The Crystal Maze has launched a new spinning planets space game

When the Crystal Maze Live Experience launched in north London way back in 2016, we were so excited that we sent half the Time Out office to take on the dome. This real-life version of the ’90s TV gameshow impressed us so much that we gave it a whopping five stars. So when a new Crystal Maze ‘zone’ was announced for 2018, we threw on our orange bomber jackets quicker than you could say ‘WOULD YOU START THE FANS, PLEASE’. 

So what’s new? Honestly, not that much. The maze is still made up of four different gaming areas (Aztec, Medieval, Future and Industrial), but the ‘Futuristic Zone’ has had a revamp.

The flashing lights and airlock doors are designed to transport players into the ‘belly of a spaceship’, though it smells just faintly like an upmarket sex shop (that’ll be all the rubber). One exciting new addition is the ‘spacewalk against time’, where one player has to traverse spinning planets to nab the coveted crystal.

Our freakishly agile team member skipped across those Saturns like she was playing a game of hopscotch. Do we have any evidence? No, no we do not. You just have to trust us. But not everyone has been so lucky on the spacewalk. Just look at this guy:

It might not be much of an overhaul, but the Crystal Maze Live Experience is still one of the best escape games in town, and it gets extra points for nostalgia value. Nothing says ‘teamwork’ like screaming unhelpful advice at your colleagues through a small window while they try and solve challenging puzzles in under two minutes. But remember, no matter how many crystals you grab, or gold tickets you catch, you will always, always end up looking like dicks in your team photo.