My favourite bit of The Crystal Maze was when they went “WHAT HAVE I GOT TO D…oh it’s alright I saw this on telly last week.”
In general would people prefer all classic games or some new games too? #crystalmaze
— The Crystal Maze (@CrystalMazeHQ) June 24, 2015
Surely, surely, most of the idea of The Crystal Maze and why it worked as a returning show was that it constantly threw new things at contestants (and indeed shouting viewers) to work out. Surely that is the experience and to me it’s a bit worrying the question has to be asked in the first place. Of the 300-odd games the Maze had over its six year run, 90%+ were unique concepts, others used existing apparatus in different ways.
I still don’t know what the plan is regarding what you get for your money, for a team of eight players I want 16 games, four per zone, two per player *minimum*, accepting that the puzzle dungeon if you get locked in counts as a game. Each game is going to need to be reset before the next team come round – if it all hangs together properly it’s going to be quite some feat.
I do want this to be brilliant, but I do wonder if they’ve bitten more than they can chew.
Good point about the practicalities, and not sure really why they’re going for 8 contestants considering they’re really aiming at the fans, and 6 would be more manageable. I guess they’ve probably worked out they need to make £400 rather than £300 per Maze Visit, though 6 contestants doing 12 games would probably let them have an extra group in per day, so not a huge difference.
I seem to recall more redressed or updated games than you do – and that’s not a criticism. They were quite clever about it and it was far less obvious than for example BBUSA doing the same games every year but passed off as “new”.
Mazes, clue games, balancing the weights (sure it was in medieval and future or industrial) and I think the creators of this new maze would be wise to look at some of these classics and use them as the starting point to create games of their own for the zone. Also will they refresh them regularly – while for most I’m sure it’ll be a one-time thing they’ll be those who have the opportunity to return a few months later – will they have new games to experience?
There were a few different “balance the scale” games – the standard “hang the weights from the scale” one in Medieval, the “work out the weight of each coloured ball” one with the incubator in Futuristic, and the “fill the baskets on the three-sided scale with sand” one in Aztec all come to mind.
The objectives were the same but the focus on each one was completely different.
I do think people are being surprisingly mental about this, I expect the Internet will get The Maze that it deserves.
There were plenty of roll the ball around the maze games; two slide puzzles that were essentially the same, and a third that was different.
There must have been a fair few ‘solve the equations’ puzzles. Definitely one each in Industrial, Future and Aztec.
As noted though generally the games were different enough to feel different; having five zones to move them around helps with that, but also being able to add an interesting twist.
I kinda agree, but then Boyard had survived on games where knowing what to do isn’t the main part of it.
Boyard is kind of a bit odd these days in that the classic Boyard stuff “only” makes up around 60% of the runtime and the producers seem to enjoy reinventing the stuff that fills the other 40% on a yearly basis. The games do work on a repeatable basis, mainly because physical/skill tasks tend to be inherently intuitive and the entertainment is in seeing if they’ll make it not, and these days feature a large amount of comedy slapstick for people to react to. These days contestants and viewers are told what they have to do before they get in the room! This said nobody gives more of a disapproving glance then me when it turns out they’ve only come up with X new cells every time.
Crystal Maze was always much more of a perspicacity test and in some ways falls victim to its own high standards – it’s set the expectation of new tasks every year and it would be awful if it didn’t happen. In many ways it was the first show with potential minigame fatigue, and even when it was on I knew people who said they got a bit bored by the end of each series.
They could probably get away with repeating physical and skill games, but mental and mysteries really do need to be unknown quantities
I still think “could get away with” is not really good enough (although I do largely agree) – if you’ve given yourself the lofty aim you should strive to achieve that.
Well they certainly shouldn’t be low on ideas, not just from within their company, but they’ve also got the whole Twittersphere throwing game concepts at them
Rischiatutto (Jeopardy!) is set to return to Italy in 2016 hosted by Fabio Fazio. it’s going to air on Thursday nights just like in 1970. hopefully in colors this time.
Personally, I expect the vast majority of games to be new to a British audience.
There is room to bring back some of the most iconic games (Mumsey, the rolling log challenge, perhaps the murder mystery if they can reset it quickly). Some of the old games can be dressed up in new clothes (don’t touch the laser beams, drive a buggy / boat around a course, a mirror maze). But I expect most things to be fresh – as people noted, The Crystal Maze looked new even when it wasn’t.
Zodiak can use the Fort Boyard back catalogue. There are many games from the past ten years available to be re-created, none of them seen on mainstream British telly. I would be fine with that – these challenges are new to players, only we who dig Fort Boyard on TV5 or CITV will be helped. (And I’d be sad if there wasn’t at least one Interactive Cell.)
Another thing they can borrow from Fort Boyard: two-player games. Co-operate amongst your team to get a combination lock through a safe, or balance a pulley system. Allows the team to play fewer games and (almost) everyone to get three shots.
Shows like The Cube have made it normal to sketch how games operate before they’re played. Players in the maze won’t get the shots explaining the game to the viewer. I wouldn’t say no to a brief explanatory clip, it should enhance the overall experience and reduce the “can’t see what I’ve got to do” factor. Others’ mileage will vary.
While we’re talking game design, can I shout against too many automatic lock-ins? They often felt like a cop-out, “we can’t think of any way to make the game actually tense for the viewer or player, so we’ll take a prisoner”. Even if The Crystal Prison happens, go easy on the auto-fails.
It’s a the scale and whether it feels like the place I’ve watched for my whole life on TV I’m worried about. Will the zones be in the right places for example in the artists impression Aztec neighbours Medievel for example! Will the the journeys from zone to zone be the same I hope so! Think they could probably get away with the zones being the same size as a Tesco Express though and still have the same feel.
As the likelihood of me ever getting to PLAY any of these games is rather small, I can put in my two cents worth (about 1.25p last time I checked) and give out with a Yank point of view.
The complete list of games used on “The Crystal Maze” can still be found at crystalmaze.marcgerrish.com. it’s something of a cobweb site, as it hasn’t been updated in quite a while–but it’s still there.
While some games were downright yawners, and others were never given the chance to find their audience, there are a number of the games that will be remembered by those who are motivated by nostalgia–and that are still good, sound games.
About the only games that were repeated from season to season were the Mumsey/Auntie Sabrina games, which lasted as long as Richad O’Brien hosted, and the Murder Mysteries, which were simply shifted from Zone to Zone in the five series they were used.
There were types of games that were given new coats of paint and polish–build-the-contraption-to-get-the crystal, drive-the-RC-vehicle games, steady-hand games, etc. etc. There were also games inspired by then well-known television shows or board games (especially in Series Three).
Technology has advanced so much since the early 1990’s, that even old games can be polished up to look as new. Who’d have thought in 1991 that half the population would be walking around with pocket-sized contraptions that have more power than a 1991-model desktop computer, for example?
Perhaps “The Chase” is an apt analogy on how to do things right. They try to put in new games every year, as well as keeping some Old Standard Favourites. This–and the quality and inventiveness of the games introduced–has contributed to keeping that show fresh.
I wish them all the best luck in the world. It’s too bad I can’t get over there to play. But then, at my age, and with both back and knees that are questionable at best, maybe it’s just as well.
“Each game is going to need to be reset before the next team come round”. True, but a sufficiently staffed Maze will be able to hand that. These guys have experience in ‘Escape Rooms’ which generally end up looking like a teenager’s bedroom once the players have done with them if my sole experience is anything to go by.
Well they just hit the extra games goal- there’s still 3 weeks left so the other two may not be out of reack just yet (and I wouldn’t be shocked if their angel investors might pitch in if they end up close)