Fort Boyard 2019

Saturdays starting soon,
France 2 (and hopefully officially on Youtube)

Blow the party horns, Fort Boyard is celebrating its 30th series this year, and plenty of celebration and surprises are in store.

It sounds like the game won’t be changing too much on previous years, but added excitement this year includes the return of legendary and original Master of the Fort Patrice Laffont playing a new character where contestants will use a time machine to play a game of the past, and a new genie character. Vincent Lagaf is back with another watersports challenge as well.

11 epsiodes to be broadcast this year, we don’t know if that’s 11 straight or 10 and a special. However after eight of the episodes there is going to be a chat show, where Olivier, Willy and the night’s team discuss the episode and the show’s thirty years with special guests. If that’s not enough Fort Boyard for you, later in the year we have a spin-off show, Boyardland set in Pere Fouras’ old abandoned theme park.

Plenty to chew on.

230 thoughts on “Fort Boyard 2019

  1. Brig Bother Post author

    Apparently Samuel Ettienne, of Questions Pour un Champion fame, broke some ribs during filming. It’s pretty rare for injuries on the Fort, so it’ll be interesting to see why it happened.

    Reply
    1. Alex

      Reports said it was “something on a turntable”, which makes it either Casino or Percolator. Wouldn’t surprise me if it was the latter, even though it’s padded I can’t imagine that taking a body check by one of those walls around the turntable to be that much fun.

      Reply
  2. Dale

    Yay! The second best time of the year (the first being the mole of course 😉 I really hope they do put it on youtube again this year that was awesome they did that last year. I will happily watch the assinine amount of ads they put on it to see it in an official manner.

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  3. Lee

    June 22 is the rumored date of return. Might be confirmed as of tomorrow.

    In terms of international.
    Finland, Sweden are currently filming currently. Denmark is next followed by Morocco and Africa is joining this year for the first time. Its being produced by the same company who make the Morocco version so i feel its in good hands.

    Dont think there a special episode been made. I think its just 11 weeks of Fort Boyard (Although 1 week off for sport been confirmed). One picture of a team shows 7 members. Not sure if they all play or its just a support.

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    1. Lee

      June 22 is confirmed at 9pm french Time. Extra show airs at 11:25pm.

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      1. Jack B

        Is there a break between the main show and the extra? 2 hours 25 minutes is a bit much, especially with the start time repeatedly getting later- wasn’t it 8:45 a couple of years ago?

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        1. Brig Bother Post author

          If you’re arguing that that’s a lot of Fort Boyard for one evening, you’ll find no disagreements here.

          The plan is to run the chat show after the main show straightaway.

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          1. Lee Turner

            There a break for a couple minutes. But other than that its pretty much straight on. Hoping its all put onto YouTube again this year so we can watch it at our convenience

          2. Jack B

            It’s a lot even without the extra show. Setting aside 2.5 hours a week to watch a show where I don’t understand half of what’s being said anyway is quite a commitment, especially during the later episodes.

            The last couple of seasons placed more of an emphasis on the characters and interactions than the game itself, and last year I found myself fast forwarding through most of it until we got to the Treasure Room. Hopefully this year is more interesting.

          3. Brig Bother Post author

            Funnily enough I was fine with it last year, but I think it was the year before that (or the year before that) I was resenting it a bit.

            I wish it was a tight 90 minute show rather than a bloated 2.5hr show, but there we are. I can’t see myself watching Boyard On The Side other than the first one unless it seems properly interesting. God knows what the French are going to make of it.

  4. Lee Turner

    Apparently the second show will give the teams a chance to boost their winnings for charity as well.

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  5. Jack B

    The first episodes team will include Élodie Gossuin in her ninth (!) appearance (not including her participating as a Cagemaster), and Bruno Guillon for the 4th straight year. I’m assuming there will be a new height based game for Elodie and new snake based adventure for Bruno, seeing as they’ve probably played all the old ones already by this point.

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  6. Alex

    Belgium is airing them a day before France again, because they are weird like that.

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  7. Mika

    Looking at the list of contestants… whatever happened to that story that they got some big A-Lister this year? Or am I just completely missing a name on the list that I should recognize.

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  8. Brig Bother Post author

    New stuff, they seem to be going quite big on doubling up this year, with DOUBLE Saut d’lange and DOUBLE chaise instable.

    https://www.fan-fortboyard.fr/blog/saison-2019/fort-boyard-2018-descriptions-des-nouvelles-epreuves-les-nouveaux-personnages.html

    King of Silence and Cursed Temple look quite fun. Hotel is in the Car Wars arena, not the Bank like I originally reckoned (indeed, the Bank is still there).

    Love this description:

    ” Nobody had any news of the first host of Fort Boyard for twenty years now. But a few weeks ago, Father Fouras embarked on his big spring cleaning and found it under a large layer of dust. This meeting is timely … Father Fouras has worked all winter on a machine that must send candidates in the past and he will entrust it to him. During each broadcast, Patrice will send our candidates in legendary events that have marked the history of the game. “

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      1. Brig Bother Post author

        I hope King of Silence isn’t just the Haunted Manor except you have to try not to yelp when surprised. Silent Library, but in a crypt.

        Suspect there will be a few version twos of games that were introduced last year, similar to last year improving many of the games they kept from the year before. At least you’d hope they’ve remixed The Bank.

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  9. Lee

    Fort Boyard has been confirmed to have been renewed for Season 31 next year.

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  10. Brig Bother Post author

    Oh, it looks like they’re doing the keys by afternoon and the adventures at night.

    Which I suggested they do for ages. Nice.

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    1. Mika

      Very interesting. That’s a nice thematic idea.
      Although… there’s clips of both double-saut and catapulte infernale done during the day. And even for FB’s “Do adventures for keys” they both seem a little extreme. I suppose catapulte infernale could work in the spirit of a key game, I guess. But a double-bungee for a *key*…?

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      1. Lee Turner

        Could be varied based on how early/late they start filming. The ones in daytime could have had an earlier start because of no filming the after hours show? Based on the trailer we can see at least 1 key game is played as it starts to go dark (which is my favorite mood lighting on the fort)

        Reply
  11. Owen

    Will you be doing a commentary tonight of Fort Boyard on YouTube?

    Reply
      1. Owen

        Okay. I’m probably gonna not knows whats going on half the time. Lmao

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        1. Danny Kerner

          I’m promising to do all subtitles this year as I have found a quicker method to translate plus the added ability to keep timings straight. We will definitely need them for Boyard Land since it is a new format.

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        2. Lee

          I don’t speak much french. But as long as you know the basic format of the show (Collect keys,Cage for 3 keys, Judgement, Clues, Council, TR) your pretty much set.

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        3. Brig Bother Post author

          You’ll pick it up, it’s largely a physical show.

          Don’t panic if it doesn’t start at 8 on the dot, French listings are notoriously a bit lax.

          Reply
    1. David

      It was the same thing with one of their twitter accounts (https://twitter.com/perefouras ; it’s not verified but it seems to be at least semi-official)- they basically didn’t update it from shortly after last season ended until just recently…

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      1. Brig Bother Post author

        You think they’d at least put the adverts up on Youtube!

        Pere Fouras is definitely official, but without a blue tick (as he’s a fictional character presumably).

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  12. Brig Bother Post author

    Genuine exclamation of ‘fucking hell!’ with the minute of Richard O Brien’s pilot on Toujour plus Fort this evening.

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      1. Matt Clemson

        Just having watched it again, I think they said they mocked it up in London… and you can briefly see at the end that they actually had a tiger for the mockup!

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        1. Mark A

          Incredible Stuff, although it looks like the blew the budget on the tigers and had to construct the set out of cardboard and sticky back plastic!

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  13. David

    The ep is up on their Youtube channel- the after show too…

    Reply
  14. Brig Bother Post author

    Well three-and-a-quarter hours of Fort Boyard a lot to take in, but it’s still quite an easy watch so let’s see what I can remember:

    * Digging the remixed running round the fort theme.

    * Disappointed they’ve not updated the global clock graphic, which they’ve used since 2009.

    * Cursed Temple – looks great, wish it didn’t have the feel of “man presses button to make contestant fall off” about it, especially as the cutaways suggests there are patterns to the traps. Interesting to note that they pointed out it’s basically a reversioning of Cornishe, and that many of this years new games are dressed up versions of old ones.

    * Automatic Laundrette – having said that, changing this into a game that’s clearly measurable is a big improvement. Approve.

    * Boyard Bank – like the nod to the way it worked last year and also love a moving bookshelf. Not quite sure how they’re meant to progress after, does that bit of grille just punch out?

    * Voyage Through Time – On the fence about this. Great seeing Patrice Laffont but he’s barely used really, just to top and tail, I was hoping he’d also be there in some sort of commentary capacity. Nice to see the sawing-a-woman-in-half game again, useful that they’ve probably still got that prop from that Halloween special years back. Comedy moustache unnecessary really. Very interested to see what comes up and hoping for some genuine surprises – won’t be pleased if we get stuff like Jars which has only just left the fort really.

    * Pursuit Course – this was quite fun (it’s Kongman!), but I’m not sure it needs a two minute timer, only the headstart they get over Lady Boo counting down.

    * Grand Boyard Hotel – the return of the tourniquet. Difficult to tell if this works or not based on one person being rather bad at it. I did think his method of jamming the turnstyle was ingenious though, even if the producers just reversed it after.

    * King of Silence – quite enjoyed this. Intrigued to find out how many mini-tasks they’ve got waiting. Set up with the carousel quite neat. Again, I like that they show the noiseometer.

    Didn’t see any new adventures I believe?

    Have to say I love the lighting during the sort of twilight period. I suggested they do exactly this last year having thought about it for a while and it worked brilliantly, even if they were a bit unlucky with the clouds. Hello Guilliame, if you’re reading! Next year sort out the combination locks.

    Good that they’ve changed the joke re: getting rid of the elevator post Judgement even if it’s a retread of MR Chan. Blanche turning into a heavily CGI snake a bit rubbish. Of the new minigames Flipper was quite fun but needs way better camera angles. I liked the bomb diffusal Council game as well.

    Advert for Boyard Land a bit odd, as was the handover to Toujours Plus Fort!

    TPF! completely unnecessary but reasonable fun, lots of behind the scenes clips (gasp at about a minute of Richard O Brien London pilot about 30:30 in here https://youtu.be/iBbEtB6UqYI?t=1824). The evening’s team compete in three extra challenges (tonight: Boyard Zoo, Spa and Ski which now has extra foamy snow effects) worth an additional €500 each. There’s some sort of buzzer quiz with the buzzers at the bottom of mystery tubes, but we don’t know what’s in the tubes so that’s a waste. It doesn’t need to exist, but if it can keep coming up with gold then I’ll probably watch.

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    1. Brig Bother Post author

      Oh, forgot the Great Escape – given this was probably the laziest remix imaginable, it actually worked pretty well. Intrigued by how long they keep prisoners locked up IRL, presumably they just film a couple of cutaway sketches then go and sit in the green room until it’s time to escape, so I wonder if they have any chance to spot the code in the cell whilst they’re waiting.

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    2. Alex

      The revived games are actual legit old ones: a paper has spoiled the five games, and the latest revival was last played in 2006.

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        1. Alex

          Although *technically* last week’s was the latest because it was played in the Halloween special in 2012, but…yeah.

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          1. Brig Bother Post author

            My money’s on the return of Poignards with a guest reappearance of Jaba the Pirate.

          2. Brig Bother Post author

            Oh I’ve just had them spoilt. It’s an *OK* selection but a bit… unambitious?

  15. TVs Michael Harmstone

    It’ll be interesting to see which game it is that breaks Samuel’s ribs – I’d have suspected Percolateur as per the rumour, but Hotel could be a candidate too.

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  16. Mika

    That was… nice. I guess. I suppose I’m just of the type that it’s another ‘iterative’ year rather than doing anything really new. They haven’t had much of a shakeup of the format since the Cage was introduced, so it’s really feeling a bit samey.

    Temple was pretty nice, though like Brig said, felt like there should have been some pattern to the bricks. Or just make it easier to get through if surprise pratfalls are the idea.
    Voyage dans les temps – Kind of makes me miss the songs from last year. Really hope the intros and stuff are a bit quicker next time. Also, I know we’ve long given up on the show at least trying to look like it’s filmed in real time anymore, but this one kinda did feel like a bit much.
    Banque – Liked the changes that called out last year’s solution. Still feels like a *little* too much game for the time involved
    Course-poursuite – Really creative, but felt like it should either be “timed, but no chase” or “chase, but not timed”. Also, hard to tell if Laurent was just that good, or if they gave a little too much time.
    Hotel – I liked it. Felt really old school, but with a really nice set design.
    Roi du silence – I like the idea of it, but something about it felt off. Maybe that it wasn’t a timed game?
    Cabine mystere – So there’s the answer of “What will they do now that they don’t have the element of surprise anymore?” But still a good concept.
    New Parcours route – Still feels like it’ll be really easy for the wrong person to *really* botch this one.
    Council – The new games were rather nice. A good twist on the old memory game, and it’ll be interesting to see the battleship one when it’s not won in the first guess.

    The night adventures are really nice, though it’s a shame so many were basically indoors.

    But yeah, overall, it’s a great start, I’m sure it’s gonna be a solid season, just wish it felt more unique?

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  17. Matt Clemson

    A couple of random thoughts of my own, rather eclectic:

    Am I imagining it, or have they now mostly ditched the pre-recorded filler bits of Passe-Muraille playing with various bits in the chambers? I think I only noticed the Ghost Train one.

    Loved Time Machine swapping to 4:3.

    If they do play Jarres in the time machine, will they have to send Passe-Muraille back in time first to hide the key?

    Loved the pacing shots periodically showing the setting sun.

    On the climbing game, wasn’t sure if Lady Boo needed to tag the other player or actively dislodge them.

    It looked like hotel requires nine cases? That seems hard, although I wonder if you’re allowed to put them all on the turntable first, get through, then collect them as they come around.

    Didn’t grasp exactly what was different in Laundrette. Was it that when you hit the button you just had to stay upright as it turned?

    Something I remember thinking last year but don’t think I ever said: I think Cloche’s music is one of the biggest unsung heroes of the show.

    I think I recognised two returnees among the cage kids; neither of whom played this week. Not hugely surprised about the returning girl, she made the most memorable impression last time round. As I mentioned briefly on Twitter, Rouge speaks!

    Did not like the sudden cuts to extreme close-up of Blanche’s eyes at dramatic moments in the Judgement games. And yes, CGI snake, very bad. And now I’m wondering if it runs in the family.

    Curious what the contestants were actually told for the ‘bed’ transition after Blanche. Did the player actively volunteer? It appeared that people were preselected for Willymix last time.

    I’d be interested to see a translation of the Chef Willy intro, I’m wondering if the theme this year is ‘food that looks nice made with inappropriate ingredients’, and it may have been that his preamble established that a bit (I got a “I’ll show them I can make fine cuisine!” tone from it… but I could be entirely wrong!)

    Loved Passe-Muraille’s disembodied head turning up next to the conveyor belt.

    I never quite spotted how the imprisoned player made the initial escape from the cell. I remember thinking it seemed a bit easy… which made it all the more gleeful when the story unfolded! Not quite sure of the logic behind there being two codes; just to make it tougher to remember?

    I guess Battleships is the logical next step after noughts and crosses. Coming soon : boxes.

    I wonder if you know in advance the turn order for the bomb defusal game. If so, you only need to memorize half the colours.

    Wonder if the second sacrifice clueword would have been ‘Fouras’. Also wondering if this is a one-off, or if – for this anniversary year – all the keywords will be related to Fort Boyard.

    I can’t help but feel that that buzzer quiz device seems a bit elaborate for a tie-in show. Is it repurposed from something?

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  18. Lee Turner

    30 Years is an amazing accomplishment for a show and it seems they have gone all out this year with the extra show and boyard land later in the year. Glad they have kept the same format we have been used to for years and not done a 2010.

    New running theme is pretty catchy.

    New games seem interesting. They had alot of time left after they came out of the room of silence.

    The climbing game with Lady boo she had to get the tiger thing off the back of the guy. I guess the 2 minute clock is so they can’t stop and rest before setting lady boo off.

    Still dissapointed they stuck with the kids for the cage. When they lost the duel they actually looked dissapointed. Just doesn’t feel right.

    The new twist in the Great Escape is pretty evil. Considering its not something there going to take with them on the first trip.

    Biggest enjoyment of the year is the transition from day to night. From the time they start Roi Du Silence to how it looks during Cloche. I agree its a shame they don’t take advantage of this and film more outside stuff.

    The only negative is some of the games felt like they were cut short. Which is a shame since they got it right last year.

    Nice to see the extra show play bonus games. This week we had the Zoo, Spa and Ski.

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  19. Jason

    A little late to the party and most of my thoughts have already been covered so I can keep it brief…

    * I do like that they are pairing players with their past “haunts” – Bruno with Grand Hotel (Tourniquet), Camille with Bibliotheque Abandonnee (Fosse) – although it could get boring quickly if everyone has conquered their fears.
    * L’Impact in The Cage seemed a bit unfair on the kid – seemed like he needed a box to give him a bit more height!
    * Would have been nice to involve Patrice a bit more in that segment, but a decent effort all the same.

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  20. Alex

    I can’t be the only person that noted the anachronism of playing Freed From Desire (a song from 1996) in the time machine allegedly in 1990, right?

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  21. Brig Bother Post author

    Thought experiment: You’re in charge of coming up with the games for Voyage Through Time. You have infinite budget and room size. What do you choose?

    My first pick would be a game that would fit into modern FB sensibilities fairly easily I reckon: Femme sans Tete (1995). The contestant must release the headless woman being held prisoner by sliding a puck around a maze. The comedy element is that every time they take a wrong turn, it gives the player an electric shock. Contestants also get their legs doused in water at the start for added shock value. Depending on the player, quite amusing, but it still looks quite good today I reckon.

    https://youtu.be/XVqaPIyRR-o

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    1. Alex

      Because of how much I loved it as a kid, and how good it looked, Toile d’araignée ‘96.

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      1. Mark A

        Probably Pied Marine for me, even if it is just a more sadistic version of Finder’s Keppers.

        Also the Tube game, a Fort Boyard classic that sadly fell victim to the 2011 revamp.

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    2. Mika

      I’d want to cheat and say Labyinthe obscure or Funambule, but if I had to stick with a cell/key game I’d pick Menotte. (Though Femme sans tett and Toile d’araignée are definitely good picks, too)

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    3. David

      I feel like Assiette (stand on a gigantic circular shield that pivots beneath your weight, collect key overhead) is the sort of thing that would turn up at some point.

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  22. Matt Clemson

    So, today’s episode has to be some sort of record for best performance in the bulk of the game combined with poorest performance in the Treasure Room. It’s remarkable. And now I’m curious if any team has needed *seven* clue words before, because I really wouldn’t be surprised if that’s not the case. Of course, it’s very hard to judge given we aren’t fully understanding the puzzle that’s there; I’d be interested to hear if any french-speakers thought this clue was unusually hard.

    I’ve occasionally mentioned that sometimes I think that having too *many* clue words can be a hindrance – both for the process of opening them taking time and in this case I suspect the amount of conflicting things to take int account may have been a distraction.

    I wasn’t aware there were changes due in Croco World, although now it does seem to be basically a damper version of Bibliothèque Abandonnée.

    I’m still not completely clear on the Fort layout, but I’m fairly sure that Rouge managed what I think is her most ridiculous shot yet

    Was a little disappointed with Magloire’s game – there’s not really a great variety in how the tasks present to the audience, although the twist right at the end did take me by surprise. It does feel a little out of place, though.

    Hotel looked a lot more achievable this time.

    It struck me that Balance is a particularly good game for visual spectacle, the dismount is inevitable even for successful teams, and because it’s inherently going to involve a sudden massive swing, it’s always spectacular.

    I mentioned Passe-Muraille’s disembodied head last week – I wonder if there’s a conscious intention now to have the Fort characters have the occasional presence in games that aren’t their own; we had Passe-Muraille in Casino this week, plus MegaGaf turning up to watch Balance.

    I rhink this might be the first time I’ve ever seen the Boos interact with Pere Fouras. Plus this might possibly be the first episode I’ve ever seen that doesn’t use the watchtower.

    Slightly disappointed it wasn’t all-new games for Silence, but pleased it wasn’t all-repeats. I thought the last one this week was *inspired*

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    1. Matt Clemson

      Just recalled that there were episodes last season without the Academy.

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    2. Lee Turner

      Lets also not forget this is a rare time where a team also had 7 contestants. Which means they had an extra head to think with. (Not that it helped) They also wasn’t forced to sit them out at the TR (Unlike 2009).

      Rogue shot had to turn around mid shot to get where it was. Since Momie is right above.

      Seems this week alot of games came down to the very last second (Although this is hard to tell with editing)

      I believe they either play Patrice back in time game or Magik. And then they have to play 1 boo game.

      MegaGaf appeared last year at beam jets and the team asked him to get the code for them. He said he couldn’t. There was also a time in Cylinders Chef Willy came out and gave a commentary during that challenge. Would be interesting to see more of this in the future

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    3. Brig Bother Post author

      Yeah, not sure what I make of changes to Croco World – you’re right, it’s ‘just’ a damper version of Abandoned Library now, which probably suggests one won’t survive its current form next year.

      Balance has always been one of my favourite games I think for precisely that reason. I wonder if the contestants have a choice on who gets which side, If I were the team I’d want the heavier one nearer the team so at least if they can undo the knot, the team might be able to read the number even if they cannot.

      It seemed a bit weird to have seven on the team and then give them the I Cracked The Crystal Maze crystals set with only six coins in it.

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  23. Jack B

    Random thought nobody here mentioned yet: if someone gets locked in on the Voyage through Time, do they have to go through the Ratman to get released?

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  24. Jason

    * Interesting to have 7 contestants this week. To answer Brig’s question above – the photo shows 6, you can just about see the actual box had 7 coins in.
    * The lead-in to MegaJackpot and Olivier pointing out being sent on a wild goose chase to get there… they’ve obviously been doing this for decades but amusing they gave a nod to it.
    * I enjoy the additional character interactions, although the candidate jumping and nearly landing on Passe-Muraille perhaps not in the script!
    * The performance on La Gouttiere (Elevation from The Cube) was superb – a little surprised they only got 7 keys, but 5 clues is excellent. Needing two sacrifices for seven clues in total really hurt them though – more than two minutes to unlock the treasure!
    * I thought the creepy head routine (last week) was a nod to Manoir – where Passe-Muraille and La Boule have been hiding in a cupboard.

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    1. Brig Bother Post author

      The pointing out the next game’s next door is an occasional gag they’ve been doing for years! I do like it though.

      There’s always been room for a head in The Searching Head, it used to be Jaba the Pirate. I think it might have been Laboulle for a bit? It’s a good throwback with Passe-Muraille though.

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  25. Brig Bother Post author

    Hugely entertaining episode last night, with some rappers who really got into it and some entertaining Youtube stars, one of whom was on crutches (intrigued by the deal there, was he on crutches when he signed up to do it?). FEATURING!

    * The first play of aerial cotton-tiges, on a rainy wet surface! Interestingly they play it on the roof, I’m sure the promo pictures suggested a level down.
    * Patrice Laffont putting up “have you seen Sophie Davant” posters!
    * The worst ever playing of Ariagnee!
    * A contestant winning Grand Boyard Hotel by basically completely breaking the concept!
    * The team almost going completely clear in the keys, mainly only losing because one of the rappers was bought down by his own showboating in the Cage! I wondered why the runtime was about ten minutes shorter than usual going into it, I was convinced they were going to win Cloche for the full house.
    * The long-awaited return of Vertigo and Dependency! At night!

    Excellent.

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    1. Brig Bother Post author

      Also if Abandoned Library is the de facto snake game, I hope they’ll repurpose the snake pit for something else, it feels like too good a space to just leave unused.

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    2. Lee Turner

      2 other Things to add.
      Think its the first time someone other than the host has started a game with the clepsydre. (Rodeo Dino).
      Bigflo said he would donate an additional 10,000 euros to the charity at the end of the show. Think that the first time a contestant has added more money.

      Reply
  26. Brig Bother Post author

    Numbers are slightly up on last year and its won its timeslot all episodes so far. Excellent!

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  27. Lee Turner

    Russia is also returning this year. Something about a billionaire has convinced a TV channel to record a series.

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  28. Will Stephen

    I’m assuming it’s a rule but never checked but i’m assuming there’s an unwritten rule where while in the treasure room they can’t use their clothes to store coins? I would love to see ingenious ways to make buckets/bags out of shirts and trousers :-p

    Great strategy on the Boyard Hotel, i’m sure they’ll add something dastardly to it next year to prevent this and the aesthetic is great.

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    1. Lee Turner

      Pretty sure it is a rule that no clothing items can be used. I seem to recall back in an episode 2000-02 that the female host then told the team off for standing on the Gold pile and using there feet to scoop the gold back.

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      1. Alex

        Was this the Yamakasi one? I’ve certainly seen that before.

        (Also in the Hotel you can see that the producers knew they were going to do something like that eventually, so rotated the turnstile the other way to make him have to go back in to receive the cases. The FB forums were hilariously salty about that.)

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        1. Lee Turner

          Yamakasi used there hands at the top to get the gold which is allowed.
          The team i found was Jean-Marie Bigard 4 minute TR run back when brig was posting those videos every so often. (Link to the episode)

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        2. Brig Bother Post author

          I can understand a certain saltiness tbh, I’ve long said that any game that relies on a producer pressing a button on a whim rather than an actual mechanic is a bit cheap, but it was fun seeing someone win a game apparently improperly for the first time in years.

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          1. Alex

            It does feel weird having them put in this “cheatproofing” in the year it’s been played instead of the year after. I honestly don’t know another decent method for how you can force people to go one-at-a-time without it being really contrived.

          2. Mika

            Interestingly, this was the first episode *filmed*, so I wonder if they ‘unofficially changed the rules’ or something after this playing (like telling the contestants they had to play it ‘correctly’ off camera or something)

            Vaguely makes me think there was another game a couple years ago where it was pretty clear they’d changed/fixed the rules halfway through filming but I’m really not remembering which one it was.

  29. Jason

    As they reminded us in recent seasons, the first thing to ask during the Voyage Dans Le Temps: Sable game was “is the window open?” and yes, yes it was!

    Nice of them to show the clip afterwards of course.

    Reply
  30. Mika

    Just when you’re about to go “Gee, Lalanne isn’t that good at this game, is he…” – Almost thought they were setting it up that the code was going to be wrong. Suppose to be fair he did get some of the harder games on the fort. Did enjoy that they brought back Narcisse for some interaction.

    So that’s two games so far that took a break last year but came back. (Or would that be three if you count Coton-tige?) Wonder if anything else will come back. Isn’t Eolienne still hanging about? Then again, didn’t someone say something cut from 2017 is coming back in the time machine?

    And is it just me or does it look like ‘winning’ Saut de l’ange is harder with two people? The jump seems easier with someone else there, but seems like they had less chance of that rebound grab?

    Reply
    1. Brig Bother Post author

      Another fun episode.

      I really liked the Narcisse in-jokery – I wonder how they did it, did Francis just have a shave and record some scenes the next day? I was half expecting Narcisse talking to Francis in the same shot by the end.

      I know Patrice Laffont is 79, but clearly he’s still capable, I think he’s way under used. Next year he should have a game called Des Chiffres et Des Lettraaaaarrrrggghhs to replace Pere Fouras Show.

      The big disappointment of the episode was that clearly there were shots of the reimagined underwater training game set-up but didn’t get played.

      Reply
      1. Jason

        From Fan FB (translated):
        “In 2019, the sketches with Francis LALANNE are recorded the day after the shooting of the show where he participates as a candidate. To punctually resume the role of Narcissus, he also had to shave his beard!”

        Reply
  31. Jason

    I’m curious – is this the first time we’ve seen a person of the fort as a contestant in the same episode? He is named in the credits as “Narcisse”, and I imagine we would see him if it wasn’t for the Patrice Laffont anniversary sketches…

    On the poetic license front, I believe Mr Chan (used in the video game) was 2007-2009, rather than 1990.

    Francis had a really tough run – Poutre Jets D’eau and Bank are at the tougher end, lost one of the tougher Judgements, then an incredibly harsh sand trap escape (still 2:30 by the way, you felt he did well to only lose 61 seconds) followed by losing the duel. He redeemed himself with getting the code so quickly (saving a sacrifice and a chunk of time) although would have been nice to give him one of the three bonus challenges?

    Reply
    1. Lee Turner

      Was a nice episode. Thought Francis was rather defeated in the prison escape. Must admit the sand version seems alot harder than the treadmill version. Kinda also shocks me how little the contestants watch the show. As it takes them awhile to talk about the paintings in bank. I would have thought that be the first place to look.

      Reply
  32. Chris M. Dickson

    Iain Weaver, who’s come to visit, watched the July 13 episode with me from YouTube tonight. It was the first full episode of FB I’ve seen in literally years. I was pleased to see that the been-there-done-that animal scares had been dialled down somewhat from how I remembered it, and there did seem to be more of an emphasis on playing things for laughs, even if I wasn’t familiar enough to get a lot of the gags, other than the silly sight gags. It felt like watching an old British episode of Fort Boyard remixed to include sections of two episodes of Gladiators, an episode of The Cube and call-and-lose gags from either Schlag den Raab or GMTV, and so it did feel a little bitty and inorganic.

    Nothing wrong with it and gorgeous production values, but if it’s a few more years until the next time I see a full episode then I won’t mind too much. In some ways, it even made me appreciate the new Crystal Maze…

    Reply
    1. Brig Bother Post author

      There’s a much bigger emphasis on comedy these days, the change in style has been gradual, and has kind of earned the right to be like that in a way Crystal Maze hasn’t really.

      It really is very bitty and I wish it wasn’t 2.25 hours long, but given its length it’s a surprisingly easy watch.

      Reply
      1. Lee Turner

        I always feel the show is played with alot of comedy more in the key section. And then tends to get more serious in the clue game. Maybe that is because they have to face alot more fear challenges and the fact the team aren’t together most of it.

        Reply
        1. Mark A

          I personally believe the comedy is a bit hit and miss, and I also don’t like how they keep using the gag of stopping the background music whenever something funny happens. its funny the first couple of times but after a while it becomes annoying.

          I also love the idea of holding the ‘key’ games during the day and the ‘clue’ games and Treasure Room at night (Even though I wish they would keep the two categories of games separate like they used to instead of mixing them up every episode).

          Reply
      2. Brig Bother Post author

        I certainly miss the *mechanical ingenuity* the games used to have, a few too many new games are reliant on a man behind the scenes pressing a button for my tastes, but at least they seem to be moving away from ‘repeat X Y amount of times’ which seemed to be the standard for a while.

        The comedy has to be seen through the prism that the show has a large young and family audience and the OTT/visual gags play to them, whereas the nature of the contestants and the in-jokes are there for grown ups who may have watched on and off the last thirty years. It’s a show that’s proud of its history and doesn’t even begin to try and be too cool for school, it certainly wouldn’t catch itself going “who’s watching THIS rubbish?”

        Reply
  33. Brig Bother Post author

    Another fun episode last night, my notes:

    * Wowsers at that last gasp leap in the Cursed Temple.

    * For a show that seems to put pride in the accuracy of its historical clips, a bit weird to label a 1996 playing of Tapis Roulant as 1995. WE KNOW.

    * Uncorking a wine bottle for King of Silence is impossible, surely.

    * Quite enjoying the ‘subtle’ way they’ve started telling you what the answer is in the viewer competitions, if you didn’t find the question really easy in the first place.

    * Funniest playing of Ghost Train in a while.

    Reply
    1. Lee Turner

      That leap was amazing. (So that will be changed next year)

      My editing gripe is the one they did at Spa. They showed her before the game and then edited a clip in where she spoke after the game with the clue thing unlocked. Basically saying she had won before the game started. Not sure why i spotted it but it kinda spoils the game for me.

      Still think there needs to be a reward for not using the joker.

      Reply
  34. TVs Michael Harmstone

    So, pretty much halfway through the season (I know there’s eleven episodes this year, but it feels about the right time), here’s my suspicions for the new games:

    * Voyage dans le temps – obvious one-season deal. Boyard Academy (more than likely with Narcisse) will be back next year.
    * Magik/Fakir – rrrrrrrrrrubbish. Deserves to be replaced.
    * Temple Maudit – the theming is beautiful, but it’s a bit too…Wipeout. If they made it a lot less “we’re going to try and knock you off using these haunted effects and not have them on a timer”, it’d be a more satisfying game.
    * Hotel – looooooove this game. It should be brought back next year, and probably will have some sort of failsafe to stop people just jamming it with bags again.
    * Roi du Silence – I’d expect this one to last a while. They can easily change up as many of the minigames as possible.

    I know I say this every year, but Kids in the Cage is silly. It’s either they win and get cocky or they lose and look miserable. It also relies far too heavily on “beat this gymnast half your height on a double sweeper”.

    Guillaume also damaged his record this week. He’d only lost one game in two appearances, and has now lost four and been locked in on one.

    Reply
    1. Jack B

      The Voyage through time might stick around next year, but most likely without the 30th anniversary packaging. I don’t see Fakir returning, and the loud laugh gag got old by the second playing.

      Agree with you on Temple Maudit, it just feels like a question of whether whoever’s in charge of pressing the button feels like giving them the key. With it usually showing up towards the middle or end of the key games I suspect that it comes down to “does the team need to be pegged back, or do they need help to avoid a situation where they don’t have enough players to sacrifice to Blanche later”.

      Hotel is probably my favorite new game of the past few years, hope to see it stick around. Suspect it will replace Percolator as the go-to turntable game, and most likely that cell will get something new next year.

      Roi Du Silence is nice, but needs more variety on the mini-games- as it is there seem to only be 6 or 7, with a couple of them being borderline impossible.

      Other thoughts- is it just me or have they gone down to 11 key games (plus the Cage) per episode this year? If so, that makes the success rate required 9 out of 14, which is quite harsh. 9 out of 15 (as it was last year) seems fairer, especially given that at least some of the games each episode are mainly played for comedy and are designed for pratfall fails.

      Reply
      1. TVs Michael Harmstone

        Past three episodes have all been 11 + cage. First two were 12 + cage. It’s even more impressive when you consider that one of the 11 + cage episodes was the one where they nearly got nine keys with time to spare.

        My only hesitation on Voyage staying is the fact that I’d assume Lalanne is still contracted (due to him being willing to play Narcisse last week, which was actually filmed the day after his episode apparently). It feels like the sort of thing they keep for special seasons.

        The fate of Percolateur (which reappeared on TPF this week) will entirely depend on which game broke Samuel’s ribs I suspect. If it was Percolateur, it’s probably gone. If it was Hotel, they might mix that up slightly next year.

        Reply
    2. Brig Bother Post author

      There are still a few games we’ve still to see – underwater phone box, hanging trapeze thing, double unstable chair and Megagaf is meant to have a second game.

      Would be pretty happy to ditch percolator tbh.

      I noted on the Pursuit wall the contestant’s headstart isn’t timed, Lady Boo departs when the contestant reaches the red and black stripy window.

      Reply
      1. Lee Turner

        Agree that they should ditch percolator. not a big fan of the game myself.

        The Pursuit was also lowered from the window on the first floor (episode 1) to the step below the window.

        I also agree that most teams are having 14 key games (includes cage) and a few got lucky and had 15. To actually get 9 keys and still have a game to spare like last year is a real achievement. I’m also not sure when we had our last 6/6 or 5/5 clue word wins. I’m sure it has been awhile.

        In theory voyage could stay if they just make the door of the cell the time travelling machine.

        Reply
  35. Jason

    * I liked that Rouge and the impossible shots gets a nod this week, given she fires from inside the fort to hit an outside wall.
    * Very poor from the team on Croco World – of the all the games to wait until four seconds to get them out, that certainly isn’t the one! The clock looked pretty empty so not even sure it was creative editing?
    * They do seem to be rather generous with the bonus challenges don’t they (in both time and assistance) – percolator overflowed the collection bin in four trips!
    * I didn’t realise the Genie is the guy from the frequently shown 2017 season playing maison de poupees where he is screaming like a banshee in fear. Not entirely convinced by him (as a fort character) or his game, I’d be surprised if it returns for 2020 in any capacity.

    Reply
  36. Mika

    Came across something interesting looking for something else – Fort Boyard was at some point rated for all four platforms by the ESRB (US (and in effect Canada’s) version of PEGI). Seems odd they’d go through the process if they weren’t going to release it over here, but it’s probably not gonna come to anything.

    Reply
    1. Brig Bother Post author

      Can we just point out what a gentleman Passe-Muraille was in the Cage there, and note Olivier did not help AT ALL.

      Also, FINALLY the moment we’ve been waiting for – PM almost getting reflexively punched in the Ghost Train.

      The underwater phone was OK, but not especially overwhelming.

      Impressed at remembering the codes in the prison, again, makes me wonder about the timeline/set-up for the whole thing.

      Reply
      1. Lee Turner

        I too wonder how much time they spend actually in the prison. Surely they get some shots. let them out for abit then put them back in when the time is near? Since the team spend alot of time waiting around and preparing.

        Reply
  37. Lee Turner

    Im glad that the Double Saut de l ange has now turned into an automatic win if they actually just do the jump.

    The Treasure room gate seemed to rush up at the start of the TR. And then seem to stick a bit going down. Maybe its time for a new one after 29 years.

    Also Bonneteau which is still played by Serge Avril hadn’t been won since 2016.

    Reply
    1. Brig Bother Post author

      I think they deliberately slowed it down because it looked rather like someone was going to get locked in. Don’t deny the drama, production!

      Reply
  38. Mika

    Someone mentioned it on Twitter, but impressed that someone finally noticed and remembered the combination before leaving the cell.
    Yet somehow didn’t see the toilet clue.

    What was with the gloves in Temple Maudin? Did they do that in the other playings?

    Cabin Aquatique is interesting… but kinda feels like it’d be more appropriate as a key game somehow. Like, it looks impressive, but seems more in line with Momie and Gagarin rather than Abandonne.

    I know we sometimes give sass to the Maitres for obviously losing some duels just to give the team a win, but… is it just me, or does it seem like they *actually* screwed up in Marteaux.

    Reply
  39. Alex Richards

    Huge rating last night, 3.69m being their highest since 2011, if I recall?

    Reply
    1. Lee Turner

      Apparently the 9th episode of 2013 had the same amount of audience. But apparently the share 22.4% was last seen in 2009 episode 1.

      Reply
  40. Jason

    I had a similar reaction to the treasure room – as edited, someone was at the fountain with 12 seconds to go and the gate was still half-open with 5 seconds to go. That should have been a lock-in!

    Cabine Aquatique is Entraînement Sous-Marin (2013-2015) but with a telephone instead of unlocking the eight tubes (still visible) in order with wrenches – the previous incarnation was also a clue game. It can be seen during 2016 to 2018 seasons but was unused in the French version (before being revamped for 2019).

    Speaking of Serge Avril, a short video from last year with Passe-Muraille at a Fort Boyard retail event –

    Reply
  41. Lee Turner

    Because of Rugby. There is no Fort Boyard on the 17th August. The rest of the epsiodes should go out like normal the following weeks.

    Reply
  42. Danny Kerner

    I do apologise for not keeping my promise to translate this series. My software has put a paywall on the translation side. I can do a very basic translation but it would be rough as hell. if anyone wants to work on this over time please do let me know and i’ll pass the original files from France.tv website so you can develop the rough translations.

    Reply
    1. Lee Turner

      Starting to agree with Rodeo Dino. (Although the music is good). Id also lose Ski and Chambre froid.

      Reply
      1. TVs Michael Harmstone

        I’m also interested to see if they keep up with Willymix. They can’t trick people into volunteering again, so they’d have to come up with another way of doing it if it was to return.

        Reply
        1. Lee Turner

          I mean they been doing the red button at Tapis Roulant for a few years now and everyone seems to get caught by it. My issue with the joker in general is there is no reward for actually keeping it. Maybe a bag of 1000 Euro could be an incentive to not use it.

          Also Room of silence is currently one of the longest key games we had on the fort. Been awhile since we had games that last 3 whole minutes with a clepsydre. (Although the bonus show had it over 4 minutes)

          Reply
        1. Mika

          Rodeo Dino feels like… one of those games where the set is good, the concept is good (Doing something while riding a mechanical dino), but the actual ‘thing to do’ still isn’t quite there. I mean, it’s light years better than the original ‘pop balloons with your head’, but still… And no clue what ‘thing to do’ would really work there, either.

          Kinda funny this was introduced the same year as Boyardodrome, which had the same problem, but that one managed to fix it into a pretty decent game, while this one still isn’t quite there.

          Reply
  43. Mika

    So, my French isn’t perfect (or great, or even all that good), but did anything come from that sneaky move during Chef Willy, or was that just a “I’ll get you next time, grrr…”?
    Was kinda hoping they’d have brought it up during the aftershow at least, but didn’t see anything (though tbh I just skim the aftershow)

    Kinda surprised no one else has tried (or at least tried and gotten away with it) in that game before.

    Reply
    1. Brig Bother Post author

      I wonder if it isn’t something anyone caught until looking back over footage after everyone had gone home. Funny, though.

      Reply
  44. Alex

    Inspired by Monsieur Rovelli, I have located the belacan fermented shrimp paste that they use. If I survive I’ll let you know how it tastes.

    Reply
    1. Alex

      Not only have I survived, but my mother now actually uses this paste in Asian cooking. Make of that what you will.

      Reply

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