Accomplice The Show – The Village [Review]

Find some characters.

Location: New York, NY

Date played: March 4, 2017

Team size: 10; we recommend 10

Duration: ~2 hours

Price: $65 per ticket

Story & setting

We had received an amusing email informing us of… a situation, so we swooped in to save the day.

Accomplice The Village walked us through the streets of Greenwich Village, introducing us to entertaining characters and interesting places along the way.

As we followed the bread crumbs to right the aforementioned situation, we became part of a theater piece, searched for clues, solved puzzles, and had many good laughs.

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 The Village was not a passive experience.

Standouts

The actors brought Accomplice The Village to life. With few exceptions, they were engaging, humorous, and witty. They expertly balanced a scripted narrative with improv. Their characters may have been ridiculous, but they managed to be believably ridiculous.

The show kicked off with an email that set the tone for the entire experience. It never deviated from this. Each character we met fit right into the world.

As the show progressed we started to notice subtle references on a theme. These ultimately escalated into the finale. It was beautifully orchestrated.

There were some hilariously serendipitous moments, my favorite being when a couple of passersby joined our little group out of curiosity. We were pretty confused when they approached, but nowhere near as confused as they were.

Accomplice the Village introduced us to some incredible neighborhood gems. In addition to the actors, these places helped create just enough spectacle to make Accomplice The Village something out of the ordinary.

Shortcomings

Because the actors truly brought this show to life, when we encountered a dud, the entire scene fell flat. That section was disappointing.

On any given day, multiple teams of 10 play the game, starting in the same location an hour apart. Our group was moving particularly swiftly and caught up with the group in front of us just before the finale. While the show did have a stalling tactic in place, it was poorly executed, and by someone not at all in character. This broke our rhythm and took us out of the experience.

Two consecutive scenes took place entirely outside. Weather could certainly put a damper on the experience.

Should I play Accomplice The Village?

Accomplice The Village should be approached as interactive theater with some light puzzling. It was, first and foremost, a theatrical excursion through an iconic Manhattan neighborhood.

If you like comedy, improv, and a bit of scavenger hunt, this will be a blast.

If you’ve already played Accomplice New York, this will be a new experience. The mission was different and so was our place in it. While we were still exploring Manhattan, the show was less about its setting. Instead, these characters turned up the dial on absurd and hilarious, but still managed to fit everything into their ludicrous scenario.

For tourists, we recommend Accomplice New York. New York itself was a character in that show; in Accomplice The Village it was simply the setting.

For those new to Accomplice, we recommend Accomplice The Village. This was an approachable show. We walked outside, but not nearly as much as in Accomplice New York. It was also shorter and less expensive.

We enjoyed this experience immensely, even on a brutally cold day. That’s saying a lot.

Book your hour with Accomplice The Village, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Full disclosure: Accomplice provided media discounted tickets for this game.