1987-1994
Ah, your challenge is accepted. Now take this knapsack for food, but place only food in it. You'll need it to sustain your sprite of energy... this is it's manifestation. This is your own lifeforce, this is condition green. The next stage is amber, and on condition Red, you are in grave peril... for this is no game of numeoris lives... here, you have only one. Now, on your quest for truth, you must don the Helmet of Justice. It will blind you to the way ahead, but still allow you to see objects that are directly beneath. For the rest, your advisors must be your eyes, and their voices can reach you through the helmet. I of course will be with you, and yet, not with you. You must use logic and guile to find the right path. And remember! The only way is onward. There is no turning back. Now, your lifeforce is green, your cause is just. Face the dungeon door... and step boldy forward.1987-1994
Knightmare was a fantasy adventure game show, set in a dungeon beneath Dunshelm castle. There were three 'levels' of the dungeon, mastered by 'Treguard', the dungeon master and teams of 4, ages 11-16 took it in turns to challenge the dungeon to complete a 'quest'. One member of the team would be chosen to be the 'dungeoneer', and they were the one person who physically embarked on the quest, they wore a helmet, and could only see objects directly beneath them. He or she was guided through the dungeon by the three advisors who acted as the dungeoneer's 'eyes and ears'. They sat in Treguard's ante-chamber and watched all the action through a magic mirror.
By solving riddles, puzzles and using magic, the teams aimed to retrieve a quest object. This could be the Cup, Sword, Shield or Crown. The object of each quest was usually decided at the start, and teams would be awarded with a 'Frightknight' trophy upon successful completion. In addition, series 1-3 had mixed quests, including 'Free the Maid' or 'Retrieve the Talisman'. A 'Silver Spurs' medal was the award back then.
The game structure involved guiding the Dungeoneer through the three
levels of the Dungeon. To do this, the three advisors would have to direct
the Dungeoneer around from the safety of their ante-chamber. To get
from one level to another they had to use a well way, a lift or any other
way down. For some reason I seen to have convinced myself that sometimes
they used a dragon, though no one else seems to remember this so maybe
I just imagined it.
Each level had several rooms, each one containing a puzzle, a trap
or an encounter with another character and sometimes a mixture of the above.
Especially in early series, clue rooms would be guarded by the scary Wall
Monsters who would ask riddles and threaten to eat the Dungeoneer if they
don't get them right. One correct answer would allow them to pass, and
two or three would give them useful extra information. They could also
pick up two of three objects offered to them on a table, which they would
use later to help solve puzzles, disarm traps, or give to other characters
to in exchange for information etc.
<------- Eek! Wall Monster!
Puzzles in Knightmare were, on the whole, excellent and normally took the guise of either riddles or floor puzzles. Early floor puzzles included causeways, large hexagonal grids above a huge your-gonna-die pit. Each stone on the causeway was marked in some way and the advisers had to guide the Dungeoneer onto the correct squares, because once a hex was left all the wrong ones behind him just dropped (and if he was on a wrong one... instant death). The way to find the route was to follow a logical progression (Rock, Scissors, Paper etc...). In later series, the Causeways had an extra threat added to them by way of a clock which, upon expiry, would cause rocks to fall automatically.
Other puzzles of note include Death by Spikes, a game where they had to obtain a combination to get across a room of spikes which disappeared into the flagstones for a short time in order for the Dungeoneer to get through and then they'd all pop-up again, save for a single flagstone which stays safe.
And then there was Play Your Cards Right, where the Dungeoneer would
be standing on a block next to two huge playing card buttons. One of which
would bring the next block forward to stand on, the other one sending the
Dungeoneer to certain death.
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In addition to mental games, there were traps which involved good communication between the team and the Dungeoneer. These were normally timing games, where the team would guide the Dungeoneer around a room full of pointy-looking things in order not to get stabbed, squashed or otherwise mutated. Of course, death was only virtual death, but to the viewers even virtual death was scary enough...
A simple form of trap was the Bomb rooms. Panic-inducing in its efficiency, a big bomb would be evident in the room and it was simply a case of get out quickly or be blown up.
More complex versions included the legendary Corridor of Blades, whereby the Dungeoneer would be on a conveyor belt in a tunnel. Circular saws would start coming towards them. The advisers have to shout to the Dungeoneer to run to the safe wall (right or left) in order to dodge the blades because getting your legs chopped off by a large circular blade (animated, of course) inevitably ends in death.
Knightmare ran for 8 seasons on CITV and was possibly the best kid's
gameshow ever that didnt involve gunge.