Sim Racing Questions, Answered
The questions everyone asks before their first drive at BOXBOXBOX in Guindy, Chennai: do you need a licence, how long a session runs, whether it's beginner-friendly, and how groups work.
EVERYTHING PEOPLE ASK AT THE DOOR.
I don't watch F1 or know anything about cars — is this still for me?
Completely. Most first-timers have never seen a race. You pick a car, we set it up, you drive. It's a video game you sit inside — anyone can do it.
Do I need a driving licence or to know how to drive?
No licence and no real-driving experience needed. The car can even change gears for you automatically.
Never raced before. Will I embarrass myself?
Everyone spins on lap one — that is half the fun. Start on the Standard seat with the game's help turned on (it brakes and steers to keep you on track) and you will be sliding around corners in ten minutes. Our staff sets everything up for you.
What does "box box box" mean?
It is the F1 radio call telling a driver to pit NOW. "Box" is the pit box, and hearing it three times means urgently — the pit wall does not repeat itself for fun. It is also why a sim racing lounge in Guindy, Chennai is called BOXBOXBOX: box box box, three words, one pit lane. Consider this your call.
Do I need to book ahead?
No — walk-ins are the default: tell the desk your name and you are on the floor in under a minute, with nothing to install and no app. If you'd rather know the seat is waiting, book a slot at boxboxbox.in/book: say how many are driving (up to four — a group can book both rigs), how long — twenty minutes to two hours — and a time, and pay at the desk after you drive. We are open noon to 8 PM Tuesday to Sunday and closed on Mondays, and any start before 8 still gets its full session; on weekend afternoons a walk-in can wait 15–30 min.
Can we book the whole place — a birthday, an office team, a whole day?
Yes — that is a private session: both rigs and nobody else, for two, three or four hours or the whole day, open to close, for up to 20 of you taking turns two at a time. Ask for one at boxboxbox.in/book (pick PRIVATE SESSION) or WhatsApp us your date and numbers. The time is held for you straight away, and we call or WhatsApp to confirm the day and the price — both rigs at the board's hourly rate, paid at the desk on the day, with nothing to pay up front.
Can two of us race each other?
Yes — that is what the second rig is for. Both are on the same network, so the F1 game puts you on one grid: same circuit, same start lights, side by side, one flag at the end. There is no special head-to-head price; you each buy a session off the board like any other drive. Neither of you needs to have raced before — whoever wants the game's braking and steering help can keep it on.
What is the minimum age?
10+ with a parent present, 13+ solo. Pedals adjust for shorter drivers.
Motion sickness?
Rare on our fixed seats, but rally and long sessions can trigger it. Tell staff — we will set a fixed horizon and shorter drives. No mid-session refunds, so start with a short 15-minute go if unsure.
Can I bring my own wheel settings?
Yes. Tell us your MOZA Pit House profile and we will load it before you drive.
When are you open?
Noon to 8 PM, Tuesday to Sunday. Monday is our weekly holiday, so the lounge is shut all day — plan a Monday visit for any other day of the week. Eight is when the door shuts, not when the clocks stop: come in any time before it, even at 7:45, and you drive your whole session — an hour or two past closing if that is what you paid for.
Is it the real F1 game, or an arcade machine?
The real one — the official Formula 1 game on force-feedback rigs: the real teams, the real circuits, Monza, Silverstone and the rest. You sit in a bolted-down racing seat with a wheel that fights back over every kerb. Nothing here is a screen you tap.
What is in the two seats, and which should I start in?
The Standard seat, ROOKIE, is a gear-driven PXN V99 with an H-pattern shifter and a clutch pedal on one 32-inch 200Hz screen — the friendlier one, and the only seat where you change gear yourself. The Pro seat, PODIUM, is a 5.5Nm direct-drive MOZA R5 across three 27-inch screens, and it is where the fast laps happen. First time? Start on ROOKIE, and ask at the desk if you are torn.
Where exactly are you?
In the SIDCO Industrial Estate in Guindy, minutes from Kathipara Junction — where GST Road, Mount–Poonamallee Road and the Inner Ring Road meet — so it is a short run from Alandur, St. Thomas Mount, Velachery, T. Nagar, Adyar, the OMR and Tambaram. By metro, Guindy on the Blue Line, Ekkattuthangal on the Green Line and Arignar Anna Alandur, where the two meet, are each about a kilometre away, and Rapido and the delivery apps find us if you type BoxBoxBox. The full address, directions and a map are on boxboxbox.in/location.