Room Escape Artist

My initiation ceremony into The Order of the Golden Scribe was a memorable one…. one that may well be written into the new Narrative.

A Big Little Show

The Order of the Golden Scribe is a big show in a little package. Although the current venue is significantly more spacious than the previous location, the experience feels intimate and secret, but somehow big and important at the same time. 

Room Escape Artist’s review of the 2023 run of the show (which won a Golden Lock Award) still holds up, with the important note that many of the issues have been corrected or improved. The event I attended was smooth, polished, and impressive.

More Than Puzzles

An unassuming table-top puzzle game set during a high tea ceremony turned into an immersive theater piece that offered attendees a great deal of agency and freedom. 

This experience is perfect for a broad range of personalities. Space is given to those who want to puzzle quietly as well as those who wish to perform for the entire room.

If you are a person who likes puzzling in a unique setting, this show is for you! If you are a person who likes immersive theater with a high degree of agency, this show is for you! If you are a person who wants to enjoy a fun tea service with your puzzley friends, this show is for you!  

An Impressive Production

The cast-to-customer ratio was incredibly high and the quality of the acting was top notch. The performers matched our energy and attitude in a way that made our whole table very comfortable while interacting.

I loved the way we were encouraged and often required to leave our seats to explore the room for clues or even sneak off for extra secret meetings. 

There were multiple opportunities for exploration, so each team member had their chance to give it a go. This detail of the show does create a bit of two-way FOMO while teammates are separated, not knowing what the others are doing, but both the puzzles and the narrative are clear enough to be quickly explained to everyone each time the whole group is reunited.

There is an opportunity to better clue which type of player personality might be the best fit for some of the opt-in segments. The show has spots for talkative, social butterflies to shine and spots for less social wallflowers to puzzle without needing to interact, but at points it isn’t entirely clear which teammate should go where. 

Join The Order

I had a great time during my initiation. The food and the tea were good. The story was simple, clean, and easily understood. The performances were terrific and the free-form ability to play, however I wanted to, was well thought out and executed flawlessly.

The Order of the Golden Scribe runs through March 31, 2024, with performances Saturdays and Sundays at 11:00am at Caveat (21A Clinton Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan). This is a new location for 2024.

The show I attended lasted 2 hours. 

Ticket prices start at $136.36.