Entertainment
I tried The Cube in real life and it is somehow even harder than it looks
the cube
When I watch TV game shows, a lot of times I’ll think ‘I could totally do this’.
I could get a fairly solid cash builder on The Chase. I would never let my coin ride on Tipping Point. I could go on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and bring back… well, maybe not a million, but something.
The Cube is practically the only game show where I watch it and think ‘I would be terrible at this. There is no way I’d be able to do this.’
And after trying the game myself, playing seven tasks and winning just two – one which needed a simplify – I can at least rest assured that I know myself pretty well.
A real-life The Cube is days from opening at Urban Playground in Manchester’s Arndale Centre, and Metro.co.uk got a first glimpse into the experience.
For the first time, the iconic set-up is branching away from its home at the ITV studios to allow the public to try their hand at the iconic tasks, competing against friends or strangers to garner the most points from seven tasks.
You don’t know pressure until you step into these glass doors (Pictures: Urban Playground)
While there’s no prize money and no Philip Schofield, everything else is the exact same, from the floor turning red when you lose, the options to simplify the task or swap yourself out with a teammate, and sassy remarks from the Cube itself.
As soon as you step through the glass doors, the pressure is on: watching from home you can’t really appreciate just how bright it is in there, or just how fast 20 seconds pass when you’re trying to get 25 balls into a little hole.
And if you’re like me and you think walking across the balance beam would be a cinch, because you played at walking on the curbs every day as a child, prepare for your ego to take a bruising as you topple from it again and again.
(Or simply prepare better than I did and wear flat shoes).
No amount of walking on street curbs can prepare you for this
It wasn’t a total bust however; thanks to Simplify I did manage to get 25 balls in the hole in 25 seconds, and surprised everyone watching – myself included – when I succeeded in The Loop on my last life, after two turns of failing miserably.
The experience takes around 90 minutes, and can be played by two people – who will be paired up with another couple – or larger groups of friends who can play against each other.
The Cube Live is bound to be a hit for birthdays and work dos
After each game, the Cube randomly generates a new task, sending contestants from the balance beam to the loop to the blind-folded barrier (A task only ever beaten on the show by Olympic gold medalist Mo Farrah).
And while The Cube Live was difficult, that’s probably half the fun of it, especially in a group where you can have people cheering you on from the sidelines (Or gently bullying you, whichever kind of friendship your group has).
The Barrier was a lot harder than Olympic medalist Mo Farrah made it seem
The Cube experience is part of Urban Playground’s two-floor venture in the sprawling shopping centre, and also offers games of ski-ball and tech-infused mini-golf, Putters, which are priced separately.
Patrons can also grab burgers and fries food from in-house diner The Butcher or a delectable cocktail from the fully-stocked bar, aptly named The Bar.
More: TV
Anyone wanting to try their hand at The Cube should book tickets in advance from the Urban Playground website, with prices beginning at £30.
The Cube arrives at Urban Playground on February 10.
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