The place is so retro lived all the pin ball machines they had. It is a good place to come with your family and have some fun. You can buy the coins with your debit card . I would have given this place 5 if the attendant would be nice to its customers or as he claims to be the owner. Not very polite and rude. I truly enjoyed playing the machines and so the young kids that were there playing nice location and always nice festive decorated read more

Star Worlds Arcade - Arcades Near Me - DeKalb, Illinois

My fiancé took me here for Valentine's Day. It was decorated inside and out - so cute!! There was a special deal for Valentine's Day that had a little box of chocolates with the coins! We came a few hours before closed and would've been entertained to stay longer otherwise. I was also given a few roses on the way out! Multiple games were play until you win and there was a cool selection from Mario Kart to pinballs. Would definitely come back! read more

you can tell owner is a passionate game guy, but it is so small and literally nothing I wanted to play gave my tokens away to some kids and left. it was awkwardly small inside would never go back. Nothing personal just for an arcade it sucked knowing what I had as a kid growing up. read more

This venue has been here for 38 years!!! I can honestly say that none of the arcade halls I grew up with exist anymore! Never been, first time in for a birthday boy! Tight space (thx covid). Black lights? Oh yeah! Obvious old school love judging from the wall decor alone. Some unique machines here, some I have never seen before. SUPER nice and sweet staff. Pinball, they got it. Highlights? 4 player Pac Man.The biggest surprise? My youngest bday boy could not turn away from the challenge of Flaming Finger, pumped a fair amount of coins into this one and won no less than two prize doors https://youtu.be/3m4fMQUU3P4. The Konami games seemed to be a hit as well, what's that you say? You're old school? They have you covered. Galaga, Burger Time, etc. They also do private events. Go ahead and get your game on! read more

Star Worlds Arcade - Arcades Near Me - DeKalb, Illinois

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Such a cool and beautiful place! You can tell the owner puts so much thought into his business. I recommend this place to everyone I talk to that loves a good arcade. read more

They got some great games. TMNT pinball being the highlight for me, but also some Japanese games. Though some need fixing. Also, it's fun to use tokens old school style. I even got a token jam on Mario Kart! lol. That was cool. Fun time to me considering the location it was great. read more

My son wanted to go to an arcade. Star Worlds fit the bill today. We've been to Chicagoland's most infamous arcades and this one should be included to that list. Smaller than the others, Star Worlds is confined to maybe 40-50 games. They don't have the assortment like the other larger arcades but then again, they don't charge $15 to play either. Nope, it's $5 for 30 tokens and you feed the machines old school style. Kind of liked that. We played a few of the classic shooting games and of course the staples like Pac-Man, Galaga, Robotron, etc. They did have one game here that I've never seen before called Revolution. It's a shooting game with an Aerosmith theme. Good stuff...Evan and I fed tokens in for a half hour as we shot our way through anti-music goons. The owner is a nice guy. He wants to keep his 30yr old operation on the small side, and keep it fun. He's done a nice job. FYI..cash only. That's part of the old school charm. Cheers! read more

Star Worlds Arcade - Ev playing Revolution - Arcades Near Me - DeKalb, Illinois

I can't believe this place has been in business for the last 33 years and I was completely oblivious to its existance during my time at NIU. Pros: -Should cater well to the nostalgia seeker -Enough games to keep things interesting. Equipment is usually running properly -On the cheaper side of this type of venue. Not a bad place to dump the kids -Surprisingly good selection of pinball Cons: -Tight quarters. You will be doing some body manuevering if there are other customers -Given the small size you will have that wish for that one game you crave that they don't have. Bottom line: -I used to love arcades. I even worked at one for my first job. Arcades in the last 10 years have been a huge disappointment: expensive and unimaginative. Star Worlds is what an arcade should be read more

I've been going to arcades since forever: Galaxy World, Electronics 101, Aladdin's Castle(s). And I was there on day one when this arcade opened in Maple Park, January 11, 1985. (In fact, I remember when Star Worlds used to be in Geneva, Illinois.) So I'm old school. And that's why I still love this arcade in particular. I was a little hesitant when Star Worlds Arcade relocated to Dekalb, Illinois back in 2004. But they pulled it off, bringing along all that video gaming memorabilia that makes the place a museum time capsule of the 1980s. What I like best is that they still use tokens. I don't have to pay $20 just to walk in the door! This means you are rewarded for being a skilled gamer. I know there's a trend toward those buffet style retro arcades today, but this is a case of quality versus quantity. (Just like nobody thinks of the Old Country Buffet as fine dining!) These guys have been in business for 32 years and they are the real deal. The buffet-style game places have a lot of games, mostly neglected or only half working; they're going to disappear quickly. I also like that Star Worlds still provides free popcorn. That small detail indicates a sense of fun to me. The people working the counter are sometimes busy doing day to day operations, but I've found that when they get a chance, they love talking about the history of gaming. And if you catch Pac-Man Pat or Straight-Down-the-Middle Glenn on a really chatty day, you're going to come away with more knowledge than the Wikipedia! read more

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This is my go to spot in DeKalb to have fun! They have a lot of variety in games - pinball and arcade. The space is small, but packed with a lot. The owner, Pat, has his vast collection on display, so your eye will catch something new each time you go in. Each game varies in price, but it's not too unreasonable. Pat is super friendly and welcoming! Definitely check this place out if you're in the area! read more

If you take a glance at my review list you'll notice I visit a lot of arcades. I prefer classic arcades over new modern ones like Dave and Busters and Gameworks. Star Worlds has been on my list for quite awhile and last May I finally had the chance to stop in and check it out. I was actually on a weekend arcade hop with a friend who was leaving the state the following week so we wanted to do an old school run of some of our favorites like Arcadia in McLean, the galloping ghost and Emporium. Star Worlds happen to cross our path on the way back home, so we thought we'd scope it out. The initial attraction (due to the fact every arcade we visited that weekend had classics), was that they boasted having a DDR Solo 4th Mix Plus. This was a mix I have never played and it's sort of on my "things to do list" to try and play every mix ever created (including Disney Rave, which I finally knocked off). Anyway, we arrive. It's a bit early so we go find a food/drink and head back. It's now opened. Now I never ever ding an establishment based on location, and I won't this time, but this locale is in a seriously sketchy part of DeKalb. I mean I get it, keeps the rent low, but still, I can see this being a turn off for any casual visitor. As we enter we discover how small the place is, I mean packing a lot of games into a small room is always a challenge, but there definitely times when I felt uncomfortable. I'm a tall person and the room seemed very short and way over crowded, and not in the best way. The area near the front has several, maybe half a dozen machines in disrepair, including some pins, which is always disappointing. In addition, there was a very heavy tobacco scent that was choking out all of the fresh air in the room. I'm a not smoker and it honestly almost made me turn away, but I always give something the full experience especially when I drive off course to visit it. Still we pressed on and walked from room to room briefly to scope out the inventory. Overall it was a decent selection, nothing I hadn't seen before, but some great classics to be enjoyed. My usual complaint about the classics is the lack of dedicated cabs, and unfortunately this place had a few cabs that weren't dedicated. I always feel a bit jipped when someone palate swaps some games into an old cab. Still these issues we're small compared to the service. We wandered around aimlessly for about 5 minutes while some awkward dude (who i've now collected is Pacman Pat based on photos and forums just stared at us. Finally we walked up to the counter and asked "so, how do we do this?" He then sold us some coins out of his apron and placed them into a dixie cup. Just get a coin changer man. He spoke very minimally to us while we walked from room to room playing games. There was no ambient music, or jukebox and I found the atomosphere to be very daunting by that point. We played classics for about an hour and decided to play DDR before we split out. To my horror, it was an old Solo 4th Plus Mix that had been stripped down and turned into a makeshift ITG machine. Most people would probably see this as a bonus, but not I. I was only disappointed. To add insult to injury he didn't even have a song folder for the aforementioned mix on this super computer of song titles. It was a single pad (obviously) so we had to take turns and I wound up playing one round and stopped. We had mentioned Arcadia and The Galloping Ghost before we left to make chit chat and he had one of those "I don't wanna hear that" expressions on his face so we bolted. If you're a casual patron from the area, you probably won't enjoy this place (we saw more than one group of people walk in, and promptly walk out). But if you know of this place because of it's rich history in "gate keeping' or whatever Twin Galaxies awarded them for, you should probably stop in to check it out. As for me? Unfortunately, I won't be back. read more

Pat, the owner of Star Worlds, loves video games and video game culture and that shows in every inch of Star Worlds Arcade. He's been doing this for 30 years and all of that history is on display. While it is small, Pat rotates games in and out with fair regularity. Classic cabinet games and pinball. Half the fun of Star Worlds is the decor. If you grow up in the 1980s like I did, this place might blow your mind. Pac-man, Donkey Kong, old gaming consoles and even old advertising for the Atari E.T. game (which almost killed the system.) Star Worlds also has close ties with the video game Hall of Fame in Iowa and regularly hosts dating competitions. I'm sad to say I no longer live in DeKalb, but it is still worth the half-hour drive to visit. My son loves old cabinet arcade games and this is one of his favorite places on earth. read more

Can get crowded in such a small spot but go on an off day and the place is all yours! They have a nice rotating collection of pinball machines (which is what drew me there in the first place) and will even sell some to you as well. The range of games go from the early 80s to early 2000s with the DDR machine in the corner. And you have a great selection inbetween. I personally spent most of my time on the original Donkey Kong cabinet trying to get past the 3rd level -_-)* Overall a nice spot, and apparently can be rented out for parties. Very nice. Also as always, make sure you use Purell that's on the counter. I don't need to tell you how germy arcade machines can get, especially 30 year old ones! read more

We enjoy going to Star Worlds because it is only a 20 minute drive from us. For a family of four we spend about 20 dollars and we are done. Not bad for something to do. This is no fancy arcade and you do get a whiff of a smokey person when you walk in. Not like someone was outside grilling up some ribs, but more like someone was outside smoking some cigarettes. It is hit or miss at this place because they do switch out machines. A game that was there one day may not be there the next time you go. They have classic games and pinball (my personal favorite). It is a very small place with small rooms. We tend to go in the early afternoon and we are usually the only ones there besides the one guy working. Don't expect any overly friendly customer service, but he is nice enough. If there were a few more people, it might be crowded. Anyway, it's a fun little throwback arcade if you are in the area. If you drive from far away, you may be disappointed. The parking lot is small and a little worn out, but hey, you can always buy a mattress in the shop behind the building too. The area as a whole is a little run down. It is east of downtown DeKalb. read more

Seriously. The best arcade I've ever been to. Star Worlds is a much smaller arcade than you might expect, but that's part of the joy of the place. When you walk in you are bombarded by all types of old arcade and video game memorabilia. The owner of the arcade has been collecting this stuff his whole life, so it's neat seeing all the stuff from 30 years ago in pristine condition. The game collection is awesome. Great classics, some pinball, some new shooters, some racing games, and the cool part is the games are constantly being switched out. So if you went to Star Worlds 2 months ago, you might go back and find some new selections that were not in the building before. Usually all the machines are up and running, and if one isn't they are usually pretty quick to fix it. Last time I took my date there, I spent $20 on games... And $20 lasts what feels like forever! We were there all afternoon. If you miss the arcades, or maybe you have someone younger who has never been to a real arcade, I highly suggest checking this place out. And if you are thinking of coming from out of town, I would make the trip. It's well worth the ride! read more

This arcade guided my decision to live in Dekalb while I studied at the university. I have been going to Star Worlds since 2005. It's a small place but it's run by passionate people. "Pac Man Pat" (a Dekalb legend) is frequently behind the counter. He's always friendly and pops free popcorn for patrons. The games are typically in decent condition. They rotate frequently, as I believe they supply arcade games + repair services to local community businesses (though I'm not 100% on that). There's something for everyone here, from classic games to pinball, fighting games to racing. There's even some off-the-beaten-path imports from time to time! To sweeten the deal, the tokens are pretty cheap :) Cash in on a good deal if you get 'em in bulk. If you're passing through Dekalb, this is a great stop to make. read more

I thought this was an old seller of arcade machines but after walking in low and behold it actually is an arcade. I was often starred at owner as I walked around and reminiced about old arcade days. This is no Galloping Ghost in brookfield and the place is very tiny. No way could it hold more than ten people without everyone bumping into each other. Three small rooms of often the lamest of the eighties arcade games makes this place a rural joke. no Asteroids or Pac man too, Cmon. Your going to reopen an eighties arcade and not have those two games. read more

This place is awesome in more ways than i can count. It is the little gem in Dekalb that most people just past on by. If only they knew. You can have the time of your life, for mere quarters. If you live in Dekalb, are going to NIU, or just passing through, this is a stop you need to make. This is how arcades were meant to be, low key and fun. read more

I have been going to Star Worlds for about 3 years. I stopped in on a whim one afternoon when my then-toddler seemed to be infatuated with pinball, hoping this arcade on the outskirts of town might have a machine. They had 4! From our very first visit the operators were helpful and positive. It is obvious that they love their business and do everything they can to make it the best arcade it can be. Less than 5 minutes off the interstate, a great break during a long drive, games are swapped in and out regularly so it's always a surprise. On a personal note, I can't express here what great people run this joint. They always make us feel a part of something special. Thank you Pat and Glenn for everything you do! read more