Bring a group of characters to play with their characters.
Location: New York City, New York
Date played: May 21, 2016
Team size: 10; we recommend 10
Duration: ~3 hours
Price: $80 per ticket
Story & setting
A day before our game, Lisa received a phone call from a man in character giving very specific instructions for our team.
While I can’t give away the details of where exactly we went, or precisely what we did, I’ll say this: they call it “Accomplice” for a reason.
The setting of Accomplice New York was truly Downtown Manhattan.
The game was something in a nether-realm spanning a live action roleplay, scavenger hunt, and escape room. There were compelling characters, interesting locations, and easy puzzles.
Interaction
This was an interactive show. There were specific tasks to accomplish and a fair amount of walking involved. We engaged with conversationally energetic characters.
Accomplice was not a passive experience.
Standouts
Accomplice was a tour of Lower Manhattan. We traversed a number of significant neighborhoods and met realistic yet humorous characters that were, shall we say, unique to New York.
The team at Accomplice had their coordination and stage management down to a science. They had impressive mechanisms to keep teams moving through the game on the right pace, especially considering the physical size of their stage.
The actors were wonderful. Not only did they portray great characters, but they didn’t stick to a script. We messed with them a bit and they never broke character. We shared a short meal with a particular character and he ended up engaging Lisa in an incredibly detailed discussion about her career in onomastics and what she could tell about him (his character) based on his name.
Most impressively, the Accomplice actors read our team of individuals so well and worked that into their performance. When they made fun of us, they were painfully accurate in their assessments of each of us. It was hilarious.
Shortcomings
We didn’t race through the game; we tried to milk each interaction for all that it was worth. There were points in the game where we received food or drink and we could not tell how much time we had with our nibbles and libations. Sometimes it was longer than we expected; sometimes we were chased out before we were through.
One character was so realistic that it was uncomfortable. We had to break our character during our initial interactions with this person because we were worried we were weirding out a stranger.
Speaking strictly as a puzzler, the puzzles were not Accomplice’s strong suit. However, I don’t think that they were supposed to be – nor should they have been – difficult.
Should I play Accomplice New York?
There was a lot of love about Accomplice New York. Through its decade-long run, the producers have developed a deep understanding of their craft.
Speaking as a guy who has lived most of my life within arm’s reach of Manhattan, it was hilarious to interact with all of these NYC stereotype characters. There are some people who only exist in the in this part of the world.
Accomplice was also an excellent walking tour of Lower Manhattan, taking us through a number of neighborhoods that a tourist should see while visiting The City.
If you’re only looking for puzzles, you should do something else with your time. However, if you’re looking to experience New York and an interactive show in tandem, I cannot think of a better way to spend 3 hours and $80.
Book your session with Accomplice New York, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.
My wife and I have done both shows Accomplice offers and we loved them both. I highly recommend this game to anyone out there looking for an adventure!