VR Safety Checklist: Clear the Room Before You Play

Before every VR session, clear your play area, check your gear and set a plan for breaks. Most problems come from the room rather than the game: a coffee table you cannot see, a cable under your feet or a person walking into the space. A short checklist takes a few minutes and protects you, your furniture and anyone else nearby.

Run the same routine every time

Use the same order each session so nothing gets skipped. Start at the door, walk the path to the play area, look up at the ceiling, then check the floor, the headset and the controllers. Finish by telling the people nearby that you are starting. The routine takes a minute once it becomes a habit, and it catches the mistakes that come from rushing.

Clear the room first

Your eyes are in the game, so you cannot watch your feet. Walk the play area with the headset off and look for hazards. Move anything you could trip over, bump into or knock over.

Clear these items:

• Furniture with sharp corners, such as coffee tables and shelves.
• Glass, mirrors, lamps and anything breakable.
• Cables, rugs and loose objects on the floor.
• Stairs, doorways and steps that could catch you by surprise.
• Ceiling fans and light fixtures near where you will swing a controller.

Look for things at the height of your hands and knees too, since those are the areas you reach into most. Keep the route to the door clear too. If you need to step out quickly, the path should be short and free of obstacles, and you should be able to find it without looking down.

Check the space itself

Make sure the floor is even and not slippery. Rugs with loose edges and wet floors are easy to slip on, and both are common in homes. Set your play area in the headset's boundary tool, and keep it inside a space you have cleared. If you move furniture, update the boundary too, since the old setting may now place a wall in the wrong spot.

Check the lighting as well. Dim rooms can make tracking less reliable, and bright sunlight through a window can confuse some headsets. Close the blinds if the light changes during your session, and keep the room at a steady brightness so the headset can track your hands and head.

Check the gear

Before you start, confirm the following:

• The controllers are charged and paired.
• The wrist straps are attached and fit snugly.
• The headset strap is tight enough that the headset does not slip.
• The lenses are clean and free of smudges.
• If you wear glasses, the headset fits over or around them, or you have the right inserts.

A loose headset or a controller without a strap is a common source of mishaps. Give each item a quick look every time, because gear that worked yesterday can slip out of place during a long session.

Keep people and pets out

Tell the people in the house that you are about to play. Ask them to stay out of the play area, and keep pets in another room if you can. A person walking in front of you can be hard to see, and a pet can appear without warning.

Hazard	Why it matters	Fix
Loose cable	Trip hazard, and it can pull the headset	Route it along a wall or tie it up
Coffee table	Easy to hit with a knee or hip	Move it out of the play area
Controller without a strap	The controller can fly off	Attach the strap before you start
Pet in the room	Can move in without warning	Keep the pet in another room

If children use the headset, VR with kids: safety rules for parents covers the rules in more depth. Playing VR with pets and kids nearby goes further on shared rooms and how to set expectations before anyone starts playing.

Plan breaks and know the stop signs

Plan breaks before you start, and take them even when you feel fine. Stop early if you feel unwell, and do not push through a bad moment. Keep water nearby, away from the play area, and set down drinks before you put the headset on. Breaks also protect the room. Step out of the play area before you take a call or check a message, so you do not turn back into the space while your eyes are still adjusting.

Stop if you notice headaches, eye strain, nausea, unsteady balance or disorientation after you take the headset off. If symptoms continue, talk to a doctor. Before you buy a new game, an accessibility checklist before you buy a VR game helps you check the comfort settings that can reduce strain.

After the session

Take the headset off slowly and sit for a moment before you stand. Give your balance a few minutes to settle before you walk around the room, especially if the game involved a lot of movement. Clean the lenses and put the controllers on charge, so the next session starts ready. Note anything that felt unsafe, such as a cable you tripped on, and fix it before the next session.

Run the checklist before every session, not only the first one, because a room changes when people move things. Clear the space, check the gear, keep people and pets out and plan your breaks. A few minutes now saves a lot of trouble later.