Taskmaster: The Live Experience Review
Advert: this experience was gifted by Avalon UK, this has not affected our opinion.
We always like to cram in a family day out in the run up to Christmas before we get caught up in the bedlam of the festive period and then turn into hibernating bears until work and school beckon us out of our happy slumber. We’d done a few escape rooms and so I looked at something else that had been on my wish list for a while, Taskmaster: The Live Experience.
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As a family we are big fans of the show and can regularly be found chortling out loud to the show’s shenanigans from the comfort of our own sofa. The Live experience allowed us to be participants and put ourselves at the mercy of Greg Davies and little Alex Horne. The duo weren’t there in person, my booking was clearly too last minute for them to change their schedules to meet me. I take solace in knowing that Alex will cry into his pillow tonight knowing he missed me. They were however there in pre-recorded spirit, and another moderator was present to guide us through the experience. We were booked in for the “Absolute Casserole” option, but other tasks could be completed if you opted for “Melon Buffet”.
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The venue was super cool. Walking in through the doors we were greeted by smiling and chipper staff. After dumping our coats and bags in the free lockers, we explored a little. There were exhibits of the show everywhere, from Phil Wang’s rather skintight yellow jumpsuit to drawings by contestants. References to the show and its highlights were plentiful, my eldest son was delighted to see the red green, and I thought it was pretty cool to sit in the replica caravan.
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Additionally to this museum of mementoes, were mini challenges for you to partake in while you were waiting, as well as a bar/café. Having absorbed our surroundings our time was called and we went to the entrance of the ‘house’.
It’s worth noting that this area is totally free to get into, and you could quite happily enjoy a drink and wander around this area if ever you are in the vicinity but don’t want to pay to do the challenge.
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Our family of five were joined by six random strangers to compete for the champion spot. We completed tasks that had been on the show, as well as others that felt new to me. Now, I don’t want to spoil the challenges so I won’t go into details, but they were all very entertaining. The styling was superb and one room in particular really did feel like it had been lifted from the actual house. After four challenges the top five participants were entered into the final challenge, with the losers sitting out with the chance to become the best of the worst. Me and the boys were eliminated, in the words of Greg Davies, we didn’t show enough chutzpah!
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Annoyingly and somewhat disappointingly, my wife Shelley got into the top five. The good news is that both Harrison and George were tied for the “Best of the Worst” and came home with a golden duck. The bad news is Shelley went on to win it. She got a massive medal adorned with the word “Champion” and the chance to sit in Greg Davies’ throne. Seeing the smugness radiate from her chuffed face tarnished the day slightly!
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As is customary, we exited through the gift shop and I treated myself to a t-shirt to console myself that my wife did better than me.
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I was a bit worried that as a family we wouldn’t get the most out of Taskmaster Live, but I was pleasantly surprised that it worked for all ages. Even with children being a third of the price of an adult, I was aware that it is an expensive treat. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed my time and if it is affordable in your eyes, it is well worth the visit! Also, if you are ever in the vicinity, it’s well worth popping into the ‘Garden’ area for a drink and enjoying the memorabilia for free!
The whole thing has tempted me to dust off the board game and play it again – read my review of that here.
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Key Facts
Location: Canada Water, London
Time: 1 hour plus at least half and hour in the ‘garden’
Our Team: 2 adults, 3 children (ages 16, 13 and 10)
Website: https://taskmasterliveexperience.com/
Reviewer’s Note
For clarity: we don’t get paid for our reviews. However, we were kindly gifted this experience by Avalon. We have tried not to let this affect our review in any way.
