Does Anyone Set or Suggest Age / Height Limits?

FNSArcade

I am curious if any operators enforce or suggest any age or height limits. I have noticed that, while there are some games with a 'Short' mode (Richie's Plank / Job Simulator), that some games are just not friendly to the shorter kits as well as the headset sometimes being rather loose. Also with trying to use the short options and menus it seems that when the kids are that small, they have a hard time understanding how to navigate where the operator is telling them.

My curiosity is what do a lot of operators do for the younger kids ? Any suggestions ?

VR-ARRIVAL

Hi FNSTech, We say 11y.o. as a min age on the website and then take it on a case-by-case basis in store. We normally check that the headset fits snugly on with minimal movement and run them through something like the tutorial to see that they are comfortable in the VR environment. To be honest, under 10y.o. is a lot of work as you basically need to babysit them through the VR experiences which detracts from anyone else in the centre. They also have a tendency to want to take off the headset all of the time. There is also the issue of having to figure out controls and menus. We tend to steer them towards games like Dragonflight or Nature Treks where there are minimal controls needed and they can be seated. At the moment, as a new centre chasing bookings, we can't be too picky but we still take it on a case-by-case basis....

ActionVR

We have a recommended age and height. When someone comes in and it’s obvious that they are younger or smaller than the recommendation, we basically let the parents know that it’s up to them, but that the kid might spend most of their time figuring things out so they don’t get upset about wasting the money. Haven’t had any issues yet since the parents are told in advance. Almost every kid that comes in wants to play job simulator anyway. As long as the kid is happy, the parents usually are. We are also new, so don’t want to turn anyone away as long as everyone understands that some kids won’t be able to participate as much as others.

gameovr

ActionVR

We allow as young as 5 yr olds to play as long as they can fit the headset and hold the controllers. 5-8 yr old make up a good chunk of our business including birthday parties and a lot of other arcades wont allow them to play. It's true that some are a pain in the ass but so are some adults.

mindstormlab

gameovr

Just a point on the kids younger than eight. Young people in that range may have a problem seeing the difference between reality and fiction. Given the effect of VR on the mind you might need to be careful what you expose them to.

KatePlayItVR

We work on if the headset fits them. If they are 7 or under we often direct them towards job simulator or Beat Saber (often with no fail on), games we know they can follow any enjoy playing without too much trouble.

We use Vives and even change or use extra padding to fit small heads. We've had 9yo who's head is too small for the headset.

evolutionvr

We ask two questions, how well do they read? Do they have a game system? ( we ask the second incase they are old enough to read but struggle). So far as long as they can read it goes pretty easily. We also keep an employee with parents that bring in little humans (when possible) so that we can help guide them, so far they become repeat customers and the kids are off and gaming on their second visit.

geralexandr

I'm thinking we should put a height limit of no more than 6' 3" - we have low ceilings :smile:

FNSArcade

I still find that limits might be useful, we had a younger kid run straight into a wall after disregarding the employee's instructions and completely ruined a headset, luckily we had a service plan to get it replaced.