About

The Crystal Maze Online Adventure was an Online Free-to-Play Game based on the British game show devised by Jacques Antoine, in which a team of contestants take on a range of challenges set within a labyrinth of the same name consisting of four time zones, winning a "time crystal" (golf ball-sized Swarovski glass crystals) for each one they successfully complete. Reaching the centrepiece of the Maze, "The Crystal Dome", the team work together collecting a certain amount of gold tokens to win, with the allotted time inside the Dome being determined by the number of crystals they obtained in the previous zones.

The Crystal Maze Online Adventure is a fan-made, free to play game aimed at the Escape Room community.

On September 25, 2020, The Crystal Maze Online Adventure ceased operations to avoid confusion with the Live Experience's online version - Dome from Home. After the second national UK lockdown was announced, on November 2, 2020, the Online Adventure reopened for two additional series.

Development
Early development for an online adaptation began in 2018 when Robert, after years of competing in competitive elimination games looked at more teamwork based game play. Using The Crystal Maze as a template to understand how it could be adapted using minimal requirements from those playing. Games were adapted from the original run of The Crystal Maze which ran from 1990-1996, the 2016 revival, and the South Korean television show The Genius. After trialling the game on Skype with limited success in April 2020, the game moved to Zoom which provided more room to develop games and incorporate more interactive elements. In May 2020, Robert proposed the idea of the Crystal Maze on an Escape Room enthusiasts Facebook group which spawned its own page for teams to book.

With a surge of bookings from the Escape Room community, it was decided that a finite number of teams would compete against one another in a series but was not properly introduced as a concept for future teams until Series 2. Every series introduces new games and format points to challenge teams.

Production and Filming
Each series was filmed in a two-week period with two teams competing every first, third and fifth day of the working week at either 7:30pm or 9:30pm (British Summer Time) Robert typically hosts first, followed by Joshua. When one person hosts, the other host arranges the game order and controls what the team views (using the screen share feature on Zoom) and provides on-screen solutions when required.

Format
Each team that compete on The Crystal Maze undertake a series of challenges (referred to as games). Teams follow a predetermined route, whereupon they compete in a finite number of games in each zone, accruing as many time crystals as they can before travelling to the "Crystal Dome" at the centre of the maze to meet their final challenge. The objective of each game usually determined by either a clear written message or cryptic clue. The remainder of the team may give advice to the contestant unless stipulated otherwise. The host will serve reminders of the time limit and of any special rules, and generally will not give hints unless the contestant was struggling badly, or close to the answer.

Each game falls under one of four categories:


 * Skill - Testing a contestant's dexterity, accuracy and eye–hand coordination.
 * Physical - Testing a contestant's physical abilities ranging from obstacle courses, to manipulating objects.
 * Mystery - Testing a contestant's problem solving abilities ranging from treasure hunts to large-scale mazes.
 * Mental - Involving memory skill ranging from simple brainteasers, to acute memory and 2D/3D puzzles.

Each game presents the potential of being locked within a game's cell. If locked in, the contestant was unable to be nominated for future games unless they are released by their team captain at the cost of an earned Crystal though they are still permitted to assist. If the team's captain was locked in, the vice-captain takes over and may select a new vice-captain to replace them and so on. Reduction in participating team members poses an increased difficulty for future games and at their final challenge.

There are two ways a lock-in can occur, if a contestant exceeds their time limit within the cell or if they breach a game's special rules or restrictions, irrespective of their progress in obtaining the crystal. This was outlined prior to a contestant entering the cell by the Maze Master.

Once the team arrives at the Crystal Dome, they are told how much time that they have to complete the final challenge, based on the number of crystals they have brought with them (five seconds for each crystal they had at the end of the game). At this point, the team enter the Dome, and upon the challenge beginning, they must collect as many gold tokens as they can, while avoiding any silver tokens mixed in with them. Once the team is outside the dome, they, along with any members who were not present for the final challenge, are given the tally of their efforts by the host. If the team accumulate a total of 100 gold tokens or more, after deduction of any silver tokens. If the team accrue 100 or more gold tokens after deduction of silver, they are deemed the winners of the episode. At the end of each series, the teams scores are placed on a leader-board with the highest number of gold tokens determining the series champions.

Crystals
Successful completion of a game rewards the contestant a Crystal, worth five seconds in the Crystal Dome. In some series, teams are given an opportunity to win different variants.


 * Bonus Crystal - (Series 1 - present) A standard Crystal rewarded at the Crystal Dome due to exemplary performances by one (or more) younger members of the team or if the team are celebrating an event.


 * Mega Crystal - (Series 1) Based from the 2016 revival, the Mega Crystal was a compulsory challenge where success awards ten seconds instead of five seconds. The Mega Crystal did not return for subsequent series.
 * Double Crystal - (Series 5 - Series 7) The Maze Master will offer a team an opportunity to win two Crystals in the thirteenth game. If the team agree to the deal and lose the game, a Crystal was deducted. In Series 7 the rule changed slightly to be played within the four-game limit whilst visiting the Frontier zone.

Format changes
Some series introduced notable format changes designed to test teams on a greater level.
 * Consistent Time Mechanic - (Series 6) The sixth series introduced a consistent time of 2:30 per game, but did not return for subsequent series.
 * Double Power - (Series 8 - Series 9) The Maze Master will offer the team an opportunity to double their original Crystal Dome score if they gamble on a randomly determined number being pulled from a box. If the number correlates to a winning game in the Maze, the score was immediately doubled, however, if the team score negatively in the Crystal Dome, their score drops further down. If a number is pulled which correlates to a losing game, their original score is final.

Series
Each series of The Crystal Maze Online Experience is divided into teams of between 10 to 13 which compete against one another to be declared the Series Champion. Scores are kept until the end of each series.

Series Champions
On the conclusion of each series, the team with the highest overall score at the Crystal Dome will be deemed the Series Champion. In the event of a tie between two (or more) teams, the team who won the most games claims victory.