and Strikes participates in Kids Bowl Free, so you can bring your child ages 15 and under to bowl two free games every day this summer! It’s a cheap way to beat the heat and entertain the kids while they’re out of school. Keep in mind that bowling shoe rental is not included and cost $3.99 for kids and $4.99 for adults. If mom and dad want to get in on the action, there’s a family pass you can purchase for $39.95 that gives two adults free games all summer too. Get 19% off the family pass if you use code summer19 .
Arcade
Our groupon deal included a $30 arcade card and we were able to play quite a few games together before running out of funds. The arcade has everything from shooting games to basketball, air hockey, pong, and skeeball. Think of your typical arcade games and they are there, plus all of the brand new games your kids will love!
After you have had your fill of games, don’t forget to swing by the prize redemption center to cash in for some great prizes! The arcade is fully paperless, so no need to keep track of all those paper tickets like at Chuck E. Cheese. As you play, the tickets are automatically loaded into your card. All you have to do is swipe to see how much you have earned! Prizes range from small pieces of candy all the way up to game consoles and The Child from Star Wars!
Bumper Cars
We pretty much had all of Stars and Strikes to ourselves while we were there. We were the only ones bowling and we didn’t see many people playing in the arcade. However, once we stepped up to the bumper cars a few preteen boys jumped in too. We all had loads of fun slamming into each other with the bumper cars, and this mama of 3 was excited to see that I can hang with the boys and still live to tell the tale!
Concessions, Restaurant, and Bar
We didn’t utilize the restaurant or onsite concessions while we were there. However, we did order some drinks and were happy with the taste and price. Just like Dave and Buster’s, this is a great spot to eat and play, and they offer deals and combos for packaged fun.
Laser Tag
We recently brought our kids back to Stars and Strikes to try out the Laser Tag. My 8, 6, and 5 year old had a ton of fun running around the arena and shooting each other to wrack up points. My 5 year old had a bit of trouble figuring out how to shoot the gun, since it required you to hold two parts of the gun to make it shoot, but he still had lots of fun. The space seemed like your typical laser tag arena with a ramp leading up to the second floor and lots of obstacles to hide behind. I enjoyed standing on the balcony and shooting the unsuspecting targets below. 😂
Party Rooms
If you’re looking to host a Birthday Party, Stars and Strikes has party rooms available and lots of different party packages to choose from. I’d say it’s on the expensive side for a party, but the packages include food and entertainment so it may not be a bad deal for older kids. I probably won’t consider this until my kids are around 10 years old so they can enjoy laser tag.
So what do you think? Will you give it a go and visit this brand new entertainment center in Raleigh? Stars and Strikes is located at 4020 Capital Blvd. Raleigh, NC. They are open Monday through Thursday from noon to 10pm. Fridays and Saturdays they stay open late until midnight, and on Sunday they open early at 10am.