Crystal maze review

The team at The Crystal Maze Live Experience have launched Dome from Home, an online only experience to save you from yet another zoom quiz.

Sure, I like the theme tune — I'm not a monster — but as a kid I was bemused by the bald fella running around in leopard print and shouting "Mumsy". That was odd. I thought that should stay in the '90s with other odd '90s things like toy aliens in jelly and bucket hats. I don't like the sound of escape rooms. I'm not great at puzzles and I'm less physically capable than if the show's hosts Stephen Merchant and Richard Ayoade had an even nerdier lovechild. Crystal Maze's Live Experience launched in Central London at the end of March at the site of the old Trocadero arcade — the cavernous building has packed in a whopping 32 games across the Aztec, industrial, Futuristic and Medieval zones. As soon as you arrive, you're greeted by one of 70 'kooky' actors varying from intrepid explorers to circus ringleaders.

Crystal maze review

During the challenges you are against the clock to win a Time Crystal which each give you 5 seconds in the Dome. The team work together in the Dome to collect gold tokens with your time being determined by the amount of crystals you have collected throughout. There are two locations for the Live Experience, one in Manchester and the other in London. I brought Abi, Hannah and Kelly to complete my team of four, but you can have up to eight players in a team. You have never seen a more excited group of girls than we were in the run up to the day of the review. Before going into the maze, you have to store your belongings in the free lockers provided, and I would advise wearing gym wear or comfortable cool clothing as it can get quite hot inside and there are physical challenges. The other challenges you could end up taking part in are skill, mental and mystery. After a safety talk you get to meet your maze master, I believe ours was called Pam, and she was absolutely hysterical. She was ready with the banter and her energy was infectious and has us even more hyped for the challenges, she even ribbed us when we struggled but not in a horrible way. The set has been recreated so well and it really felt like we were on the set of the show. We had a few lock ins but managed to bring our score back from a pitiful minus one, which hilariously happened twice, to a respectful four crystals. The most exciting part was of course the finale in the Dome, which our crystals had given us a total of 20 seconds inside. With the theme song playing in the background, and a quick photoshoot in the classic bombers, we made our way inside and as the fan started up we got ready to collect as many gold tokens to put in the slot… They must be in before the buzzer sounds which Kelly missed ha.

He secured a first-class BA journalism degree at Staffordshire University, along with several NCTJ qualifications, and now has 14 years' experience in digital publishing covering TV, movies, crystal maze review, music, gaming, tech, showbiz, and travel.

For those of you not living in the UK in the 90s, The Crystal Maze was a retro TV show that set contestants challenges as they moved through a series of trippy zones, such as Aztec or Medieval. The culmination was a timed grab for silver and gold tickets in a massive glass dome. Back in the present day, nostalgia fiends in London and Manchester can relive their former fantasies of taking part with The Crystal Maze Live Experience , which allows small teams to tackle a revamped version of the maze for themselves. The topline? Our team loved the attention to detail, the energy of the hosts and the thrill of seeing 90s nostalgia brought to life. And while they thought more attention could have been paid to creating a compelling beginning and ending, overall they thought The Crystal Maze was a great example of immersive gameplay with some elements they could borrow and infuse into their own work. Pulling audiences into stories and narratives to fully suspend their disbelief is something we love to play with and getting it right is such a challenge.

Thanks to some of you, I watched and then wrote about the original series a few years ago. It was designed by original Crystal Maze set designer James Dillon. The challenges all take place in relatively small, confined spaces and are themed to the zone. One person performs each challenge, which can be physical, mental, and a combination of the two. Two games are played in each zone, for a total of eight for the episode—fewer than the original, which had three or four per zone. The challenges appear simple at first, but with a very limited amount of time in which to complete them, they become a lot more, well, challenging. There was one in the first episode that required more deductive reasoning than I was willing to do after a long day, while another had an anagram that the players and I both struggled with. The twist, if there is one, is that the original show had teams of six strangers; now we have families of five competing. The youngest kid is the team captain and decides who is going to play which games, though there is some familial pressure.

Crystal maze review

And, with a recent revival - featuring Richard Ayoade as the maze master - the live Crystal Maze experience will appeal to those nostalgic for the s, people wanting to try the challenges for themselves and family and friends who just want a few hours of fun. But there's also a location in Manchester if you book directly with the Crystal Maze rather than Virgin Experience Days. There is a bit of admin to deal with when you arrive - forms to fill in and a safety briefing - so you should arrive well in advance of your booking time.

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To be honest burgers are never my first choice of food but these were amazing; The Golden Ticket had a double beef patty, raclette cheese, bone marrownaise and shoestring fries in a seeded brioche bun. You'll find us covering theme parks, escape rooms, water parks and more. You're not allowed to pick them up off the floor, otherwise you're immediately disqualified. Consisting of physical, skill, mystery and mental, each game was different to the last and offered 90 minutes of pure entertainment. Whether or not you have heard of the show I would definitely recommend going if you get the chance. The Crystal Maze is now a board game to play at home. Email Name Website. Here's where you've seen Crystal Maze's Tom before. While we didn't see all of the rooms, our standout challenge saw our team traversing ropes attached to bells, just like Catherine Zeta Jones in Entrapment , but far less graceful. Hounds invites you to leave reality behind at a venue where the outside world fades away. Newsletter Sign up. The fact there were 16 virtual games a nd they kept these within the same categories and theme as the real-life version, whilst remaining playable over video call. Labelled as the newest and most terrifying haunted attraction in the south west, Phobia at Puxton

It is an immersive, interactive theatre experience that was opened in March by production company Little Lion Entertainment, and was crowdfunded via IndieGoGo. The experience lasts approximately minutes, with teams of eight entering the maze every seven minutes. Tickets are now on sale for the whole of , and the opening times vary, so it is recommended to check the website for the most up-to-date information.

Crystal Maze contestant loses wig but steals the show. The Crystal Maze fans jump on Judy Murray's failures. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. You'll find us covering theme parks, escape rooms, water parks and more. Ever wanted to drive your own car and be in a real life video game? Everything is explained, so Crystal Maze newbies will be fine and experts will be surprised with the variety of the challenges. I don't like the sound of escape rooms. Are you ready to face your fears with Stourbridge Scare Maze? While we didn't see all of the rooms, our standout challenge saw our team traversing ropes attached to bells, just like Catherine Zeta Jones in Entrapment , but far less graceful. We were joined by our host, who is known as Dave Davis Davidson and played an elaborate game show host.