Eight On the Break

The place is so deliciously 90’s.
From the reasonably priced food (seriously fries, a great cheesesteak, and drink for $ 4.98!), to putting quarters in the arcade games, to getting change from this giant 1s, 5s, 10s only machine, I walked around with my eyes filled with wonder. The only thing missing was my favorite Simpsons arcade game to really kick nostalgia into hyperdrive. (seriously, management if you’re reading this, acquire this game and I will make it rain quarters upon you!)
There is definitely more space for video games than billiards, despite the name. I thought there was a super smash brothers tournament going on, but apparently it was just a regular Tuesday night. Tweens and teens sat glued to their chairs cheering and jeering around several tv screens in a rectangle. There are shooting games, fighting games, racing games, pac man, tons of pinball machines, and an air hockey table that some kids hogged all night. There arn’t a lot of games that two people can play, so I think we stayed about an hour or so including time spent eating.
The billiard tables likely have been revamped since the last time reviewed because they were clean and looked new.
All in all, I had a really good time. I took off a star because if you come for the arcade games with friends, you don’t have as many options.

Grungy and quite dark in the place. Was just looking for a place to play pool. It does quite the job at such a low price. really can’t argue against that. Lots of arcade games to choose from and token are just quarters which is great and cheap.
Food does look a little sketchy and staff does not look like they care. But if you don’t care… Then it is a great place to just hang out for a cheap price.

Place is a dive pool tables old balls fall on the floor the cloths have never been changed the place is completely disgusting and dirty would never go there ever again.
The carpets are soaking wet like there was a flood and never cleaned games are old as sin .
The worst they should close !!!
2÷24÷15

Cool place, even better lunch buy cheesesteak fries & drink (under $ 5) damn tasty too. Don’t let the exterior fool you

They usually have top notch arcade games and imports, fun for any game fan. The also have great cheese steak combos (fries and a soda) for under $ 5. They loose a star for having the same rug for the past 20 years +. It looks bad!
Check out Monday nights for quarter Mondays. They offer the place to rent for parties too, but at weird hours.

Once again, I love playing games. But honestly, I’m more into social games like pool or shuffleboard than video games. The pool tables at Eight on the Break looked pretty beat up. I didn’t get to use them because they were closing early tonight. The sole air hockey table also looks pretty beat up, but it does work well. They need a new puck, or maybe my shots are just too hard. Actually, the place in general is pretty beat up and could use a little bit of renovation.
That’s all just appearance. Everything I used worked just fine. They had a good selection of arcade machines, old and new according to my friends. I like that the machines still take quarters instead of those card swipes other places have. It reminds me of playing arcade games at the movies growing up.
So I suck at the arcade games everyone loves, like Street Fighter and Initial D. But I LOVE rhythm based games. Eight on the Break had a bunch of dance arcade games, a drum game, DJ games, guitar hero, and some other game that was only in Japanese. I enjoyed the Japanese thing the most. Nine buttons, hit em as their notes come up. It was like musical whack a mole.

I love eight on the break. Their food is dirt cheap, and the people that work there are real easy to talk to. The games are good as well. I go there at least once every other week.
Now, I have a bit of a love-​hate relationship with the condition the place is in. Though I do like how the grungyness gives it a bit of a relaxed, at home feeling (weird but it totally does) a lot of the stuff is in poor condition. Please fix the vending machines, old gaimng machines in the corner you wont get rid of (or just get rid of it!), and refresh the place a bit. It really looks like the owner doesn’t care anymore :(

Alot of Gaming & Good People since I discovered the place and met some of me best friends over the course of my mid teens to mid 20’s best break steak combo deal mon & tuesday recommended only ask jay or mat to get it poppin. The owner chris is prolly one of the most hardworkin and keepin it real type that makes it feel like my 2^nd home jus like cheers where everyone knows your name or made up one, it is the landmark that keeps dunellen prospering on mAin street since the 40′-50’s i beleieve. some history 8otb

I like a good arcade atmosphere. However when I recently visited Eight on the break I was a bit disappointed with the quality of the place it’s clearly ancient, and needs to be slightly refreshed, new floors, light fixtures, paint job, window displays, you name it! I do admire the pictures of the past gamers that used eight on the break as their old stomping grounds, and I like the selection of games. I just hope the owner wake up and brighten the place up! ^^

What a crock, to hear this owner say I was banned when 1. He doesn’t know me and 2. You can’t ban someone who would never return is both desperate and transparent. Fix your issues and I’d glady rerate your business.

I have found my way back to the Break for nearly every single college break, and now, work vacations. Within those walls lies the best meal deal you’ll find in central New Jersey, $ 4 for a cheesesteak, fries, and a soda (and for those of you who like RC cola, it’s one of the few places where you’ll find a fountain of it). The «haven’t changed the price in a quarter century» might seem like a gimmick, but it isn’t. This is legitimately one fine sandwich, where the veg, cheese, beef, and bbq sauce are all grilled and melted together… I think they could sell the sandwich itself for $ 5 – 6 dollars or so, and people wouldn’t complain (too much), but it seems that management wants people to spend the left over dollar bill on the video games on the floor.
Oh yeah, they also have video games. I’m fairly certain that that only game genres that are up to date are fighters and the dance games, but that’s pretty much the arcade scene these days anyways.

It blows my mind that no one has reviewed 8 on the Break yet! This legendary video arcade/​billiards hall/​fried food hole has been in continuous operation for over 35 years and has a legion of loyal customers.
Open till Midnight Sunday-​Thursday, 1am on Fridays and Saturdays. They close down their fryers/​grill a little earlier, 10:30 or 11pm I think.
They run a flat-​top griddle and a fryer, dishing out «break steaks» (cheese steak but greasier) and fried favorites (fries, mozzarella sticks, etc)
Their website gives a current listing of their active arcade cabinets. They’ve got some classics (Marvel vs Capcom 2!) and some new hotness (Time Crisis 4, Tekken 6) along with several Bemani (DDR/​Beatmania/​etc). Half a dozen pinball machines wait patiently for someone to pop in a quarter. Prices range from 25c up to $ 1 (in quarters of course). I’ve never played pool here but they do have several well maintained tables (and it’s super cheap!).
Overall a good place to hang out and blow all the quarters sitting in the cup holder of your car.
One word of caution: while the area where 8otb is located is pretty safe (there’s a dunkin donuts nearby that the local cops like to hang out at), the surrounding areas of North Plainfield are… rough to put it mildly. They’re pretty ghetto if we’re not being pc. They’re ****ing scary if we’re speaking frankly. Don’t get lost here at night. Hell, don’t get lost here during the day.

I was visiting the east coast with my friend, and we were spending the week in New York, traveling all the way from northern California. We happen to be fans of music games and arcades in general, so this was a must-​see. I’d heard about the arcade and its owner as a test-​bed for new machines on the market, and the starting point for my favorite game series, In the Groove. We took NJ Transit (about an hour long ride), met some new friends, and played DJ Max Technika and BeatMania IIDX (two games not offered in our area), and the familiar Pop’n 14. I stopped to try the cheese steak combo offered at the counter, and it was more delicious than I expected. The flashy advertising and humor was kind of ridiculous, but still quirky enough to make me smile. Not to mention the silly bathroom keys.
It seems to be one of the only genuine quarter-​arcades left. I have only seen token and card arcades, so this was a pleasant surprise. However, spending money directly also made it easier to see exactly how much money I was spending on these machines… a fair sum.
Some of the clientele were not as classy as possible… one chap ordered a soda, and when the employee turned around, he mixed vodka into it. However, that’s not a fault of the establishment. All in all, new friends were made, there was a decent selection of games (racing games like Maximum Tune, gratuitous selections of pinball, music games, BlazBlue and Tekken 6, and even pool tables) and it was well worth taking the trip out there.

Pinball Alert ! ! !
8OTB (a.k.a. Eight on the Break) is the home of the Jersey Pinball Association (see:
).
They have lots o’ pinball machines ! Three of which are on my Top Ten List of Pins:
1) Cirqus Voltaire * (CV see:
)
2) Medieval Madness * (MM see:
)
3) Monster Bash * (MB see:
4441)
4) SpiderMan
5) Family Guy
6) Lord of the Rings
7) Ripley’s Believe It or Not
8) Attack From Mars (not working)
9) NASCAR
These machines are in fair to good condition.
Other distractions?
Initial D 3 Twin — my son’s favorite game…
This is nice and close to my father-​in-​laws house. Glad to have such a great place to go to waste some time. Billiards available too!!!
I learned about this place thru the New Jersey STAR Ledger, who wrote a great review about the League.
SEE 8OTB’s website @
pix laters…