The Crystal Maze New Zone

Following on from the huge official announcement that The Crystal Maze is to get a brand new zone for the first time since Ocean Zone replaced Industrial, we've made some mock-up graphics of what the new map and Eastern Zone logo may look like. This is a prime opportunity for the producers to update the graphic map and make it feel a bit more classic. But let's not get our hopes up. However the new zone is truly breathtaking (We've been around the new zone, but are not allowed to say anything more than that right now!). It's an opportunity for a colourful new zone, moving away from the dark and dinginess of Medieval. This will keep the show fresh, and we will also get to see newly themed games. James Dillion, production designer of the original Maze has brought us the new Eastern Zone. Amazing work.

The (Maneki Neko) Cat is out of the Bag

A press release went out and the Radio Times reported it today so we can finally say:

There's a new zone

Thank Thor for that, I hate keeping secrets. Anyway, I was midway through typing up another Sketch/Parody post when it came to my attention that the Radio Times website had let loose the news we discovered in March that Medieval is no more and the castle has been replaced with an Eastern palace.

Richard Ayoade in the new zone with a new suit

2nd Celebrity Episode...

Wow what an episode!

Former footballer Dennis Wise captains, with DJ Roman Kemp, Made in Chelsea's Binky Felstead, Happy Mondays' Bez, and Katie Price

Tonight's episode was the best yet, even though they only one two Crystals and collected a pitiful three gold tokens in the dome!. Games are so fantastic and well thought out. I also caught glimpses of a few of the games I tested for the show. The first one was a coloured ball sorter game in Futuristic - I was so out of breath testing this game, but managed to win the Crystal. It wasn't won in this episode, so I felt good about myself! I love how they have now implemented first person go pro shots into the episodes now, as well, a great touch.

My favourite game which I tested at the studio for this series was the Aztec Symbol Water game. It involved a grid of 9 gates, with ropes and ladders - a similar used game from the original, but this time involving water. When I tested the game, I got stuck in the far corner. There was no rope or ladder, and I panicked and forgot that I could swim underneath one of the gates. To confuse me, there was also a little ledge I tried to climb up on, but it didn't work. I finally made out from all the shouting from my team mates, to swim under water. I chuckled to myself this evening to see that one of the improvements from my testing was to add a red arrow, to indicate for the contestant to swim under water, where I got stuck haha.

Amazing stuff, best episode yet. The wall closing game in Medieval was genius as well, a bit like the 'when is a safe not a safe' game from the original. There was also a blue maze with various opening doors in Industrial, with a modern take. The room lit red when the contestant was locked in, very impressive. Claustrophobic games work really well, as it brings some kind of fear to the viewer they can relate to. Our fan group all loved it tonight. The lottery game Katie Price was one I also did not get, the 'Kinder egg' balls were evil as there were so many to open, it was just luck of the draw. We loved the Skull knocking game, which Dennis Wise got locked in with!

Anyway, big thumbs up from us all, we love the current series. Channel 4 have upped their game with the games, that's for sure. We just wish that they could bring the on screen timer back for the Crystal Dome.

The Crystal Maze - Second Half of Series 1 and Series 2

A Social Media post by the official Crystal Maze TV group posted the exciting news today that The Crystal Maze returns back on our screens on 15th April on Channel 4. These portion of episodes were filmed in 2017 and held back for 2018, so some viewers may feel a bit confused when they see similar games from before. This is due to the broadcast lag time. However, filming for Series 2 is shortly to begin - this comprises of 12 episodes, 6 Civilian and 6 Celebrity episodes. We are unsure when Series 2 will air yet, but an easy guess would be later towards the end of 2018.

We look forward to watching the rest of the episodes from Series 1, and in particular, look forward to watching Series 2. I can't reveal why yet until probably later on in the year once Series 2 has aired. I won't be revealing any specifics, but we've been given an awesome and incredible opportunity here at the Maze Fan Blog - it's not quite what we initially expected or planned, but we aren't complaining at all and very much look forward to what lies and waits for us. With our deep love and obsession for the Maze, we're not going the full whole hog yet (tragic because we love to fly the flag for our favourite show). We won't be giving up - but we've been gifted the next best thing to achieving our dream. That's all I can say, and we are really honoured.