Originally posted on\u00a0Invitation To Events in 2016<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n![\"crystal](\"https:\/\/invitation2events.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/crystal-maze-team-blue-march-2016.jpg\")
crystal maze team blue march 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe Crystal Maze is now open\u2026\u2026and what a great experience it is.<\/p>\n
The original Crystal Maze<\/h2>\n
The Crystal Maze was a\u00a0TV game show\u00a0 produced from\u00a0February 1990\u00a0to August 1995\u00a0 by Chatsworth Television\u00a0for Channel 4. The first four series were presented by Richard O\u2019Brien,\u00a0before Ed Tudor-Pole\u00a0took over for\u00a0the final two.<\/p>\n
Reckless Rick\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0Ed<\/a>\u00a0 guided\u00a0teams of 6 intrepid adventurers as through the maze as\u00a0they solved puzzles and challenges to win crystals. The crystals bought the team time in the Crystal Dome.<\/p>\nHow many of us watched the contestants running around wearing a fluorescent jumpsuits completing challenges and wished we were\u00a0taking part?<\/p>\n
Completing challenges<\/h2>\nUntil now the best immersive puzzle-solving experience you could hope for was an\u00a0Escape Room.\u00a0\u00a0The opportunity to spend 60 minutes in a locked room attempting to find clues and solve puzzles\u00a0to escape has been attracting bigger audiences over recent years. This has led to an increase in Escape Room suppliers with more cities offering the experience.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nIn 2015, Ben Hodges, Tom Lionetti-Maguire and Dean Rodgers of Little Lion Entertainment decided to recreate\u00a0The Crystal Maze\u00a0as a live immersive experience\u00a0in \u00a0London. Planned as a more immersive experience than\u00a0current puzzle rooms, the\u00a0result is more like a cross between Secret Cinema and a\u00a0 Escape Room.<\/p>\n
As fans of the show Little Lion Entertainment understood how exciting it would be to be contestants placed in the\u00a0centre of the action. And their vision holds true to the original TV show sets with\u00a0four\u00a0zones; Aztec, Medieval, Industrial and Futuristic, plus, of course, The Crystal Dome itself.<\/p>\n
Dean Rodgers\u00a0<\/a>of Little Lion Entertainment said \u201cThe people who watched The Crystal Maze when they were kids are the ones going to these puzzle rooms.\u201d I\u2019d challenge him on the \u201ckids\u201d part of that comment \u2013 a lot of adults loved The Crystal Maze and love playing Escape rooms now.<\/p>\nCrowdfunding a dream<\/h2>\n
Turning to crowdfunding to finance the project Little Lion Entertainment stated their preferred business partner\u00a0was the British public as they wanted\u00a0the fans to be the ones to bring back \u201cthe greatest game show of all time for everyone!\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThe fans rose to the challenge with\u00a0the original campaign\u00a0achieving 185% funding (\u00a3933,799GBP)\u00a0<\/em>by July 19, 2015.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nOn\u00a0March 15 2016 the long awaited\u00a0\u00a0recreation of the 1990s show The Crystal Maze opened.<\/div>\n\n\nRecreating the locations<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Back in the day I met someone who was lucky enough to take part in the show. They confided that the building where filming took place was unimpressive from the outside but transformed unbelievably inside. And so it is \u00a0with the new Crystal Maze location. From the front, 10-14 White Lion Street just looks like an old office building. Inside, however, the place transforms.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0London-based creative effects company,\u00a0Artem<\/a>,\u00a0designed and built the iconic glass dome.\u00a0Previously Artem\u00a0conceived, designed and built the show\u2019s adventure zone games for the original Crystal Maze TV series. They also provided floor effects, including smoke and pyrotechnics, and were responsible for maintaining the crucial fan system inside the Dome.<\/p>\nThe\u00a0four\u00a0zones (\u00a0Aztec, Medieval, Industrial and Futuristic) are just as you imagine them to be. You don\u2019t get much time to admire the work that has gone in to producing the sets though, as this is adventure is a race.<\/p>\n
Your childhood dreams\u00a0come true<\/h2>\n
We got tickets to the opening month of Crystal Maze. As one of our team commented \u201cBEST DAY! Childhood dream actually happened\u201d<\/p>\n
Donning our blue\u00a0Crystal Maze bomber jackets, we were transported back to the 90s. After a brief introduction to the TV series\u00a0we met our Maze Master who led us around a series of timed challenge rooms.![\"maze](\"https:\/\/invitation2events.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/02\/maze-master.jpg?w=150&h=146\")
<\/p>\n
There\u00a020 Maze Master characters, all providing their own personality to the proceedings.\u00a0The maze master reminds you how much time you have left, and moves\u00a0your team from zone to zone\u00a0at\u00a0the sound of the Crystal Maze music.<\/p>\n
What would you like to play next?<\/h2>\n
There are\u00a0four categories of games \u2013 physical, skill, mental and mystery \u2013 and just\u00a0like the series itself, only one team member must attempt the challenge. However, all the\u00a0rooms all have windows so your team can help, or\u00a0hinder,\u00a0by shouting instructions. When it is your task the whole thing passes in a blur, with no time to consider your options. You have to try things quickly, guided by your teams instructions. When you are spectating, it can get intense as you watch your teammate struggle and\u00a0offer suggestions.<\/p>\n
Sometimes there is someone on the team who actually knows what to do. In our case, when this happened, the Captain took command by yelling \u201cListen to me\u201d at me and the rest of the team fell silent in surprise.<\/p>\n
Sometimes\u00a0 you win a crystal, sometimes you fail to get a crystal but escape the room and other times, oh dear, you can get locked in. If this happens the team must sacrifice a crystal to get them out. Unfortunately one of our team got an automatic lock in on the first game so we couldn\u2019t buy him out. Instead he was \u2018sent to prison\u2019 and given a mini challenge while the rest of us carried on.<\/p>\n
The game is quite physical with\u00a0dashing about,\u00a0climbing up and down, crawling through tunnels\u2026.And some of the game equipment\u00a0 is quite heavy. Not light\u00a0polystyrene boulders.<\/p>\n
Counting up our crystals<\/h2>\n
The team worked very well together and\u00a0won 14 crystals.<\/p>\n
Then it was\u00a0the finale\u00a0and our trip into\u00a0the Crystal Dome. The aim to\u00a0catch as many gold foil tokens as we could\u00a0while giant fans blew them around us.\u00a0We didn\u2019t have\u00a0a strategy but, to be fair, I don\u2019t think that mattered.\u00a0once the fans start and you are surrounded by bits of flying foil,\u00a0blind panic takes over\u00a0 and you find yourself\u00a0leaping around like idiots, catching thin air.<\/p>\n
Did it matter that the Dome beat us? No, we\u2019d had a fantastic time, had won the most crystals of the four teams competing and lived the dream of being on the Crystal Maze\u2026..and that is\u00a0an\u00a0unmissable experience.<\/p>\ncrystal maze team blue march 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nJoin Our Clue Solving Adventurers Club<\/h4>\n
To become a member of The City Adventurers visit\u00a0https:\/\/www.cityadventurers.co.uk\/City-Adventurers.html<\/a>\u00a0and subscribe. Full\u00a0City Adventurers<\/a>\u00a0Membership includes invitations to adventures and travel mainly in the UK. If you are not UK based, or prefer online adventures, join the City Adventurers as an\u00a0Armchair Detective<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Crystal Maze is now open\u2026\u2026and what a great experience it is.<\/p>\n
The original Crystal Maze<\/h2>\n
The Crystal Maze was a\u00a0TV game show\u00a0 produced from\u00a0February 1990\u00a0to August 1995\u00a0 by Chatsworth Television\u00a0for Channel 4. The first four series were presented by Richard O\u2019Brien,\u00a0before Ed Tudor-Pole\u00a0took over for\u00a0the final two.<\/p>\n
Reckless Rick\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0Ed<\/a>\u00a0 guided\u00a0teams of 6 intrepid adventurers as through the maze as\u00a0they solved puzzles and challenges to win crystals. The crystals bought the team time in the Crystal Dome.<\/p>\n How many of us watched the contestants running around wearing a fluorescent jumpsuits completing challenges and wished we were\u00a0taking part?<\/p>\n In 2015, Ben Hodges, Tom Lionetti-Maguire and Dean Rodgers of Little Lion Entertainment decided to recreate\u00a0The Crystal Maze\u00a0as a live immersive experience\u00a0in \u00a0London. Planned as a more immersive experience than\u00a0current puzzle rooms, the\u00a0result is more like a cross between Secret Cinema and a\u00a0 Escape Room.<\/p>\n As fans of the show Little Lion Entertainment understood how exciting it would be to be contestants placed in the\u00a0centre of the action. And their vision holds true to the original TV show sets with\u00a0four\u00a0zones; Aztec, Medieval, Industrial and Futuristic, plus, of course, The Crystal Dome itself.<\/p>\n Dean Rodgers\u00a0<\/a>of Little Lion Entertainment said \u201cThe people who watched The Crystal Maze when they were kids are the ones going to these puzzle rooms.\u201d I\u2019d challenge him on the \u201ckids\u201d part of that comment \u2013 a lot of adults loved The Crystal Maze and love playing Escape rooms now.<\/p>\n Turning to crowdfunding to finance the project Little Lion Entertainment stated their preferred business partner\u00a0was the British public as they wanted\u00a0the fans to be the ones to bring back \u201cthe greatest game show of all time for everyone!\u201d<\/p>\n Back in the day I met someone who was lucky enough to take part in the show. They confided that the building where filming took place was unimpressive from the outside but transformed unbelievably inside. And so it is \u00a0with the new Crystal Maze location. From the front, 10-14 White Lion Street just looks like an old office building. Inside, however, the place transforms.<\/p>\n The\u00a0London-based creative effects company,\u00a0Artem<\/a>,\u00a0designed and built the iconic glass dome.\u00a0Previously Artem\u00a0conceived, designed and built the show\u2019s adventure zone games for the original Crystal Maze TV series. They also provided floor effects, including smoke and pyrotechnics, and were responsible for maintaining the crucial fan system inside the Dome.<\/p>\n The\u00a0four\u00a0zones (\u00a0Aztec, Medieval, Industrial and Futuristic) are just as you imagine them to be. You don\u2019t get much time to admire the work that has gone in to producing the sets though, as this is adventure is a race.<\/p>\n We got tickets to the opening month of Crystal Maze. As one of our team commented \u201cBEST DAY! Childhood dream actually happened\u201d<\/p>\n Donning our blue\u00a0Crystal Maze bomber jackets, we were transported back to the 90s. After a brief introduction to the TV series\u00a0we met our Maze Master who led us around a series of timed challenge rooms. There\u00a020 Maze Master characters, all providing their own personality to the proceedings.\u00a0The maze master reminds you how much time you have left, and moves\u00a0your team from zone to zone\u00a0at\u00a0the sound of the Crystal Maze music.<\/p>\n There are\u00a0four categories of games \u2013 physical, skill, mental and mystery \u2013 and just\u00a0like the series itself, only one team member must attempt the challenge. However, all the\u00a0rooms all have windows so your team can help, or\u00a0hinder,\u00a0by shouting instructions. When it is your task the whole thing passes in a blur, with no time to consider your options. You have to try things quickly, guided by your teams instructions. When you are spectating, it can get intense as you watch your teammate struggle and\u00a0offer suggestions.<\/p>\n Sometimes there is someone on the team who actually knows what to do. In our case, when this happened, the Captain took command by yelling \u201cListen to me\u201d at me and the rest of the team fell silent in surprise.<\/p>\n Sometimes\u00a0 you win a crystal, sometimes you fail to get a crystal but escape the room and other times, oh dear, you can get locked in. If this happens the team must sacrifice a crystal to get them out. Unfortunately one of our team got an automatic lock in on the first game so we couldn\u2019t buy him out. Instead he was \u2018sent to prison\u2019 and given a mini challenge while the rest of us carried on.<\/p>\n The game is quite physical with\u00a0dashing about,\u00a0climbing up and down, crawling through tunnels\u2026.And some of the game equipment\u00a0 is quite heavy. Not light\u00a0polystyrene boulders.<\/p>\n The team worked very well together and\u00a0won 14 crystals.<\/p>\n Then it was\u00a0the finale\u00a0and our trip into\u00a0the Crystal Dome. The aim to\u00a0catch as many gold foil tokens as we could\u00a0while giant fans blew them around us.\u00a0We didn\u2019t have\u00a0a strategy but, to be fair, I don\u2019t think that mattered.\u00a0once the fans start and you are surrounded by bits of flying foil,\u00a0blind panic takes over\u00a0 and you find yourself\u00a0leaping around like idiots, catching thin air.<\/p>\n Did it matter that the Dome beat us? No, we\u2019d had a fantastic time, had won the most crystals of the four teams competing and lived the dream of being on the Crystal Maze\u2026..and that is\u00a0an\u00a0unmissable experience.<\/p>\n To become a member of The City Adventurers visit\u00a0https:\/\/www.cityadventurers.co.uk\/City-Adventurers.html<\/a>\u00a0and subscribe. Full\u00a0City Adventurers<\/a>\u00a0Membership includes invitations to adventures and travel mainly in the UK. If you are not UK based, or prefer online adventures, join the City Adventurers as an\u00a0Armchair Detective<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Completing challenges<\/h2>\n
Crowdfunding a dream<\/h2>\n
Recreating the locations<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Your childhood dreams\u00a0come true<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\nWhat would you like to play next?<\/h2>\n
Counting up our crystals<\/h2>\n
Join Our Clue Solving Adventurers Club<\/h4>\n