There are several differences to the French version which are listed here.
First, the contestants have just 40 minutes to collect their keys and clues. Like the French show, the game is split into two halves, the first half is spent collecting keys and the second half involves collecting clues. A team consists of five friends who are the contestants, always a two/three split between the genders, the contestants are also helped by Melinda Messenger, the show's host and team's guide.
In order to open the Treasure Room door, the contestants need to collect four keys. In order to earn themselves keys, they must win timed challenges inside the rooms of the Fort set by Boyard, Master of the Fort. LaBouille bangs the gong to begin the time.
The first key is always given to them by The Professor who resides up the top of The Watchtower at the end of the Fort. Here he sets a riddle to a contestant (chosen by Boyard). If the contestant gets the riddle correct then the Professor gives the contestant the key and he can return to the team triumphant.
If the contestant couldn't get the answer correct within the time (Jules stands there with a sand timer) then the Professor gives the answer to the contestant but the Key is thrown into the sea (with a float). This means that another member of the team (again, chosen by Boyard) has to dive into the sea and swim for it. Obviously, this costs time.
After the first key comes a series of challenges. Boyard gives a cryptic clue as to what's in the room and as to what the contestant has to do. He also picks the contestant(s) set to perform the task. When he/she enters the room, Boyard turns over the water timer. Now the game begins. Outside the room the players can see the task the main contestant has to perform. This will be a game of skill or a game of strength (mental games do exist but aren't often used). Melinda will tell the contestant what they have to do whilst the rest of the team shout encouragement through the door. The teammates can also see how much time is left on the water timer.
If the player can get the key from the room (by completing the task)and get out of the room then they can keep it and add it to the tally. The one rule that all the players must keep in mind is that the door to the room is locked once the water timer has elapsed, therefore whether they win the key or not the contestant MUST get out of the room before the time expires (otherwise Jacques locks the door). If not then the contestant is taken to the Dungeons where they spend the rest of the Challenge time looking through the bars of a cage, unable to help the team other than shout encouragement whenever they are near. This is bad because it depletes the team's strength for the Key collecting.
After three more timed challenges, a contestant goes back to The Watchtower to answer another riddle set by The Professor. If they succeed then he gives them another key. If they fail, he'll do one of two things. If they got the first riddle right earlier on then he will throw it into the sea. If however they got the first one wrong as well then he won't give them a chance to get the key, they lose it. Either way, the player must go back to his team afterwards.
The players now have a maximum of three more timed challenges to make up the four keys (making eight challenges in total). If by the end of the eight games they have the four keys, all well and good. If however they don't then they must sacrifice a member of the team into The Hole, an Oubliette outside the Treasure Room. For each member sacrificed they can have an extra key but that player has to spend the rest of the game in a dark, dank cave underground and more importantly, can't help carry the gold out in the end.
The contestants might get their keys very fast though. If they collect their four keys before the sixth challenge, they keep playing the timed challenges (up to the one immediately after visiting The Professor for the second time). If the team wins extra keys then they can swap them for free clues later on. This is very useful for the team.
Either way, at the end of the challenges the players will have four keys. Anybody in the Dungeons is released (apart from the people down The Hole who stay there) and it's time for...
So far they have had their Physical and Mental ability tested out. Now the contestants play harsher games designed to test not only mental and physical fitmess but more importantly psychological strength. The Adventures are deliberately designed to scare the players.
The players are now after clues. These hint at a codeword. The codeword is the one and only word that has a link or association with each different clue word therefore the more clues they win, the easier it is. Sadly, earning the clues isn't that easy...
At this point there is usually about 20 minutes left on the clock. That's enough time for almost everybody to take part in an Adventure. The first clue is given by The Professor in a form of a riddle. One person is sent up to The Watchtower where the Professor gives three definitions of the same word, the clue word. If the player says the right answer then the Professor tells them that they've said the right answer. If after about 30 seconds they haven't hit the right word, the Professor apologizes but tells the player to remember what was said and to tell his friends what the definitions were. The players can never be completely sure of what the clue is however unless the Professor has told them.
The Adventures are played singularly, in a pair or sometimes involve the whole team. Each one (apart from the Bungee jump games) are against a time limit (unknown to the contestants but Melinda will tell them when time is almost up) which is represented by a small clock in the corner of our screens. If the contestant has found the clue before the time runs out then they can use it. If however the time beats them then the clue will seld-destruct so the contestant's efforts were in vain.
This carries on until the 40 minutes is almost up, at which point the contestants run to the Treasure Room
At the end of the 40 minutes, LaBouille bangs the gong again. Now the contestants have two minutes to release the gold and carry as much out of the Treasure Room as they can. First of all, the tigers guarding the treasure have to be put away by the Tiger Master. Once that is done, the door of the Treasure Room begins to rise. Whilst this is going on, the players must come to a decision as to what the codeword is. If at the end of The Adventures they are still unsure, they can sacrifice players for extra clues. They put their hand through a statue of a tiger's head, inside is a clue but they are now shackled to the statue and can't go inside.
Inside the Treasure Room is a lettered grid. The remaining players have to stand or put cannonballs on the letters that spell out what they think the codeword is. Once complete, the Tiger Master turns 'The Tiger's Head' setting off the Mechanism. If the players have got the codeword wrong then they have to leave straight away, no gold falls and the door begins to close straightaway. Boyard hands them a consolation prize (a small bag of gold) but that's it, the team have failed to conquer the Fort.
If however they are right, gold falls down in the cage at the end of the room! The contestants now have whatever time they have left to grab as many Doubloons as they can and put them in a big pot outside the Room. Contestants can go in and out of the Room as many times as they like.
When there are just thirty seconds left a bell rings. This is a signal for the players to get out because the door is now closing (it takes thirty seconds to rise and fall) and at the end of the time, the tiger's are going to be released back into the room! Anyone outside the room when the bell rings is advised not to go back in there to get more gold.
The gold collected is then weighed. We are told that the money will be converted (but what the conversion rate is we are not told). Sacrificed friends are then released and Boyard either goes and sulks or comments on how pathetic the team has been.
A complete guide to the games used in Fort Boyard, the British
version and the French original from 1996 onwards can be found in
the A-Z
Guide to the Games of Fort Boyard here.
There is a fairly eclectic cast of characters. Here is the list:
Melinda Messenger
Model turned TV hostess, this is her first big television
presenting role. She guides the team around the Fort, telling
them how to play the games and generally rooting the team on. She
also offers encouragement to the team and generally opposes
anything Boyard says.
Most likely to say:"OK, you can do this," or
"Come on, you're doing really well!" or "Bad luck,
but that was a tough game, wasn't it?"
Boyard - Master of the Fort (played by Leslie Grantham)
Boyard is the Master of the Fort and its gold and therefore doesn't
want to see them win and generally hinders the team as much as he
can. He sets the challenges and decides who plays them and gets
in a strop when they win. He likes to see the team doing badly
but gets in a strop if they do well but generally he plays up his
evilness as much as he possibly can.
Leslie Grantham on Boyard: "He's a rather misunderstood
character. He owns his fort and he owns his gold and other people
try to take it away from him and sometimes they win which is
REALLY irritating (!)." Leslie is famous for his role as 'Dirty
Den' in the BBC soap opera 'Eastenders' which he left many years
ago.
Most likely to say:"Pathetic," or "Take
this team back to the car-boot sale you got them from: they're
useless!" "Jacques- the door" or "Jules...
Take him away!" and generally cackling and being evil.
The Old Professor (played by Geoffrey Bayldon)
He resides in the Watchtower and offers the contestants keys and
clues if they can answer his riddles correctly. Rather lonely up
in his tower he tends to talk to himself rather a lot and is
always happy to have someone to talk to. He used to be the Master
of the Fort until Boyard took over.
Most likely to say"Tell me this..." followed by
some ludicrous scientific silly question.
Jacques and Jules
Known as Passe-Partout and Passe-Temps in France (played by the
same people), these Dwarves help Boyard in running the Fort.
Jacques opens the doors for the contestants, locks them in, leads
the contestants around the fort and carries the keys whilst Jules
leads the contestants to the watchtower and to the adventures
where players need to be prepared for nd holds the sand-timer to
time the contestants in the Watchtower.
Most likely to say: Nothing at all, they don't speak.
Monsiour LaBouille
Again, played by the same actor as the French show, he bangs the
gong to start and end the game is controls the Dungeons for
players who don't escape the game cells in time.
Most likely to say: Nothing, he doesn't speak (but
occasionally pushes the players out of his way).
The Tiger Master
Again played by the same man as the French Version (Thierry), he
controls and puts away the tigers in the Treasure Room.
Most likely to say: Nothing.
NOTE: In the 1999 series, Felindra the tiger-mistress is back from her sabbatical. Will she be in the Brit version?
The Naked Woman
Known as Arianne in France, she sits at the end of the
underground crypt with a torch. A clue is written on her painted
body.
Most likely to say: Again, nothing.
The Strongman
Attempts to make life difficult for the player in the 'capstan
pole-push' key game.
Most likely to say: Nothing.
Shouting Head and Jaba the Pirate
A head that shrieks at the contestant as they leave the covered
chamber in 'The Searching Head' adventure (played by the actor
who plays Le Pirate Jaba in the French version). in the final
episode, Jaba got a chance to be himself in the Nerve testing
game although he wasn't namechecked.
Most likely to say: "AHAHAHAHA!"
Mud Wrestling Woman
She's a woman. She mud wrestles. A different actress to
the French version, she is however used in other versions of the
show.
Most likely to say: Nothing. Again.
Not forgetting: The Technical Staff
These people set up the adventures to make them as safe as
possible and make sure the contestants don't put themselves in
too much danger. The main one is 'Antoine' who handles most of
the games involving heights. They can speak English but we
generally don't hear them.
The Supporting cast:
Tigers guard the Treasure Room, Mice and rats in the Ratrun and
the Mystery pots, Tarantulas and Scorpions for the Arachnid's
Cabin, Snakes for the Snake Pit and toads, cockroaches, locusts
and flies for the Searching Head.
Most likely to say:"GRRRRRRR"
Most likely to make the contestants say"AGGGGHHHH!"
Are you tough enough, big enough and
strong enough to tackle Fort Boyard?
Well, I've had... ooh... two e-mails asking for the
address to write to become a contestant. It is this:
FORT BOYARD
Grundy Productions
1 Stephen Street
W1P 1PJ
Please however bear in mind that filming for the second series has finished (and was finished some time ago). However, the show is on a three year contract so there's always next year.
Get out, you're running out of time!
The
British Fort Boyard Chronicle
Fort
Boyard Game directory
Nick's Gameshow
Courtroom!
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