The Adventure Game was a game show, aimed at children but with an adult following, which was originally broadcast on UK television channels BBC1 and BBC2 between 24 May 1980 and 18 February 1986. The story in each show was that the two celebrity contestants and a member of the public had travelled by space ship to the planet Arg. Their overall task varied with each series. For example, the team might be charged with finding a crystal needed to power their ship to return to Earth. The programme is often considered to have been a forerunner of The Crystal Maze. The programme came about because Patrick Dowling had an interest in Dungeons and Dragons and wanted to televise a show that would capture the mood. The programme shares a similar sci-fi feel to the work of Douglas Adams. Patrick asked Douglas Adams to write the show but Douglas had already agreed to write a TV series of his own radio show The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The first two series were written and produced by Dowling and directed by Ian Oliver. The final two series were written and produced by Ian Oliver after Dowling had retired from the BBC.