First published October 2026

A first-timer's guide to putting on a headset

The facilitator meets you at the table, where a row of headsets waits, each one a thick pair of goggles with a strap, a plastic shell around two small screens, a set of lenses and a battery. You get the briefing before you put anything on: where to stand and what the controllers do. Sessions are aimed at adults, and up to six players can take a turn at a time. A kids’ event can be booked by arrangement, with 10 as the minimum age. Then a headset comes your way, a controller goes into each hand, and the group’s attention follows the game. If looking foolish in front of people you know is on your mind, the first movement answers it: your hands are busy and the group is with you.

The kit in your hands

The headset settles, the strap takes the weight at the back of your head, and two screens sit close to your eyes, each showing 2,160 by 2,160 pixels across a 105 degree field of view. The Pico 4 Ultra carries the same pixel count with a better processor behind it. Pancake lenses fold the light path back on itself, which keeps the unit thin and comfortable on your face. Each eye receives a slightly different picture, offset by roughly the gap between your eyes, and your brain fuses the pair until the scene appears as a full 3D world. You reach for a cup on the table and your hand arrives where your eyes expect it, because the apparent position matches where the controller actually is. If you wear glasses, they stay on, as long as they fit inside the headset.

Crossing the room

You take a step and the scene holds steady around you. Cameras on the outside of the headset read the room and the controllers, so you can lean around a corner or crouch to look under a table the way you would in a real room. A clear 2 m by 2 m boundary gives you space to walk and turn, and our space guide covers what to leave open at your venue. The facilitator stays nearby, watching the boundary and the queue, and answers questions as they come up, so your attention stays on the scene in front of you.

Taking it off

You lift the headset off and the room is where you left it, brighter and louder than it was inside. You are already talking about whatever caught you, and the facilitator takes the controllers, wipes the face pad and resets the experience for the next player. The next guest gets the strap, then the first slow turn of the head, and the rotation keeps moving while you are still talking.

If you are booking for a group of first-timers, VR Rental SA delivers, runs and collects. Tell us where and when, and we will talk through the room and the timing.

Sources

• PICO - PICO 4 specifications

These guides stay in party mode. When the guest list turns into a company, the guides on corporatevr.co.za take over - same headsets, bigger room.