I played the live 'Traitors' experience inspired by the show. A ticket is only $41, and even losing was fun.
Renée Reizman
- "The Traitors" Experience costs about $41 a person and can have up to 12 players.
- In it, players compete in challenges, Traitors commit murders, and Faithfuls try to catch them.
- The hourlong experience was a blast even though I lost — and everyone left with prizes.
I'm a huge fan of "The Traitors" — so much so that the Peacock reality show was the theme of my last birthday party.
Now in its third season, the series brings fabulously dressed host Alan Cumming and stars from franchises like "The Real Housewives," "Survivor," and "Big Brother" to a castle in the Scottish Highlands.
There, the stars compete in challenges to build up the cash prize pot, murder each other in secret, and banish suspected Traitors from the castle during dramatic round-table debates.
To celebrate its current season, Peacock teamed up with Just Fix It Productions to put on "The Traitors" Experience, which runs in Los Angeles until March 2 and is set to travel to London this summer.
Each hourlong experience consists of up to 12 people playing for exclusive swag. Recently, I was invited to try the sold-out experience as an independent journalist, though tickets typically cost about $41 a person.
Here's what it was like.
The event took place in a Hollywood mansion
Renée Reizman
I didn't know what to expect as I drove up to the Beckett Mansion in the West Adams neighborhood. All I'd really been told was to wear comfortable, closed-toe shoes. (Plaid attire was also suggested — a nod to the show's backdrop in the Scottish Highlands).
When I arrived, my ticket was scanned and I was led to a table with large gold coins and small shields. The props looked like replicas from the show, which made me more excited to enter the experience.
A woman with a thick Scottish accent and a tam o' shanter handed me a waiver to sign and a glass of bubbly. Then, I joined the other players.
We were served small bites, like French macarons and cucumber sandwiches, before officially entering the mansion.
Renée Reizman
This pregame mixer was important for replicating the show's nervous anticipation on episode one. No one was assigned a Traitor or Faithful role yet.
After a few minutes, the 12 of us entered the mansion's darkly lit foyer and were greeted by a woman in a kilt who would be our guide for the experience.
The Traitor selection and challenges felt pretty similar to what I've seen on TV
Our guide had us put on eye masks and began circling us as she chose the Traitors of the evening. Soon, I felt her hand on my shoulder: I had been picked.
In this experience, being a Traitor meant I had to also sabotage challenges. That's directly at odds with my competitive spirit, but a good Traitor always plays the long game.
We were quickly ushered into the next room, a bar decorated with cozy chairs and portraits of season-three contestants.
Renée Reizman
Our first challenge involved putting together outfits for Alan Cumming.
The room was cluttered with the host's wardrobe, accessories, and styling mood boards. In the middle was a stack of locked suitcases.
Renée Reizman
We had to solve math problems to figure out the combinations, and then dress a mannequin correctly before time ran out.
Renée Reizman
The first murder caused chaos in the mansion
We successfully completed the challenge, but our celebrations were cut short when our guide announced it was time for the first murder. We circled up, and the Faithfuls put their eye masks back on.
There was one other Traitor, and our guide asked us to point to who we wanted to kill. Without a private turret like the TV show, our sudden decision couldn't be strategized or discussed. We pointed toward another player at random.
I felt terrible because I was worried that our murdered player would be removed from the experience. It turned out that he could continue participating, just with some disadvantages. My guilty conscience was wiped clean.
The game continued with more challenges and a recruitment
Renée Reizman
When we entered the next room and saw "priceless" artifacts on pedestals, I knew we'd be replicating season two's heist challenge.
Green laser lights shot from the ceiling, and we had to contort our bodies around them, "Mission:Impossible"-style, to collect puzzle pieces without setting them off. We didn't succeed.
After, the Traitors got the chance to recruit another person before the next challenge, which took place in a messy kitchen.
Renée Reizman
Here, two challenges would occur simultaneously: we could either answer riddles or solve a complex logic puzzle. Our group wasn't totally successful.
Once it ended, we gathered around a well and donned our blindfolds to kill another player. The player I've clocked as my biggest threat won a shield during the kitchen challenge, so he could not be killed.
I pointed to the person standing next to him, and the other Traitors (now three of us) followed suit.
Our last challenge was a game of trivia with a gothic twist, complete with wooden coffins and daggers.
I was banished, but I still had a lot of fun
Renée Reizman
At last, we reached the round table for our dramatic finale.
Before the final round table, we played one last game. Everyone stood up and, one by one, would point to the player we believed most faithful. Once chosen, that person was safe from banishment and could sit.
As I'd suspected, the Faithfuls had discovered my true nature a while ago, and I was the last one standing.
Banished, I uttered my exit speech with the flair of a Real Housewife. "I truly am … oblivious and bad at these games." Loud sighs. "And I truly am…" Dramatic pause. "A Traitor."
The room erupted into cheers, just like on the television show. I found myself smiling, too, even though I had just lost.
The group still had the chance to banish a Traitor by writing a name on a slate, but I couldn't vote because I'd been eliminated.
The Faithfuls ended up banishing one of their own, and the Traitors won. My teammates received their very own Traitor cloaks that looked like the ones from the show, whereas I got a ball cap that said "Traitor" as a consolation prize. The Faithfuls got mugs.
The hourlong experience was a blast, and I'm already hoping another version of it returns for season four. It feels like the perfect night out for a "Traitors" superfan or anyone who loves escape rooms, puzzles, and elaborate sets.
