Ajax Amusements

Ajax Amusements is tucked away in an industrial section of Herndon with plenty of free parking available.
Pros:
1. BYOB — You can bring your own booze and you provide all your own food. This is great for controlling costs and working with dietary restrictions. (Don’t forget the tablecloths, ice, plates, napkins and such.)
2. Free Play — The cost of the two hour party ($ 350) covers all games. No coins necessary.
3. Games — Ajax has a variety of classic arcade games like Pac Man and pinball machines. They have wii, Playstation and Xbox hooked up to tvs or a projection screen.
4. Party Coordinator — Our coordinator, Lauren, was extremely helpful. She helped me unload my car and set up all the food and beverages. Lauren even helps clean up at the end. Don’t forget to tip (whatever you’re comfortable with, ignore the suggested tip).
5. Music — You can play your own mix via iPhone/​iPod or set up a Pandora station.
Cons:
1. Time — A two hour party will go by much faster than you think. When your time is up, the games/​music are shut off and all the lights are turned on.
2. Games — Not all of the games were working properly.
Overall I would definitely host another party here but would consider extending it an extra hour.

«THIS ISN’T DAVE & BUSTER’S, BUT…»
You walk into the door and you’re greeted by a darkened room, glowing neon, rows of arcade machines, several large HDTVs with PS3 and XBox 360, and party music on the stereo.
It’s an adult/​relaxed version of Dave & Busters where you BYOB… there’s no short-​order cook prepping your hot dog or pulling your french fries from the hot oil. All of the games and neon here are for sale, refurbed and maintained by the wonderful and professional staff on-​site.
Several friends have purchased two pinball machines from Ajax Amusements, worth over $ 15k combined. I have nothing but good reviews for Ajax’s maintenance, even if it does take a while to find or order good William’s parts or boards.
For a good time in a relaxed environment with some classic, vintage, and well-​maintained arcade and pinball machines, I’d recommend Ajax Amusements. You won’t find some $ 30K+ state-​of-​the-​art gaming machine here, but you will find some oldies-​but-​goodies from the 80’s, 90’s, and 2000’s.

I should mention first that I have not rented this place out for a party (yet!). Rather, my boyfriend and I came to see the owner, Chris, for advice on a problem we were having with our Galaga cab. Let me just say — this man knows everything there is to know about arcade cabs. Just by describing the problem, Chris knew exactly what was wrong and gave us advice on how to fix it.
Oh and by the way, AJAX’s entertainment room is so swank! Machines were all in great condition, some really good selections, and a separate area for eating (he said people can bring their own food and drinks). I’m dying to have a party there…

I rented out Ajax for a 2 hour party for my husband’s 40^th birthday. It was a hit — everyone enjoyed themselves, but I wish I had known a few things before I made my reservation. And they really need to post some photos on their website so you can see what you’re getting.
So here’s the skinny…
Pros: (lots!)
Location: It’s right off of the Toll Road, Fairfax County Parkway exit. Easy to get to. Lots of parking right in front (it’s in an office park, go figure.)
The size. It’s a very large room (and very high ceilings!) We had about 20 guests but we could have easily had 50 – 60.
BYOB. We brought all our own food and beer which really cuts down on cost. You can also order pizza and cake through Ajax so you don’t have to BYOB, but I prefer my own food. And booze.
Our party coordinator. I was skeptical (since they highly encouraged tipping when I made my reservation) but she was a lifesaver. She helped set everything up — not just the games, but she poured chips into bowls, laid out the tablecloths, cleaned up afterwards — she was worth every penny.
Sound system: you can bring your own music, iPod, or they can play Pandora (or similar).
Cost Per Person: this is a much better deal than Dave & Busters, Chuckie Cheese, or anything that requires tickets or tokens. Seriously, no tokens! Just go up and play whatever you want. This is great for kids that burn through tokens in 20 minutes.
Variety: Skeeball, shuffleboard, pool, hoops shoot, foosball, Wii, PS2, air hockey, poker, Dance Dance Revolution (or similar), deer hunt shooting game, plus arcade games and a pinball machine.
The fact that the mess was at someone else’s place and not mine. (And I didn’t have to clean my house before anyone came over!).
Cons: (and these aren’t Cons as much as minor complaints to manage your expectations,)
Total Cost. I paid $ 350 for 2 hours for just the rental, plus $ 20 tip. This was a bit of sticker shock since Ajax’s prices have gone up from when I first researched this a few years ago (it was at least $ 100 cheaper). I think with the rush of people having kids’ birthdays at Pump It Up, Chuckie’s, etc., the price is comparable. Just not cheap.
Two hours goes by a lot faster that you think it will. If you book the last party of the night (8 – 10 pm) you have the option to extend for another hour, I believe. We booked a 5:30 party and we were out the door by 7:35. Lights were off, stuff was cleaned up. They don’t joke about getting people out on time because they have a party right after yours.
ONE pinball machine. Just one? And it was kind of a lame one. A lot of people were looking forward to pinball (go figure) so it was mobbed the whole time.
The Wii and PS2: great idea to project it on a big screen, but since we all have these at home, it wasn’t such a big thrill. I also wasn’t sure what the selection of games was (I didn’t ask, either, since no one was playing EXCEPT Guitar Hero).
Karaōke would have been awesome. There’s nothing that livens up a party like drunk people singing.
I was expecting more arcade games and less pool /​air hockey /​shuffleboard. THAT said, everything was very popular. The kids LOVED the skeeball and the guys loved foosball. One machine was broken (Space Invaders maybe?). The other arcade game that was popular was Galaga/​Ms Pacman.
This could be a plus or minus: you are truly renting out just the space and the ability to play the games. There is no organized schedule or activities. If you’re into planning, this won’t be a problem for you, but I imagine with 20 kids, it has the potential to be complete chaos.
Overall: I’m glad we had my husband’s party here. His friends thought it was awesome, everyone brought their kids and didn’t have to worry about noise, parking, or taking their wallet out. Would I do it again? Yes. For my birthday? Uh, no. We’re going to Bermuda.

We had our son’s birthday party here! What a blast! All the games were on «freeplay» (meaning that you pay for the time, not by the game) for two hours and we had 20 kids running about playing Wii, Guitar Hero, skeeball, PacMan, etc! A great idea for kids parties.
You have to bring your own refreshments — ice, drinks, food, etc, but they will assist with setup and cleanup.
One bit of advice… don’t bother ordering pizza or any «real food»…the kids will be so busy playing, they won’t stop to eat. Just bring some chips and drinks and keep the party going!

Purchased a slot machine from Ajax, great service. Very helpful. Quick to offer solutions to problems I have run into with a pinball machine that I had purchased elsewhere. Very nice guys here.
Have not done a kids party here yet, but tons of machines and looks like fun.