I considered a variety of options for this challenge, ranging from theatre shows and dinners to art exhibitions. I ended up choosing the Crystal Maze Live experience in London.
The Crystal Maze experience is based on the game show that was popular in the 1990s. It’s similar to an escape room in that you complete challenges, but instead of escaping you win crystals which give you time in the Crystal Dome (where you collect ‘money’).
Where is it?
The experience is in Shaftesbury Avenue in London, so a prime West End location. That said, I thought the building itself was a bit run down. It was previously used as a casino as part of the Trocadero complex, which explained the glittery walls. The game locations were good but the facilities (toilets) could do with a facelift.
How does it work?
We went as a a family group. As there were less than eight of us I was concerned we’d be split up or merged with another group, as mentioned in some of the reviews. Fortunately this didn’t happen to us.
We were allocated a lively host, who stayed with us throughout the game. After leaving our phones and bags in the lockers we were taken to the puzzle rooms. There are four different worlds – Aztec, Medieval, Futuristic and Industrial and each contains a variety of games. The tasks are split between physical, skill, mental and surprise challenges. You nominate one team member per game who goes into the room, Everyone else stays outside but can shout helpful (or not) advice to the team member playing the game.
In our group we each had three challenges. We were told the type of task in advance so we could decide who did it. If you were successful in the challenge you received a crystal. The challenges included a low level bouldering wall, picking items up and moving them with large scissors, dropping balls into the right holes and, my nemesis, the wobbleboard. I also had to build a diarama out of sand and organise a seating plan.
The challenges were fun albeit some more achievable than others. There’s a level of jeopardy because if you don’t leave the room before the timer is up you get locked in. We managed to avoid this but it did mean we missed out on some crystals.
At the end we swapped crystals for time in the Crystal Dome. A large blower scattered tokens into the air and we had to grab them and stuff them into a plastic box. This is weighed and your results compared with other teams. We did pretty well!
How physical is the Crystal Maze experience?
I was a little surprised we were given a waiver to sign at the start of the experience as I hadn’t expected there to be anything dangerous. Turned out there were some reasonably physical challenges, plus we ran up and down steps and had the option of doing a short drop slide. All fun though and if you didn’t want to do the slide you could walk around it.
How much did it cost?
The Crystal Maze Experience was expensive, but on par with a cheaper West End theatre ticket. One adult costs £79, but I have a Blue Light card which gave a 25% discount, bringing the cost down substantially for our group. It’s definitely worth investigating whether you can obtain a discount.
Did we enjoy it?
Yes, it was great fun. If you enjoy escape rooms and puzzles you’ll like this. The tasks are generally more physical than an escape room, but mentally they’re easier. It’s a great game to play as a group and I’d recommend it.
Challenge completed
Challenge completed. Pop over to read the full list of my 60 things to do before I’m 60.