Fans of the Traitors rejoice! At the Traitors Live Experience you can test out your skills in lying and deceipt.

Traitors of faithfuls?

I am a fan of the reality TV show The Traitors, I confess. The very first series was the UK one, filmed in a stunninng location in the Scottish Highlands, presented by the wonderful Claudia Winklemann. It was a hit immediately, spanning editions in other countries, and a soon to be aired celebrity version, as well as many similarly themed shows (such as the pretty good Secret Millionaire and Trust on Netflix).

While I feel the UK version is still and always the best, due to Claudia’s presenting skills and the choice of candidates, I did really like the Australian version (sadly, our ozzie friends didn’t love the show as much as we did, and it was not renewed), the NZ version and even the American version, filmed in the same location as our UK one, and presented by the etremely annoying (sorry!) Alan Cummings.

What is the Traitors about?

As the name suggests, it’s a game of deceit and guess work. A group of players gather in a castle, scheme against one another, lie and guess, all the while completing ‘missions’ to add to a money prize pot. At the end, if the ‘faithfuls’ (non traitors) manage to fish out all the traitors, they share the money. If however, even one traitor remains in their midst, the traitor (or traitors) take it all.

Capitalising on the success of the show, Immersive Everywhere have launched a London based live experience, where, in the space of two hours or so, contestant play a localised, shortened version of the tv show, winning no money and solving challenges in the enclosed space of the room they are in.

We went ahead and booked our seats as soon as, earlier this year, the experience was advertised across social media, because we’re fans and hooked, of course.

Interested to find out what it was like?

The venue is very central, just off Neal’s Yard in Covent Garden. When you turn up, you are given a table name (they are all named after herbs, for some reason) and you meet your fellow contestants in the bar area, a large space decorated in the style of the Scottish castle set.

One table at the time are called into a room, downstairs. We were the last group in, which also meant by the time we finished, we were also the only people left in the venue. Not a problem other than a bit of build up nervous energy prior to entering and small talk attempts (most people were in pairs, like ourselves). You do need to indicate ahead of time if you’re confortable being a traitor or not, so they’d respect your wishes.

Finally, you are ushered into a room where you take your seat at a round table, much like the TV one, and a very able and friendly ‘host’ (not Claudia!) then explains the game and – for the following hour or so – facilitate the flow of the game.

Much like the TV show, but of course, much more simplified, there are times when you solve a group task (riddles mainly) and you may gain a shield (protection from the traitors’ shots). You may get eliminated early as it happened to my friend and I.

The game doesn’t end here for you, and I won’t spoil the surprise but let’s just say that by the end of the experience, you figure out it’s been a really fun ride – lots of laughs, lots of cheering and just about enough stressful attention to your ‘identity’ to add to the mix.

We finished saying we would definitely be back. If successful, they have no plan to end, and hope to renew the tasks so returning guests will be able to solve different riddles and enjoy the new challenge.

In conclusion

At a cost of around £40 per person, it’s a really reasonable night out in Central London, and worth considering. Tickets available from the official The Traitors Live Experience website.