The Countdown for Celebrity Traitors is on. In the meantime, Kate South shares her experiences at the Traitors Live Experience.

Photo from Ticketmaster

Words by Kate South

I am a huge Traitors fan. The drama, the intrigue, the second-hand stress; The Traitors, hosted by the fabulous Claudia Winkleman, makes for an addictive watch. Coming on October 8^th is a UK celebrity version of the game, starring the likes of Paloma Faith, Stephen Fry, Alan Carr, and even Olympic diver Tom Daley!

While waiting for the new series to grace our television screens, I was lucky enough to attend the Traitors Live Experience at Covent Garden, courtesy of my bestie as a birthday present (they know me so well!). Ever wanted to give the game a go? Let me give you the low down – though be warned! There are some light spoilers ahead.

You are advised to arrive 30~ minutes before your game begins. When we arrived, we queued outside the venue, checked in any bags, etc, then got seated in a bar area. Games are played in groups of 14, and when you arrive, you are seated with other guests, so you get a brief chance to size up your fellow players.

Those uncomfortable with being selected as a Traitor need not worry, as you can opt out if you wish. An iPad is handed out before the game begins, so they know whether you’d want to be selected as a Traitor. I accidentally opted out of being a Traitor by forgetting to change the toggle, so be careful when filling out the form! If you make a mistake or change your mind, I’m sure you can let your host know, but I decided it was a sign I should stay faithful. You can also order drinks on the iPad, which will be delivered to the round table halfway through the game.

After you finish the first round of drinks and meet your fellow players, you are led down to the roundtable. We then meet our host. For us, it was sadly NOT Claudia Winkleman, but instead a very nice man, every bit as emphatic in their line delivery and commitment to the bit. If you’d rather only play with your friends, groups of 10-14 can book a private table, but the group we were placed with were great fun.

One of the big worries I had coming in was that I would be murdered or banished very early on. While the first murder happens a few rounds in, it is structured so you complete at least one challenge before facing murder or banishment. After the first couple of challenges, round tables, and discussions, we get into the nitty-gritty: recruitment, banishment and murder.

While I completed the game as an innocent and faithful character, my friend was recruited to be a Traitor early on. The biggest challenge she found was communicating with the other Traitors quietly, as they are unable to leave the room to deliberate (sadly, the budget didn’t stretch to a bell tower). Aside from this, the Traitor role functions in much the same way as the TV show. Another Traitor who was selected had never seen the show before and ended up winning, regardless, so don’t let not having seen the show put you or your mates off from booking!

From a faithful perspective, the tasks are fun and challenging enough that they require some thought, but not so challenging that you risk not completing them. The only departure from the show is that Traitors don’t have an impetus to sabotage the tasks (it’s not real gold, after all). This meant that the Faithfuls had very little to go on when it came to banishments, making the game much easier to win as a Traitor than a Faithful, as reflected by a leaderboard in a bar area that shows the number of Traitors versus Faithfuls who had won that day. They also did well to recreate the dread of the banishments, purely because it was so much fun, we all wanted to keep playing! Ultimately, The Traitors: Live Experience was a LOT of fun. Despite being murdered just before the final, you can keep watching the game on a TV screen and can even interact with the living on specific challenges. Don’t let not being a Traitors mega fan stop you! Even casual watchers or reluctant family members will have a blast, making it a fun day out in London and an excellent way of getting your fix between seasons