Buyagift Crystal Maze Experience Review

Reviewed by Jenny Bray

The buyagift website has a huge choice of different experiences so I was excited when looking through the website to decide which experience to choose to review. The site is easy to navigate, with different themes listed across the top of the page. There are so many to choose from, ranging from driving and flying thrill seeking experiences to calmer experiences including spa weekends, cream teas and meals out.

There are a few experiences on there that I fancy doing. I used to love watching Crystal Maze in the 90s. It was one of those shows that I would have loved to take part in. I’ve had my eye on the experience since finding out about it a couple of years ago so decided to opt for it for this review.

As I had a gift voucher code I had to log my voucher details and code to access the experience options. Once I’d chosen the Crystal Maze experience, the details came up and I was able to book my trip via the Crystal Maze experience directly. Due to Covid they weren’t accepting mixed groups until September so I booked it for today (Sunday 12th September). (editor’s note – review did not go online on the day it was submitted)

The Crystal Maze experience has sites in both London and Manchester. I opted for Manchester. We parked in the nearby NCP car park and then walked to the Museum of Science and Industry where it was signposted and was then behind the museum building round the right side of the building.

Upon entry we had to don our masks, sign a disclaimer and then await our turn. All the staff were wearing masks throughout. We were regularly asked to hand sanitize throughout the game. Having said that, the first group of 5 that we were initially teamed up with kicked up a big fuss as they thought they were going to be going in on their own due to the covid restrictions in place prior to September. I knew when booking as a group of 2 that we’d be paired with others from 1st September and it’s stated all over their website but they refused to go in if paired with anyone else so went off to discuss it with a manager. Thankfully the next group of 5 we were put with were much friendlier!

Once in our team of 7 we were taken through to lockers to leave all our things in and then shown a film with original clips of Richard O’Brien in. Then our games master, Ignatius the Wizard, jumped out to greet us. He ran us around the 4 zones and guided us through all the games. He was energetic and enthusiastic, The set is based around the 90s with the four original zones. We completed them in the following order; medieval, industrial, aztec and then futuristic and we got to do 4 games in each zone. The games and dome part last for around 70 minutes, although it went really quickly and seemed like no time at all before we were resurfacing back at the entrance.

The 5 people we joined with were M (team captain) along with J, S, A and G, (editor’s note – names changed to initials) who were on a University reunion (permission given to mention them). J was chosen for the first game and we all shouted assistance through the viewing windows, as we did throughout all the other games. There was a real sense of team adventure and we were thrilled every time one of us won a crystal.

Between us we undertook the full mix of mental, mystery, physical and skill games. They were between 2 and 3 minutes per game, with a real mix of skills involved. I undertook 2 games, mental and mystery, and I am proud to say that I won the crystal in both. We were told that the average number of crystals that a team wins is 6, but we managed to win 12 in total with no-one locked in any game which we were stoked about. It also meant that we had a full minute in the dome at the end, although it didn’t seem like it at all once in there and trying to grab the gold tokens.

When we reached the dome we had to stand around the outside while the fans started circulating then we had our allotted time to collect the gold tokens. We managed to collect 207 between us, which put us 10th on the leaderboard for today’s top scores.

There are various points where your photo is taken, including upon entry, in certain games and outside the crystal dome. As you collect your belongings from the lockers and go to exit you can look through these on a screen and have the opportunity to purchase them. These are on a par with theme park ride photos so not a cheap souvenir of the day.

The set in each zone really did look like the gameshow used to, including sand in the aztec zone. We also had to run between each zone and even crawl through tunnels and go down a big slide to the aztec zone. There is a wider selection of games in each zone than the ones we did, meaning it may be something you could go to more than once without too much repetition of the games.

It’s worth noting that you need to be fairly physically fit to be able to do the tasks and run between the zones, especially if doing any of the physical challenges, which can involve chucking your weight around or needing to manoeuvre an obstacle course without touching the floor. The venue is also a converted warehouse so was hot even though it wasn’t that warm outside today.

I’m a big fan of not buying physical gifts for someone just for the sake of it, so the option of buying someone an experience really appeals, especially when they have the ability to easily swap it through the website if they’ve been bought something they don’t fancy.

Buyagift are also a carbon neutral company, achieved by investing in forestry and renewable energy projects, which you can read about on their website. As they are a company that trade on providing experiences through others I thought this may have been quite easy to do. However, impressively, they included emissions generated by customers travelling to experiences when calculating the carbon footprint to offset.

The Crystal Maze experience was incredible. It went really quickly as it was loads of fun. I’d definitely recommend it as an experience, especially if you want to relive a bit of 90s television! The games master helped with the build up as he was a character and made quips throughout.

The experience cost £99 through buyagift, which was for an ‘any time’ voucher. This does seem a little steep considering how many people go through the place but it was well worth it for the experience and for getting to relive the Crystal Maze. At risk of being a cliché it was A-maze-ing…

Rating: I’d give the whole experience through both buyagift and The Crystal Maze experience 5/5.
The voucher can be booked through buyagift for £99 here.