I'll be honest, I didn't really want to go to the new Crystal Maze's Live Experience, which has launched in London's West End.
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 2019 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. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense but certainly plunges you into the action straight away.
After that, you're whisked upstairs to either store your possessions in the free lockers or wait for your start time in the sleek bar overlooking Shaftesbury Avenue, which includes board games and all manner of random seats.
What to Read Next
Following a brief safety video, a little bit of disclaimer signing and a team photo opportunity, you're whisked into a small room and greeted by lots of clips from the classic Crystal Maze show with Richard O'Brien, along with lots of nostalgic '90s footage.
Then you meet your Mazemaster. Yep, it's another quirky actor in fancy dress, but thankfully they manage to be funny and encouraging without straying into cringe-worthy amateur dramatics.
Our guide Shell (a mermaid with legs FYI) made an ideal replacement for O'Brien / Ayoade, tricking us with made-up challenges and dishing out gentle clues as we entered each room. The Mazemaster really does fuel the experience just as much as each puzzle room.
Each task is split the same as the show between mental, physical, skill and mystery challenges. After you pick your ideal team member, they get up to three minutes in each room, while everyone can watch from the windows and shout (potentially) useful advice. If they take too long or in some rooms trigger an automatic fail, you have to give up a crystal.
Everything is explained, so Crystal Maze newbies will be fine and experts will be surprised with the variety of the challenges. We don't want to spoil the surprises but you'll take on everything from shooting to driving, climbing and even, erm, autopsies.
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.
In between every challenge, the Crystal Maze theme tune thumps into action as you run, crawl, slide and climb between each area – amazingly, it really does turn up the pressure and make you feel like you're in the show.
Once you've gathered all your crystals, you head for the CRYSTAAAAAL DOOOOOOME. Each of your crystals is worth five seconds of time inside. Our team managed to get ten, which gave us 50 seconds total to catch as many golden tickets as possible.
You're not allowed to pick them up off the floor, otherwise you're immediately disqualified. The only drawback is that there were far less tickets fluttering around than on the show, so it proved difficult to get any significant number into the slot.
If your score is high enough, you could land yourself a slot on the Crystal Maze Live Experience leaderboard on their website. We managed 70 and the all-time top score is 499, so you probably shouldn't get your hopes up.
The only drawback to the Crystal Maze is it's VERY expensive.
Crystal Maze Live Experience ticket prices vary from £54.99 per person during the week up to £66.99 during busier weekends. That’s a lot of money for a game that only lasts up to 75 minutes, but it was also a lot of fun.
Alternatively, there is a VIP option that includes a cocktail and food afterwards, a souvenir maze crystal and a photo package for £99 per person.
Crystal Maze Live Experience tips
- Pick the best suited person from your team – a good mix of people can really help.
- Listen to the Mazemaster – they give clues on how to tackle each room as you enter.
- Ask for time updates! If you're locked in you'll lose a crystal to buy someone out.
- DON'T pick up tokens off the floor from the Crystal Dome, you'll be disqualified.
- Use your snazzy jacket to create a bucket to catch more Crystal Dome tokens.
Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Instagram and Twitter account.
Laurence Mozafari (he/him) is a multi-award winning journalist, editor, and presenter. A former Editor-in-Chief of Digital Spy, Laurence previously held roles as the site's Editor, Deputy Editor, and Associate Editor focusing on news, social, and video. Laurence hosted the BBC Sounds podcast Obsessed with Peaky Blinders in 2019. He also hosts his own podcast production, Time of My Life, where he interviews fascinating elders about their life lessons, including Only Fools and Horses' Sir David Jason, Star Trek’s George Takei and Bridgerton’s Adjoa Andoh.
Laurence was named Editorial Director – Youth Audience at Reach in early 2025. Prior to joining Digital Spy, he was previously at Bauer Media working as Digital Editor of Heat magazine's website Heatworld.com, and has also worked at and written for Sky, NME, Q magazine, Grazia, Closer, FHM and dedicated careers website GoThinkBig. 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, music, gaming, tech, showbiz, and travel.
Laurence has been a broadcasting contributor on television and radio, including KISS, Heat Radio, BBC Radio London, Radio 5 Live, and BBC Breakfast.
He is also a visiting lecturer at various universities teaching journalism, including City, University of London, Nottingham Trent, Staffordshire University and London Metropolitan. Laurence has won numerous awards in his journalism career, including the BSME Talent Award’s Best Deputy Editor, the PPA's 30 Under 30, and the New Editor and Editor of the Year at the AOP and BSMEs. He led Digital Spy to win PPA's Digital Content Team of the Year twice, along with the British Media Awards’ Brand of the Year in 2021.
Laurence joined the committee for the British Society of Magazine Editors in 2022 and was named vice-chair in 2025. He has since hosted panels with CEOs of Immediate Media and the Media Trust at the PPA Festival, as well as presenting his own radio show on Green Man Radio at Green Man Festival in 2022. Laurence is also a Brits voting academy member.
Laurence has been lucky enough to interview numerous celebrities, actors, and musicians throughout his career. Arnold Schwarzenegger loved his hair, Jimmy Carr loved his coat and Antonio Banderas gave a shout-out to his mum. Laurence has covered set visits for The Witcher on Netflix and Marvel’s Inhumans, he got Daisy Ridley to do a Chewbacca impression and loves Marvel, PlayStation, Glastonbury and craft beer. Linkedin
