During the 1990s The Crystal Maze regularly attracted TV audiences of more than 3 million people. Now, an immersive recreation of the phenomenally successful Channel 4 show is coming to central Manchester. And this time you can play it yourself. Will it prove as popular?

Well, the organisers are going all out to ensure it does. Around half the games at the Manchester venue are re-imaginings of original puzzles from the series, but there are also a whole host of new challenges.

The four famous zones from the TV show - Industrial, Future, Medieval and Aztec - are lovingly recreated and then extended, with the Aztec Zone taking you from a giant temple in a jungle clearing to a dark and mysterious tomb, while in the Future Zone a galactic cruiser opens out onto Martian plains.

“I can’t wait to bring the show here and for people to see what we will be doing,” says Crystal Maze founder Tom Lionetti-Maguire. “The venue will not be a surprise to anyone, but what’s inside most certainly will!”

The Crystal Maze team began making covert trips to Manchester last year to source and set up a venue for the ambitious project.

“We had been thinking about where next and Manchester was our obvious choice,” says Tom. “Every time I go to Manchester I fall in love with it a little a bit more. The people are amazing and the place just seems to be buzzing.”


The team finally settled on the Old Granada Studios as a venue. The UK’s oldest purpose-built television studios is former home to iconic British TV shows like Coronation Street, University Challenge and World In Action. Now it will provide the backdrop for teams of friends to run around like lunatics in a giant playground, solving interactive puzzles, while screaming “get the crystal” at the tops of their voices.

Tickets are now available for The Crystal Maze Manchester Live Experience, which opens on April 1st. This time you get to be the star of the show!