OUR STORY

WHY ARCADE OF THRONES?

Arcade of Thrones was a vision that stemmed from a home arcade I wanted to have as a child. My passion for seeing people have a good time prompted me to share it with you. Plus, our home isn’t big enough to house all of the Raleigh area. Growing up, some of my best childhood memories revolved around games, or a fun filled environment surrounding games.

When I relocated to Raleigh in 2007, I didn’t really know anyone. Some co-workers invited me to a Rock Band party. I had never been to this kind of party before, but I figured you can’t go wrong with food, drinks, video games, and people. It was one of the most memorable nights I can remember here in North Carolina. We literally rocked the night away. By the time I left at 5am, I felt like I had known everyone there my whole life. My addiction to the atmosphere left me craving more. So I started hosting my own Rock Band parties, which turned into game nights. With friends inviting friends the fun seemed endless. I just started adding more games to the list so no one felt left out.

After a couple of years of hosting events, we realized we had something bigger to share. In 2015 we launched Skills On Stix (SOS) Gaming Club in Raleigh. We wanted to test the market to see if competitive gaming was in demand. In 2018, nearly three years later, the market is booming so we decided to revamp our gaming club to hit an untapped market. We figured we would bring different game categories under one roof and let teams battle it out through friendly competition for team incentives. And thus, Arcade of Thrones was born.

MEET THE FOUNDER

Hi, I’m Jordan Silver – an 80’s baby, gaming enthusiast, and the owner and founder of Arcade of Thrones. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, but since 2007 I’ve called Raleigh home. I grew up playing video games, and have always been extremely competitive. My first game system was an Atari, then we moved to a Nintendo. On weekends, my father, older brother and I would play Double Dribble, Tecmo Football and Tecmo Basketball. We would set up tournament brackets and play all weekend. Being the youngest, I would get slaughtered in every game but that made me even more determined to win. After countless nights of practicing until I fell asleep with the controller in my hand, I found my groove and my father and brother didn’t want to play against me any more because they knew they had no chance of winning. Understanding how mentally determined I became because of this competition and how much better it made me, I wanted to establish a space where one could work to effect positive change, growth, and mental stimulation.

jordan silver, founder of arcade of thrones

After graduating high school six months early just to show my older brother I was smarter than him – another manifestation of my competitive streak – I attended Montclair State University in New Jersey before entering the workforce full-time. My nearly 20 years of work experience has allowed me to work with all kinds of people. In New York, I worked with a non-profit organization FACES, NY, which assisted women and children that were affected with HIV/AIDS. Here in North Carolina, I managed Mardi Gras Bowling Center in Chapel Hill. At Duke University I worked as a clinical research assistant for 5 years before deciding to follow my dream of becoming an entrepreneur.

I’m a family man, a husband to my amazing wife Marlyne, and father to 3 boys – Joshua, Justus and Jaliel. We play all types of games together, and love to compete and just have fun. Most importantly, I do my best to stress good sportsmanship. We play everything from memory games to board games to console games (fun fact: I personally own 7 consoles). I just truly believe in enjoying life and making my house a chill spot for people to relax and unwind.

In 2015, I opened SOS Gaming club, which was the trial run of what would eventually become Arcade of Thrones. It was a competitive gaming pop-up in Raleigh that I kept afloat for around a year before deciding to revamp the idea. So, I decided to add more games for both recreational and competitive gamers. I wanted to recreate the vibe from game nights at our house, except on a much grander scale. Imagine a home game night with a wide array of board games, card games, arcade cabinets, pinball, pool tables, the latest gaming consoles and VR technology, all in one space – welcome to Arcade of Thrones!