Couples with kids will understand the struggle of having regular at-home date nights. As my wife and I celebrate 21 years together this year (half of that with kids), we’ve run into our fair share of struggles thinking up something creative to do at home for those special nights.
AC thVRsday
In his weekly column, Android Central Senior Content Producer Nick Sutrich delves into all things VR, from new hardware to new games, upcoming technologies, and so much more.
Recently, though, we’ve been using a Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest 3S to play VR games together, and they’ve made some of the most memorable date nights in recent years. We’ve played minigolf on the peak of Mount Olympus. Had tea among the spires at Shangri-La. Stood together under a massive Christmas tree and admired a little village. We even painted together while watching a Bob Ross video, all without making a huge mess.
It was an experiment I tried at the end of 2024 when I gave my wife a Meta Quest 3S and a copy of Walkabout Mini Golf for Christmas. My wife loved playing Beat Saber back in the day, but we haven’t had regular VR gaming sessions as a couple in a few years. Thankfully, she loved it, and we’ve been playing at least weekly since the experiment began.
It’s a great alternative to watching TV or reading books — although those are great when we just want to relax after a busy day — but there’s something amazing about being able to go somewhere with your significant other after a busy day without having to hire a babysitter for the kids.
A quick trip to Paris
Spending an evening on top of the Eiffel Tower isn’t something you normally get the chance to do on a regular basis. Some people may never visit the iconic landmark in their lives, but we’ve been twice now and haven’t been late to bed thanks to Walkabout Mini Golf, one of the best Meta Quest games you can find.
This truly is one of the most creative games I’ve ever played. It’s ironic that a mini golf game is a good reason to buy a Meta Quest headset, but I promise it’s the system seller you never knew you needed. The base game is $14.99 and comes with eight 18-hole courses, each of which features a gorgeous setting with unique music and entrancing vibes.
It’s ironic that a mini golf game is a good reason to buy a Meta Quest headset, but I promise it’s the system seller you never knew you needed.
My wife was instantly drawn to the Cherry Blossom course, which features a normal difficulty daytime course and a gorgeous nighttime hard course, complete with glowing lanterns, illuminated Zen gardens, and an intriguing “fox hunt” to complete to get a special putter.
Fox hunts involve finding objects hidden throughout each course and then following clues to help you find the next. Each hard course has a unique putter, including all the DLC courses available, meaning you can find over 20 putters that can be used at any time in the future. These are excellent date night activities and genuinely a ton of fun!
You can take your time hitting each putt, stand together and admire the sights, or go on a hunt for all 18 golf balls on each of the game’s normal difficulty courses.
The pace and beauty of Walkabout Mini Golf are beyond perfect for date night at home. You can take your time hitting each putt, stand together and admire the sights, or go on a hunt for all 18 golf balls on each of the game’s normal difficulty courses. My wife and I even sat and had tea as we overlooked the cliffs of Shangri-La, one of over 20 DLC courses that cost $3 to $4 apiece, and each contains 36 holes of mini golfing.
Some courses now have a separate slingshot course, which adds a whole new dimension and set of challenges. Plus, fun modifiers like mini mode give you a new perspective on each course, and leafblower mode can even be used to make your own versions of minigolf if you so choose.
Getting set up in the game is easy since all you’ll need to do is make a room name and have the other person join. No need for complicated friend list systems or making accounts, and anyone can play any course you own without having to buy it for themselves so long as they tag along with you. The only restriction is that they won’t be able to hunt for the special golf balls or collect the special putter unless they own it.
New courses come out roughly every 6-8 weeks, ensuring that you have just enough time to master one before the next one comes out. There are over 20 courses, each with 36 holes of golfing, so it’ll take quite a long time to see and do everything.
And since they’re only around $4 each, you can get away with grabbing a fancy drink from the store and spending $8 for each of you to have the course, making it a very inexpensive date, indeed!
Happy little trees
As Valentine’s Day approached, I started looking for something unique to do for this year’s celebration. I had used the painting app Vermillion on the Meta Quest before but hadn’t used its multiplayer mode before. After chatting with a few folks about how it works, I dropped $20 on a second copy so my wife could paint with me and planned an entire evening out of it.
I set up two dining room chairs in the living room, roughly 8 feet apart, giving each of us plenty of room to place our easel stand, brush stand, and palette table on the floor. Of course, these objects are all virtual and take up no physical space, but they felt like they were physically there because of Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S’s color mixed reality vision.
Vermillion is one of the many Meta Quest games that supports mixed reality and co-located spaces, meaning my wife and I could see each other virtually painting as we sat in the same room.
If you (or your partner) have ever wanted to paint to Bob Ross but were afraid of the equipment investment or making a mess, Vermillion is a brilliant place to start.
The game has a browser built-in with preset bookmarks for Bob Ross videos, as well as several other famous TV artists who teach you how to paint anything from landscapes to portraits, flowers, pets, or just about anything else you want.
Vermillion is an oil painting simulator but features several modern digital niceties that Adobe users will immediately feel comfortable with. The game sports 10 brush types, plus a palette knife so you can get started on mountainscapes just like Bob Ross.
Those digital niceties I spoke of include an eyedropper tool so you can easily replicate any color in the canvas, layers that allow you to separately paint layers on top of your digital canvas — so the virtual oil doesn’t mix — plus “easy mode” features like undo and redo buttons.
Mixing the oils on the paint palette feels surprisingly natural. Colors can be spread anywhere you want on your palette, and the default colors are similar to what you’ll find in most Bob Ross videos, although alternatives are available. There’s even a handy “clear palette” button that’ll let you totally start over from scratch when you’re ready to move on to the next set of colors.
Oil painting in Vermillion is incredibly authentic, yet easy, thanks to some modern tools like layers and an undo button.
If you make a mistake while painting or need to start over, just grab the rag, dip it in some paint thinner, and wipe away the accident. Of course, if you’re a real Bob Ross fan, accidents don’t need to be erased. They’re happy little accidents and can be turned into something joyful and fun, which is the entire point of painting like this, anyway.
Once you’ve finished up and are ready to show off your creation, it’s as easy as opening up the menu and hitting the export button. You’ll get a selection of choices that include saving the painting as its own file or displaying it in a virtual gallery frame inside the saved image.
And don’t worry if painting seems a little overwhelming at first. There’s an entire paint-by-numbers section in the menu that makes it easy to learn the ropes and make something beautiful without feeling like you need to make something perfect.
Both of us were impressed with the quality of the images the game exports, although it seems that the PC version offers more export options so you can get your painting printed on larger canvases after digitally painting them. The game also lets you export it as a 3D model so you can import it into metaverse-like apps like VR Chat or Resonite, or even use the 3D models in different creative ways.
The developer regularly posts to the game’s Facebook group, and users post their latest paintings all the time. It’s a great place to get inspiration or to just find the next video you want to follow along.
Give virtual dates a try
I hope these two at-home date ideas helped inspire you to try it for yourself. My wife finds her Meta Quest 3S very comfortable during these sessions because I’ve got it equipped with an aftermarket head strap and face pad from our best Meta Quest 3 accessories list.
I’d also recommend picking up a Yoges Meta Quest 3 golf club attachment to give your controller the real feel of a club while mini-golfing. It makes a crazy difference and makes the date feel even more authentic!
Shake up date night with a journey to somewhere far, far away, all without having to pay a babysitter for their time. Strap on a pair of Meta Quest 3S headsets and you’ll be instantly transported to somewhere exciting and new, all without the big bucks a date night out costs.
