La Carte Aux Tresor

Channel: France 3/TV5 Time: Sundays 13:15 (TV5) Host: Sylvan Augier Interesting fact: This is made by Expand who are, to all intents and purposes, great. Hurrah!

Many many years ago Jacque Antoine did something really great. That's right, he helped invent Fort Boyard. But earlier still he also invented the excellent Chasse le Tresor, the British version of which you may have watched, it was called Treasure Hunt and really launched Anneka Rice's TV career. Erm, hurrah! Using a helicopter, members of the public solved clues in order to guide round in her helicopter and find the treasure and it was strangely watchable.

Sadly, Big JA isn't around any more but his legacy lives on with the very similar yet very different La Carte Aux Tresors, literally The Map of Treasures or for the less pretentious, The Treasure Map.

First thing that strikes you is the presentation. Expand are typically very good at this sort of thing and they don't disappoint here with an excellent electric guitar theme tune which typically gives off a sort of Top Gun atmosphere and is actually excellent.

The game then. I've seen three episodes so far and the rules seemed to have changed a bit between episodes. The basic format is that two opposing teams race each other to the treasure, the golden compass, the 'rose la vents' which is hidden somewhere in the region. To find it, the two teams have to solve three puzzles which each give a location, and at that location is a cannister with a big clue in it. When all three clues are got, you can join up the locations of the cannisters on a big map to form a triangle and at the centre of the triangle is where the Golden Compass is and so it's a race to find it, the clues from the cannisters giving better clues to the actual location of the compass in wherever the centre of the triangle is and so the more cannisters you find first the better the chances of winning. When the compass is 'got', that team then have to race back to the start position and place the golden compass on the table where the golden cannister will mysteriously rise up with 30,000Ffr in it.

But of course, it all sounds so simple on paper (or screen) doesn't it? But there's a bit more to it than that. First of all there's a time limit of 70 minutes imposed to do everything, find the cannisters, the 'rose la vents' and get back to the start. When 55 minutes has elapsed, the host gives the clue to the compass (because there is one but the clues from the cannisters and the working out of the triangle give more help - and they'll only have 15 minutes left to do everything). Secondly, the clues are fairly obscure. Whilst they have computers in their helicopters which give a reasonable amount of information, and a book for each puzzle with all the pictures in, the best way to find out where EXACTLY the cannister is is by asking members of the public which although perhaps loses some of the playalongathome factor does make the game more original.

And it should be boring given that most of it is in the helicopters. And it is. Yet it is also brilliant because for some strange reason it has a hold on me. This is probably due more than anything to interesting object locations (Puzzle: we've found the cannister, it's in a boat. Problem? The doors are locked and the key owners half a mile away. And who is the owner, anyway...?) and the non-diagetic music which is actually fairly superb. And whatsmore it is actually exciting, the music and the clock counting down together work extremely well together. Excellent stuff.

I've also seen a second verion of the show where the three cannisters had to be found within 55 minutes but then the two helicopters relocated and faced off to find the Golden Compass and in each cannister was a picture clue to the location of the compass so the more you had, the more chance you had of winning. They have 20 minutes to find this compass and then use the key on it to open the Treaure Chest which in the episode I saw involved a bit of abseiling.

I don't think it's got any chance of coming over here but it is fairly enjoyable even if like me you understand very little French

Verdict: 7.5/10 You'll have seen it before but not with nearly as much style.