sanford, yeah, they require special cleats. The Eggbeater cleats are actually made of brass, and have been said to wear out kind of fast, because they're so soft. Crankbros says they use brass because it's better to have the cleats wear out rather than the pedals.
So far, I've been using the same cleats for a long time, and they're still working fine. Crankbros.com has pictures of the cleats, if you wanna see them.
-Plink-