Which is why they're so important: without seven keys, they can't get in. For 1998, the contestants are given about 50 minutes worth of games (as dictated by the Horologue du Tigre - Clock of the Tiger, a giant clock in the middle of the fort). The clock shows how many keys the team should be on to be doing well enough. If by the time the clock gets round to the '7' they don't have seven keys, the shortfall is made up by people being lost to the Oubliette. NOTE: The years mentioned are just guides. They appear in the episodes I have but I don't have every episode. Also: There may be some games which aren't mentioned on the list. That's because I don't have any examples of them on my tapes.
Anagram Cage:
Inside, the room was split into two
halves. One empty and one barred (which had the key). In the
barred area was an open door. The player went in the cage and the
door mysteriously shut and locked behind them. The player had the
key but couldn't get out. To rectify this were several large keys
with letters on them which made a word. When this was found the
player would put the keys in the locks of the cage and if they
were correct, the cage would unlock and they could leave. In
earlier series they would have put up the letters across the
bottom of the screen for viewers at home to play along.
Played: Pre 95, 95, 96
Arm Wrestle:
Inside the room was the Fort's strong
man and a lever. The player had to pull the lever his way so the
key would be lowered from a cage into reach. IT was difficult
because whilst trying to grab the key, the Strong man is still
pulling the other way!
Played: 90, Pre 95, 97, 98
Balloon Shoot:
The player would go
into the cage at the top of the Fort. HAnging above the cage -
too far to reach - is the key. Also on that line are many
balloons blowing in the breeze. The player had four revolvers and
the idea was to shoot the balloons so the key would lower so they
culd grab it. The players insode the Fort were given a megaphone
so they could shout to the player any advice and when to come out.
Played: 90
Ball Plank:
The player stands on
a box and controls a plank. The idea is using little balls, the
player can guide the ball down the plank (which has no sides) and
knock the key off of a table on the other side of the bars so
they can get it. The key is connected to a chain to the ceiling
but the key is inside a glass which the player tries to knock
over with a ball. The plank also has nails in the side of it to
make life more difficult.
Played: 92
Ball Trampoline:
Two players enter the
room and attempt to get a cannonball out of a cage. The only way
to do this is by using the rope trampoline at the bottom of each
cage where they can launch the ball upawards and at an angle. The
players try and get the ball to bounce through target gaps in the
cages to get it closer to the exit.
Played: 99
The Barrel Puzzle:
A room of handle and
vice (ho-ho!), the key is trapped in a vice on one side of a room,
the handle to the vice is chained to a barrel on the other side
and there are lots of blocks and boxes in between. All the player
has to do is take the barrel to the vice to the key can be
unviced. The boxes are very tightly packed however, imagine a
Chinese sliding block puzzle with heavy boxes, two spaces and a
barrel to move. There is another catch: some of the boxes don't
move and so must be circumnavigated.
Played: 99
The Blind Thrower:
Two doors go into this room, one for
each player. One person stands in a small cage type room and can
see whats in the room. The other person stands behind a wall with
two holes for arms to fit through. The describer has to get the
blind thrower to pick up a weight (on shelves on the blind side
of the wall) and direct them to throw three into a balance,
releasing the key which the caged person can reach through and
get. Not easy... but there are plenty of weights so the blind
thrower is given some leeway. On one occasion a contestant got a
lucky bounce and forced the balance to go down in two!
Played: 98
The Block of Ice:
The chamber has been turned into a
giant freezer! Hanging up in the room is a block of ice with the
key frozen inside. Also in the room are several irremoval bolw
torches. The player has to push the hanging ice to the blow
torches and hold the ice so the key is released! To make things
more difficult, there is a snow machine in the room blowing snow
into the player!
Played: 97 (Christmas/New Year specials)
Bow and Arrow:
On the contestants side of the room
was a bow and a load of arrows. On the other side of the room
were three targets and inbetween was a barred barrier. Contestant
had to shoot through the bars in order to hit the targets. When a
target was hit, the key or a metal weight (sigifying the wrong
target hit) came sliding down. When the game was first shown
there was only one target.
Played: 91, 93
Bowling Cannonballs:
The player is down
one end of the room and is barred off from the rest. The rest of
the room is on a slight slope and there is a large object in the
middle. Also in that area is the key on a giant puck. Using
cannonballs, the player must attempt to get the puck towards him
so he can pick it up and take the key.
Played: 91, 92
Box Search:
A sort of Russian
dolls thing. Inside the room are many boxes. And inside those are
smaller boxes. And inside those are smaller
boxes etc... The key is inside one of those boxes.
Played: 90
Cannonball Catapult:
On one side of a barred room are
three open barrels (one large, two small). On the players side is
a giant see-saw style catapult which extends into the barrel side
of the room. The player rolls a cannonball down to the bottom of
the catapult. When the player has positioned his/herself, they
jump on the other end of the catapult, throwing the ball into the
air. If it goes into one of the barrels, there's a bang, the
barrel closes and the key lowers. To get the key, the player must
get one ball in each barrel.
Played: 96, 97, 98
Cannonball Maze:
A two player game, inside the room
was an enclosed maze on a tilting table (Which was tilted by the
contestants). The players put a cannonball in the maze and they
have to try and get it to the key so they can push the key out
and take it. Unfortunately there are several cannonball sized
holes on th board and if the cannonball goes down a hole it is
out and they have to start again. The contestants have a maximum
of three cannonballs.
Played: Pre 96, 96, 97
Cannonball Pull:
A player (usually the strongest male
in the group) is sent into the room with a rope on the floor,
leading to throgh a caged window onto a pulley. On the other side
of the pulley (somewhere) is the key but unfortunately, there are
also several bags of cannonballs attached to the rope outside the
window. The contestant has to pull his side of the rope to raise
the key so he can reach out for it.
Played: 90, 91, 92, Pre 96, 96, 98, Brit 98
Capstan Pole Push:
A male is sent into a room with the
Fort Strongman. Player stands on one side of a giant capstan and
L'Homme Fort the other. The idea is to push your pole so you
advance and the Strongman is sent backwards. Unfortunately, the
strongman is doing the same thing. Essentially it's a push o' war
and if the player can move his side of the pole up to a certain
point, he wins the key.
Played: Pre 96, 96, 97, 98, Brit 98
The Carrot:
Such a simple game: on the floor of
the room is a heavy sack and on the ceiling is the key (which is
doubly screwed to make life more difficult.) Between them is a
rope and a pulley system. They must lift the sack and hold it
with one hand and unscrew the key with the other, the higher the
sack goes, the lower the key.
Played: 98
Ceiling Course:
The key is hanging up
on one end of the room on the ceiling. The only way to get there
is to climb up the rope and then use the obsticles on the ceiling
to get to the key. If they fall at any point they have to start
again. Also, one obsticle that looks like it might lead straight
to the key, a pipe, is actually fake and when the player tries to
move along it, the end starts to drop!
Played: 90, 91, 92, 94
Chapel Clock:
Behind bars is the
chapel clock at one end of the room and the key is on the
pendulum. By the door, the player has a giant metal bullet on
rails. The player must push the weight so it goes up the rail and
picks up the key that is swinging on the pendulum. A game of
strength and timing.
Played: 90, 91, 92, Post 92?
The Chariot:
See 'Other games' (1997 only -
otherwise it's in Adventures)
Coal balance:
In one half of the room was the
cotestant, a shovel, a pile of sand and a big sieve. On the other
side of the barrier were some scales, one half of which was
weighted down. The contestant had to shovel the sand though the
sieve so that stones were found which had to be thrown onto the
scales in order to weigh down the other side and dislodge the key
which would swing from a chain to the contestant.
Played: 92, 93
The Cog Room:
The key is inside a
plate of perspex. If the big cog at the end is turned, the key
will turn and will be able to be got. In order to turn the big
cog, all the little cogs have to be placed on the board, and
through the power of magic, the big cog won't turn unless all the
other cogs are correct so they can't cheat.
Played: 92
Compass:
Inside the room is a rotating table
which tilts when weight is applied to it. Players have to try and
get to the middle of the table, stand up and then get the key
which is hanging from the ceiling. Of course, if they get their
balance wrong then they instantly slide off! More difficult than
it sounds.
Played: 95, 96
Conveyor Belt:
A conveyor belt about
waist high is covered in screwtops. The player, with a spanner
has to unscrew as many lids as he could because underneath one of
them was the key. Of course, the conveyor belt was moving all the
time, making the job of unscrewing them that little bit harder.
Played: 90, 92
Conveyor Belt II
Inside the room was a conveyor belt
which when the player is up on starts to travel backwards. The
player has to keep up with the belt conveyor and collect buckets
of water hanging from the ceiling which have to emptied into a
tube in order to float the key up into reach. Often funny because
the player gets very wet!
Played: 95, 96, 97, 98, Brit 98
The Cornice:
High up on the wall is a very small
ledge which leads to the key. The player must attempt to traverse
the ledge by means of spreading themselves out so they get
support from the wall opposite (which is about a metre and a half
away). A Cornice, for those who are interested, is a skirting
board close to the ceiling (which explains the game)
Played: 98, Brit 98
The Dark Labyrinth:
This is Arianne's
game which was originally played for a key. The catch is, whilst
the outside players have a map they don't have a monitor like
they do now so the task becomes MUCH more difficult. They have to
rely on whet the player inside the maze can feel, as there are
several objects marked on the map that are there for that very
reason. Many people got locked in this game.
Played: 90 [Became Arianne's Clue Game from 1991]
The Dark Room:
The key is attached to a brick
near the end of a course. Sadly, inbetween the player and the key
lies a course of randomly assorted flourescent beams of wood/plastic.
If any of these beams are touched, some of the bricks supporting
the key are drawn back so the key falls. If three beams are
touched, the key falls into a cage and cannot be won.
Played: 90, 91, 92.
Disc Shove:
In the room was a big long table with
a bend in it. Near the end of the table is a white disc with the
key on it. Players had other disc which had to be slid across the
table, around the bend in order to knock the white disc off where
it would slide to the player. The player only had a limite amount
of discs to do this and used discs couldn't be used again.
Played: 94, 95, 96, 97
The Duel:
The contestant starts on one side of
the room and the key is on the other. HOWEVER, in between is a
beam over a small drop and a gladiator (usually L'Homme Fort but
in earlier series there was a strong woman as well). Each player
had a pugil stick and the idea was to knock the Gladiator off. If
the contestant was knocked off, he had to start again but if the
Gladiator was knocked off, the contestant has won the game.
Played: 90, 91, 92, 93, 95, 96
The Eating Challenge:
The contesant goes
into the room by one door but the key and the way out were by
another door. To get to that other door they had to work their
way through the room. There were four doors in the room, each one
leading to the next, the final door leading to the key and the
way out. Behind each door was an inhabitant of the Fort who
instructed the player to eat something. These would be oysters,
chillis, raw fish and to end the game, some oil.
Played: 90
Electric Maze:
The player controls a huge pole (on a
pivot) in a maze. They must get it from one side to the other,
finding the secret maze passage openings and getting past the
obsticles. If the pole touches the walls of the maze, sparks fly.
Should the player fall foul of letting the pole go off the bottom
of the maze, they have to start again (and to make it harder
there is a weight near the end of the pole as well)!
Played: 96, 97, 98, Brit 98
Excalibur:
Remember the Arthurian legend The
Sword in The Stone? The player has to pull the sword from the
stone and then use that sword to cut through a rope with the key
on it.
Played: 92, Pre 96, 96, 97, 98, Brit 98
Exploding Boxes:
Player goes in the room and stands on
a wooden box on one side of some bars. Hanging down from the
ceiling is a metal puzzle and the player has to get the key off
it. On the other side of the bars are some boxes and some
gunpowder leading up to them. Someone lights a match and the fire
travels down the powder to the boxes. When it reaches a box:
KABOOM! The powder eventually leads through the bars to the box
the player is standing on... and then there's a big explosion and
it collapses! The puzzle is on some elastic so they can keep
trying in the few seconds they have left (In one episode, the
elastic broke and the player took the whole puzzle out of the
room. IT was excepted!)
Played: 92, Pre 95, 95
Fairy Fingers
In the room is are
several cages together with gaps in each one. The key is in a
cross shaped wooden slab inside the cage. Using their fingers,
the player must skillfully manouever the cross through the cages
to the exit.
Played: 99
The Fan:
Two males would be sent in to try and
cover up (with a board) a fan blowing at 100 kilometres an hour.
If they suceeded, the fan would stop the the key would fall.
Because of the noise the fan creates, a light would flash if they
were running out of time (because they wouldn't be able to hear
the contestants)
Played:95, 96, 97, 98, Brit 98
Fencing Jaba:
On Jaba the Pirate's belt was a
buckle with the key inside and the player had to open it with a
fencing sword to get the key. Unfortunately Jaba has a foil as
well (and he knew how to use it!)
Played: 95
Fishing for Keys:
The player has a
fishing line. HE is behind a barred bit of the room. On the other
side of the bars is the key, hanging on a barred bit of the floor.
Using the fishing line, the player must feed it through the bars
and attempt to hook the key on the line so they can get it. The
key was in a plug which stopped it falling through the floor bars.
Played: 90, 91
Floor Puzzle:
The floor is taken up
by a giant sliding tile puzzle. The key is underneath a piece of
perspex in the middle. However, to get to it, the player must
move the special tiles with the holes in around the key tile so
they can lift the perspex lid and take the key out.
Played: 90, 91
Foot Stirrups:
On the ceiling were some hooks
leading to a key. Hanging down from two of them were footholds
connected by rope to the ceiling hooks. The player had to jump
and climb up the footholds and then by hooking them and unhooking
them, use them to traverse from hook to hook to reach the key.
Played: 90, 91, Pre 95, 96, 97, 98, Brit 98
The Grenade Launcher (La Tromblon):
A two player game, one person pumps
to create a charge for the air gun. On the wall on the opposite
side of the room is the key but it's held by three targets. Once
the player has pumped enough air, the shooter shouts 'Fire!' and
the pumpee presses a button. Jaba offers his own brand of 'help'
as usual...
Played: 98
The Granary:
The player has to climb through a
hole about halfway up a wall to reach a much bigger room with a
see-saw. On one end of the see-saw are some bags of flour and
high up on that end are some 'ovens'.The player must move the
bags to the other side so the see-saw will raise the end going to
the ovens. Once done, the player must select which of the 9 oven
doors to open. Each one has a heavy loaf of bread behind it and
attached to one of them is the key. Unfortunately the others don't
and the way to dispose of the others is to chuck them down which
can occasionally weigh the see-saw back down if they don't chuck
them off the see-saw completely. When they want to get out they
must move the flour bags back the over way so the see-saw raises
the end to the hole.
Played: 97, 98, Brit 98
Gyroscope:
The player would be strapped into a
gyroscope and then the time would start. The player had to
physically move the gyroscope along the wall where a little hand
would pick up the key. The player than had to reverse the
gyroscope back down the wall to where it started (Where the time
will have stopped, a bell rings to indicate this).
Variation: In 1995, the player had only to go one way to get and
keep the key.
Played: 95, 96, 97
The Jolt:
Basically a giant version of the
classic 'don't touch the wire' games, here the metal loop is on a
big box which the player has to carry. Sadly, the box jolts quite
violently, making the job harder. The ring is quite big though
and they only have to move it across a straight pole. Jaba is
there to put the player off. If the bar is touched three times a
box drops to stop the key from being taken - essentially game
over.
Played: 98, Brit 98
Key Pipemaze:
Like a miniature
version of La Sauvagonne's Handcuff game, the player must guide
the key round the outsides of the pipes in an attempt to get it
off. There are many junctions and there are loads of pipes. A
tough game.
Played: 90
The Kitchen:
The idea of this is to throw some
small 'things' (don't know what they are) at a row of tins on the
other side of the room in an attempt to knock them off, the
knocked off tins then rolling towards the contestant who was
behind a barrier. One of the tins had the key in. HOWEVER,
guarding the tins was the Cook who with leathal frying pans, had
to stop the tins from getting hit.
Variation: In later series the Cook was replaced by the
Professor.
Played: 1993
Hanging Balls:
Inside the room is
what looks like a large metal tree, and hanging off the branches
of the tree are lots of metal balls which can be opened. Inside
one of them is the key.
Played: 90
The Horror Museum:
A player is given a
torch and have to search the horror museum for the key which was
hidden within. It was very dark and there were lots of toy rats,
disembodied hands etc... to scare the player!
Played: 90
Human Scales:
In the room was a giant pair of
scales which at one end was weighted down by objects. The object
of the game was to balance the scales with the player hanging
from the other end (there was a rope ladder leading to a trapeze
to hang from). Beforehand, the player had to remove some objects
from the other side so it would balance when he hung.
Played:95
Interior Precipice:
The player would
climb up some stairs into a room. The player has to work his way
along the cornice using the ceiling to hold onto and steady
himself to get to the key at the other end of the room. They then
have to turn around and get back again. There are gaps in the
platform making life more difficult and if they fall, the only
way out is the way they came in, through a hole high up in the
wall. Most people who fell became prisoners therefore.
Played: 90, 91, 92, 94
The Librarian's Column:
The room is taken up by a very tall
column of books in the centre of the room. One of the books is
see-through and that one has the key in it. To get it, the player
has to move the books on top of it, freeing up the key. BUT! The
books were holding up a lever in the ceiling, once some of the
books are removed, the lever lowers and they can't get out of the
room! To get out, the player must rebuild the tower of books to
hold the lever and open the room's door.
Played: 97, 98
The Machine:
Atop the machine is a
ball with a symbol of the key on it. The idea is to get it
through the machine to the box at the bottom where a real key
will come out. To do this, they must use the controls to open
bits up and move bits of the machine, this involves lots of
twiddling of knobs and levers. Quite a good fun little game with
some nice touches like steam being blown into the player!
Played: 94
The Magician:
Inside the room would be the Magician
with three cups. Hanging down from the ceiling was a ring with
the key on it. The ring could be broken (thus letting out the key)
if the three padlocks keeping the ring together were taken off
and the Magician has the keys to them. He hides one key inside
one of three cups, switches the cups around and the player has to
guess which one the padlock key is under. Easy! Except the
magician was VERY good at slight of hand and the player had to
get all three keys. VERY difficult.
Played: 90, 91, 92, 94, 95, 96, 97
The Mole:
The key is hanging up
from the ceiling, sadly too high for the contestant. Luckily,
three boxes have been provided except they are caged off and the
room is full of sand. The player must dig through the three rooms
by finding the holes in the cages covered by sand and bring the
boxes back. A difficult game against a tough time limit, and
contestants often dig away enough sand for them to get in, but
not enough to get the boxes out...
Played: 99
Mud Wrestling:
The key is hanging down from a rope
on the ceiling. All the female contestant has to do is grab it
and get out. Easy! Except there is another woman guarding the key
and the floor is ankle high in mud... Played: 90, 92, Pre 96, 96,
97, 98, Brit 98
Mystery Ceiling Boxes:
A two player game. They would go
inside the room and one would piggyback the other. They would
collect the baton hanging near the door and use it to open the
boxes on the ceiling, one of which contained the key. The others
however had things like eggs, flour, sawdust and the like in, the
idea being to make the players as messy as possible!
Played:Pre 95, 95, 96, 98, Brit 98
Mystery Pots:
Inside the room were several blacked
out pots and some transparent ones (Usually with live mice but if
I remember correctly, in older series included maggots and worms).
In the blacked out pots was just sticky 'stuff'. The key was in
one of the pots, the player does not know which so sticks hand in
most of them.
Played: 90, 91, 92, Pre 96, 96, 97, 98, Brit 98
The Amazing Neon Woman:
In the room is a huge transparent box
with the neon woman inside who has the key. In order to open the
box, the player has to slide a puck around a maze and when it
reached certain points, flick a switch which would open the door
to the box. Unfortunately, if the player slid the puck the wrong
way it threw out an electric shock, magnified by the fact that
the players feet was often doused in water before the game!
Played: 95
Net Trap:
Clever little game.
The key was hanging on a rope very high up in the middle of the
room. On the floor of the room is an outstretched net. The only
way to get the key is to climb the rope so the player pulls on it
and uh-oh! the net has come up around him, hanging from the
ceiling. The player will now find it easier to get the key but he
now has the extra task of getting out of the net so he can get
out of the room afterwards!
Played: 90
The Overhang:
The player would get
into a cage which was attached to an overhang. By pulling on a
chain, the cage would move. The overhang overhanged the side of
the Fort. When they got to the end of the overhang they could
take the key, but then they would need to pull the chain the
other way so they could get back again. The ending of the cage
would only open to let them out once they were safely back inside
the Fort.
Variation: In 1994, the chain went to be
replaced by a rope. They could then pull themselves along the
rope to the end where they had to pull more rope to bring a
basket up. Inside the casket was the key but also lots of crabs.
Needless to say, the player was given gloves beforehand!
Played: 90, 92, 94
Overhang Climb:
The room is arch shaped and the only
way to get the key is to use poles to climb up the side of the
room onto the ceiling where the key was. There wasn't enough
poles for all the hooks so some had to be reused as needed.
Played:93,96,97, 98, Brit 98
The Pendulum:
In the room is a large sack attached
by rope to the ceiling (the pendulum), the key is being held by
two chains. To break the chains, the sack has to crush some
boards on a wall (which spark up as they do so). Sadly, these
boards are guarded unless the player is standing on a pressure
pad on a box quite close to the boards. It's far too near and the
sack is far too heavy to throw straightaway so if the contestant
is clever enough, he will get off the pressure pads, get a run up,
release the sack and then stand on the pad whilst the sack is in
mid-flight.
Played: 98
Pipe Maze:
Whilst running along the fort, La
Savageonne will catch someone and handcuff them to a pipe outside
the door which intriguingly leads inside the room. The only way
to get off the pipe is to play the game. Inside the room the pipe
continues and at the end is a key. Unfortunately, the pipe twists
and turns and there are valves in the way which has to be
unscrewed so they can pass. The hancuff connected to the pipe has
a small hole allowing the contestant to pass by any other
obsticles in the way.
In 1997, La Savageonne didn't usually pick someone, the game
would be played natually with the presenters picking the player.
Played: 96, 97
The Pointsman:
To win the key, the player must get
one ball from one end of the track to the other. Sadly, some bits
of the track need lining up. To do this, the player stands at the
end of the track on a swivel and does it there.
Played: 98, Brit 98
The Portraits:
Player stands behind a table whilst
the inimitable Pirate Jaba gives them knives top throw at
portraits on the other side of the room. There were six portraits
to throw at and if the knife sticks in the pictures , it will
reveal if it has the key or not. If the knife doesn't stick,
Pirate Jaba will spend about five minutes (note: exaggeration)
laughing at their pathetic attempt before giving them another
knife.
Played: 96, 97, 98 (with flags instead of portaits)
The Prisoner:
A woman is led into
the room with a black bag on her head. When she is in, Mr Sumo or
Mr Laboulle takes the women, puts her hands behind a big pole and
ties them together. The black bag is lifted and the clock started.
She must remove the pole from its base and then use the knife on
the floor to untie her hands so she can get the key. She can
leave without untieing her hands but she can't get the key.
Played: 92, Post 92
Professor's Maths Puzzle:
The Mad Professor
guards this key. In front of the player are 6 small keys, each of
them next to a number. On the board is a Maths Puzzle, quite
difficult too. The player picks the key next to the number which
he thinks is the answer. The Professor then tries to unlock the
Key display cupboard. If it's correct, the cupboard opens and the
played can take the real key. If wrong, the key slides down to
the next window and another puzzle is shown with the same answers.
The player has a maximum of three puzzles to find a key that
opens the correct window.
Played: 92, Post 92
The Reel:
On the ceiling of the room are four
containers with unscrewable lids. One has the key inside. To get
up there, the player must climb a rope. The catch is however,
this rope is slowly being feed through a reel in the floor so to
win the player must climb continually.
99 Variation: Instead of the four containers,
the key (attached to a small rope) has to be moved out of a small
maze on a box on the ceiling. Much more difficult.
Played: 98, Brit 98
Mr Reflex:
The Magician has a part time job as
Mr Reflex. In this game the key is on some ribbon which is layed
out in the middle of the table. The contestant places his/her
hands on the table and tries to grab the key before Mr Reflex (who's
holding the other end of the ribbon) pulls it away. HE IS VERY
FAST! Contestants keep trying (with him replacing the key each
time) until the end or they grab it.
Played: 91, 92, Pre 95, 95, 96, 97, 98
Rock Pyramid:
The key is hanging on
the ceiling. The only way to get to it is to use the rock blocks
to build a base to stand on, reach up and get it.
Played: 92
Rolling Cylinders:
A player (usually a woman) is sent
inside and across the middle of the room are some big cylinders (Which
vary in size). Player must start at one end of the cylinders and
try to slide along to the end where the key is. Unfortunately,
not only are the cylinders different sizes but they are free to
spin so if you lose your balance you have to start again.
Played: Pre 96, 96, 97, 98, Brit 98
The Room of Women:
The room is pitch
black but full of luminescent bodies of women. The key is on one
of them. Most are just dummies but few of them are real so
players often get slapped!
Played: 90
Rope Chest:
Inside the room is a
chest. Hanging outside the chest is the key on a bit of rope.
However, when you open up the chest the full horror of the game
is realised, there's lots and lots and lots of knotted rope
inside and the only way to get the key out is to unknot the
entire rope!
Played: 90
Rope Maze:
Inside the room is a giant 3-D maze
made of rope nets. The contestant had to climb inside the maze
and find the way to the centre where the key was found, however,
they then had to find their way back. The entrance is shown by
red coloured rope but the other openings weren't marked: they
were just big holes.
Played: 92, 93, 96, 97, 98, Brit 98
The Safe:
The key is locked
inside a safe. To open it, the player armed with a stethoscope
has to listen to the three catches they turn the wheels and wait
for them to drop. Not as easy as it sounds...
Played: 90
Sand Sifter:
The room is taken up
by a big pile of sand and there is a grate across a corner of the
room. By shoveling the sand through the grate they are able to
find the key inside. Sadly, other metal things are also hidden
inside the sand to put the player off.
Played: 90, 91
Sawing Women:
Based on the old
magic trick, inside the room is a woman in a box and the
contestant has to cut the box in half so he can get the key. The
woman (who is actually safe) shouts and screams as he cuts to put
the player off!
Played: 90
Sawmill:
Two players go into
the room to face a giant saw hanging in the air and the key on a
ring which unfortunately is placed around a bit of immovable wood.
In order to get the key out, the piece of wood must be cut
through with the saw which sadly is attached by a pulley system
to two heavy bags which suspends the saw in the air, making the
game far more difficult.
Played: 99
Sea Legs:
The key is hidden in the room which
is full of cabinets and boxes. The player has to find it. BUT the
whole room is shaking violently from side to side making the task
ten times more difficult (Think odd Finders Keepers ...)
Played: 97
The Shrinking Room:
Inside the room was a chest with
three locks and inside the chest was THE key. There were about 25
long keys hanging from the ceiling, three of which opened up the
padlocks so they could get the key. Unfortunately, the ceiling of
the room gradually lowers which when the time's up blocks access
to the door (although doesn't go low enough to actually harm the
contestant.
Variation: In 1997, they added pressure by creating a small
partitioned off fire in the corner of the room created when some
of the pots that crash to the floor fall (Done safely but still
reasonably scary).
Played: 92, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98 (fire), Brit 98
Slave Galley:
A two player game, one male and one
female would be sent into a room with a boat, two oars and a
lantern with the key inside. Contestants had to row so that the
oars turned the conveyor belt (which had sticks pointing up so
they could push it) which lowered the lantern and revealed the
key.
Played: 97
The Slope
The key is at the top of a steep
and smooth slope (you couldn't walk or run up it). Using the hand
holds bolted to the slope and a bit of jumping, the player must
get to the top.
Played: 90, 91, 92, Pre 96, 96, 97
The Starboard (La Jingbille):
A very tough game, the person
had to move a movable table in order to manouevere three big ball
bearings into holders. If they can do this they get the key but
sadly the balls don't actually stay in, so if you tilt the table
downwards they can still roll out. Like I said, tough...
Played: 98
The Sucker:
Contestant is given a sucker and
climbs up a ladder outside the room and enters the room from a
small door on the top. Once inside, if anything that shouldn't
touch the floor touch the floor, the player is automatically
locked in. Once inside, the player must limb down a small ladder
to a bookcase then climb down the bookcase. Then they have to
close a box so they can stand on it. Then they have to traverse
some scales (the pans of which won't touch the floor but the
contestants still mistrust them), onto another small box and then
have to jump onto a hammock. Once at he hammock they can use the
sucker to open a transparent container with the key inside, take
the key and then they have to get back the way they got there (most
contestants balance the sucker on the container so they don't
have to worry about it.
Played: 96, 97, 98
The Swing:
In the room was a
swing and a chandelier with the key on. The player had to get on
the swing, swing high enough to turn the chandelier so they could
get at the key and then get the key. The key was on a curly hook
which made it difficult to get off.
Played: 90, 91
The Tiger's Head:
Nowadays the basis of
sacrifices for a clue, the room had a huge tiger's head with the
key inside it. The player puts his hand in the mouth and takes
the key. Sadly, the player is now manacled to the head. The only
way to get out of the room is to chisel the chain between the
manacle and the tiger.
Played: 90
The Tube:
The room was taken up by a huge
perspex tube which coiled from the bottom to the top of the room.
The contestant (usually female) has to climb up the tube, the key
is right up the top, using the holes cut in the tube to pull
themselves up with. The contestant then has to push herself down
so she can get out.
Played: 90, 91, 92, 93, 96, 97, 98, Brit 98
Tug O War:
The gladiator is on
one side of the bars, the player is on the other. The key is on
the rope which both sides are pulling for. The rope goes through
a pulley at the top of the room. The player has to pull the key
towards him then grab it.
Played: 92
The Turnstyle:
Basically a mini version of everyone's
favourite way to get into Tesco's, once inside the turnstyle
several bolts have to be unscrewed to release the window which
hides the key. To make things more difficult there are several
rotating paddles and a metal grille to contend with. They have to
avoid the paddles (there is no particular significance to these -
they are just an annoyance to the contestants) and when the metal
grille comes round, the contestant must run with the turnstyle,
through the paddles again so they can have another go at the
window.
Played: 98, Brit 98
Wall ledge:
Player has to go into the room where
they will be harnessed up by a technician. They then climb out of
the window onto some small ledges on the wall outside the fort.
Player must traverse the ledges to get to the next window along
to collect the key and then get back again. The ledges are on the
outside, third floor up.
Variation: In earlier series a similar game was played indoors. A
hole lead to a small ledge high up leading around the room to a
key and the contestant had to get that and then get back. If they
fell off it was VERY difficult to get back on again.
Played:96, 97, 98, Brit 98
Water Carrier:
A player is given a
metre and a half length tube which is open on both ends. Inside
the room is a basin of water. The player must fill up the tube
with water and then cover both ends with their hands. On the
other end of the room are three vials. The player must fill up
the three vials, requiring three trips, so that the dial above
them releases the key. Between the basin and the vials is an
obsticle course, first a crawl underneath some metal bars, and
then traversing some boxes connected by wire. The way back is a
lot easier though, up some steps and jumping over a wall. The
room has a very electrical feel, but I don't think the player
actually gets electricuted if they spill the water on the metal!
Played: 99
Water Pump:
A game in two
incarnations:
90:
One person was sent into a room. In it was a pipe with
water coming out of it and a set of scientific bottles conntected
by pipes. The idea was to put your finger over the end of the
pipe so the water would go further and aim it into the beginning
of the pipe sequence so the water would go all around the bottles
and pipes and start raising the key which was on a float in the
final pipe. One person didn't quite get it though and found a
novel way of doing it. They used other bottles that were in the
room, used the pipe to fill them up and then pour them directly
into the key pipe, the rate of that being faster than the rate it
takes for the water to go back through the system and fill it up
backwards. She won!
91, 92, 94:
Now two people go into the room and one person holds and
aims the pipe and the second person pumps like mad to get the
water out of it!
Water Tank:
A male contestant is sent into the
room holding two ropes connected to weights. He had to pull the
ropes so he could get to the water tank at the end of the room.
The key was in the tank so he has to use his head to get it. If
at anytime he let go of the ropes, he was automatically locked-in.
Variation: In later years, the key was under a smaller container
that had to be lifted out first, and they decided to add live
eels to the tank.
Played:93, 96, 97
Water Wheel:
There is a tube with
the key inside. Above the tube are some taps that can be turned
on and off (although they should be left on). By turning the
waterwheel, water is pumped through the taps and water falls
through the cage. This fills up the tube and the key floats along
to the end where the player can reach through and pick it up.
Played: 90
The Web:
Inside the room was a giant rotating
tube with bungee strands criss-crossing around it. Players had to
swim through the bungee to get to the end of the tube. There
would be a small key. Then they had to turn around and open a box
(using the smaller key) which was in the middle of the tube on
one of the walls: that held the key.
Played: 96, 97, 98, Brit 98
I've got the key, I've got the secret! (sorry).
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