Crazy Boules at Between The Bridges Review
Crazy Boules has rolled into Between the Bridges. We’d never played it, let alone heard about it so we were excited to try something new. We learnt it’s essentially a cross between classic boules and crazy golf.
The venue is easy to find located to the left of Between the Bridges on the Southbank, when looking from the river. Once you sign in, there’s a bar with benches to have a drink whilst a timer on your phone shows you when you’ll be starting the game. Unfortunately the bar didn’t have all the options available that day, but we still enjoyed our rum cocktails. A good way to get the evening started.
Within a few minutes we were being alerted that it was our turn to play. Friendly staff explained the rules and scoring before we set foot on the course. Each player gets four balls per course, so it’s important to remember the patterns in the balls so you can score correctly. Each player takes turns rolling their balls, trying to get as close to the jack ball at the end of each course. Once each players balls have been rolled, it’s time to score with the closest scoring 4 points, the second 2 points and the third 1 point. The person with the highest score wins the game. We chose to nominate one member of our group to keep secure throughout, and we liked how pencils were attached to tables dotted around the course which made it super easy to keep track of the scores.
There are six unique courses. It’s very similar to crazy golf in this way with various obstacles such as ramps, jumps, and turns. We liked looking at the artwork for each course. The names were absolutely fun with The Rick Roll and Only Boules and Courses being our favourites.
You need to play a game of skill and precision to become the Crazy Boules champion. You need enough force to get the ball up over some ramps, whilst trying to avoid the sides and not bouncing the ball at the start. My friends and I had fun laughing at ourselves and each other as we tried to navigate the courses. We had some friendly competition as we all egged our own balls on to win. I don’t think you’ll see the ONIN team competing for this country in any Crazy Boules olympics anytime soon, but we enjoyed our first time playing Crazy Boules.
Crazy Boules at Between the Bridges is a custom built one of a kind course that’s only here for their summer pop-up. Although you can just turn up, it is recommended to book online to avoid disappointment. The game should take 30-60 minutes depending on the teams in front of you.
Next door is Between the Bridges which has 8 food venues and 8 bars. Good options include Bait, Bang Bang Burger, Krapow, Lil’Watan, Meat Head, La Cocinita and Drops. My friends had the Beyond Vegan burgers from Bang Bang Burgers. This is a Beyond Meat pea-protein patty, cheese slice with Bang Bang burger sauce which they said was tasty and filling. I had lamb spring rolls from Lil’ Watan which serves authentic Lebanese food from Beirut. These had a good crunch. I also had beef tacos from Meat Head Mexican which served up Birria Tacos and nachos. The five hour slow cooked beef is served in grilled cheese style corn tortillas and paired with their iconic birria sauce for dipping. It’s delicious and juicy but be warned it’s messy.
Crazy Boules is at Between the Bridges from 5th July to 22nd September. Prices start at £11 per adult off peak or £14 peak, and £8 per child. Off peak is Monday to Wednesday and peak is Thursday to Sunday. Opening hours are 11am-11pm Monday to Saturday and 11am to 8pm Sundays. There is 25% discount fur students.
Address: Between the Bridges, The Queen’s walk, Southbank, London SE1
Website: https://www.crazyboules.com
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crazyboules
Website: https://www.betweenthebridges.co.uk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/btwthebridges
Written by Caitlin Neal
