The Adventure Game facts for kids

The Adventure Game was a super cool game show from the United Kingdom that aired on TV channels BBC1 and BBC2 between 1980 and 1986. In each episode, two famous people and one regular person traveled by spaceship to a mysterious planet called Arg. Their main goal changed with each series. For example, they might need to find a special crystal to power their ship and return to Earth. Many people think this show was a bit like an early version of The Crystal Maze.

Creating the Show: The Idea Behind It

This exciting show was created by a clever BBC producer named Patrick Dowling. He was really interested in games like Dungeons & Dragons and wanted to bring that adventurous feeling to television. The show also had a cool sci-fi vibe, similar to the style of writer Douglas Adams. Patrick even asked Douglas Adams to write the show, but he was busy working on the TV version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Meet the Characters of Arg

The planet Arg was home to amazing shapeshifting creatures called Argonds. These Argonds were actually dragons! To make sure the human contestants weren't scared, the Argonds would usually change into human form a few minutes before the visitors arrived.

Here are some of the main characters you'd meet in the game:

• The Rangdo: This was the ruler of planet Arg. In the first series, he looked like an old professor. But later, he changed into an aspidistra plant! When he got angry, he would roar and shake. In the very last series, the Rangdo even turned into a teapot and spouted steam when he was unhappy. If you met the Rangdo, you had to bow and say "Gronda! Gronda!" to make him happy.
• Gnoard (series 1-3) and Dorgan (series 4): These characters helped explain the first parts of the game to the contestants.
• Gandor: He was an ancient, slightly deaf butler who guided the contestants through most of the puzzles. He also refereed special games like the Vortex. Sometimes, he could only hear when he wore his spectacles, which he often misplaced!
• Rongad (series 3 & 4): This character was Australian and spoke English backwards! He could only understand the contestants if they spoke backwards too. His Australian accent was a small hint to help them figure out his unique way of speaking. He often sang Waltzing Matilda backwards.
• The Mole (series 2): This character pretended to be a regular contestant but was secretly working against the team! The actress who played The Mole had actually been a real contestant in the first series.

The Argonds looked different in each series. In Series 1, they looked like dragons. In Series 2, they were furry and didn't have tails. By Series 3 and 4, their heads looked more like dragons again, but they had furry bodies and monkey-like tails.

Many well-known people appeared as contestants, including Keith Chegwin, Sue Cook, Noel Edmonds, and Bonnie Langford.

Common Challenges and Tasks

To achieve their main goal, like getting their crystal back, the contestants had to complete several tasks. Many of these tasks involved a drogna. A drogna was a small, clear plastic disc with a geometric shape inside. It was like the money of Arg.

Here are some tasks that often appeared:

• Computer Challenges: In early series, contestants might interact with a simple computer game or chat with a computer to get clues. Later, they played a 3D maze game on a BBC Micro computer to find a password. In some series, they guided an alien dog-like creature through its "Dogran-hole" or an unseen entity through a maze.
• The Drogna Game: This game usually happened in the middle of the show. The rules of this game changed often, sometimes even between episodes! One version was so popular that a home computer game was made based on it.
• How Many Argonds Around the Pond?: This was a game played in Series 4. Gandor would shake a bag of drognas and place some on a table. He would then ask, "How many Argonds are around the pond?" Contestants often tried to count the drognas or shapes, but the real trick was to count Gandor's fingers on the table as he asked the question! Most people didn't figure it out.

Gnoard demonstrates the Vortex task.

• The Vortex: This was usually the very last challenge. To get back to their spaceship, players had to jump between points on a grid, taking turns with their opponent, the Vortex. The Vortex was a flashing column that appeared as a video effect. If a human player jumped into the Vortex, they would "evaporate" and lose the game, meaning a very long walk back to Earth!

Episodes of The Adventure Game

The show had four series in total. Some episodes are now missing from the BBC archives.

• Series 1 aired in 1980 on BBC1.
• Series 2 aired in 1981 on BBC2.
• Series 3 aired in 1984 on BBC2.
• Series 4 aired in 1986 on BBC2. This series was also repeated on the digital TV channel Challenge in the early 2000s.