F1 Arcade Field Trip

Back on Father’s Day weekend I took my second trip up to the F1 Arcade in DC. I now have more solidified opinion on it. The short version is, it’s a good time, not a great time. And that it is a solid companion piece to a night of fun, not a main attraction. To that end:

Trip #1

I went up with two friends the month after it opened for a late night start into an overnight trip. We arrived just in time for our 8pm timeslot. Raced for an hour, at dinner, drank, raced again, drank, and walked back to rental at 1am. The whole evening was spent in the F1 Arcade and it started to wear thin.

Trip #2

The recent trip was two couples in DC for a weekend. We paired it with:

• Cocktails at Quill at the Jefferson
• Late afternoon arcade racing + apps + drinks
• Dinner at The Hamilton
• Tickets for Josh Johnson at the Warner Theatre

The F1 arcade shined as a spot of evening fun, but get your food and drink elsewhere. It is a fun time and worth a trip, but there are a few things that could make the racing part better too:

• A party of four can not race at the same time. You either share three sims or trade off two at a time, not ideal.
• Every race is a time boxed event. You fire off the start line and then whoever is in the highest position when the time runs out wins. A fixed 2-3 lap race would feel more competitive.
• Your group races against AI opponents and that feels like a missed opportunity. Every timeslot starts on time and ends on time. It is efficient and ensures they can keep on schedule. That being the case, you could coordinate it and get 20 people racing at the same time.