Work, weariness and woes, expenses and responsibilities are all part of the package of “adulting.” But that doesn’t mean that we have to abandon our childlike capacities for wonder and spontaneous play, just because we’re not kids anymore. In a perfect world, our communities would supply us with frequent opportunities to exercise those capacities – to participate in fun public events that engage the imagination as well as the muscles. The good news is that one such event, The Hunt of Kingston, is coming to Uptown Kingston on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, and tickets are now available at wayfinderexperience.com/the-hunt-of-kingston.
Here in Ulster County, we’re fortunate to live among creative humans with big appetites for just that sort of wholesome adult play, honed by adventurous families, gaming clubs, theater troupes or entities like the Wayfinder Experience that promote interactive storytelling. One such imagination-driven individual is Miranda Wilde Way – known to many as Moo – who was raised in New Paltz by a mother and a grandfather who organized scavenger hunts just for the fun of it. Moo inherited the puzzle-making gene, and when she became director of the Vanaver Caravan’s Caravan Kids summer camp program, she used it to create scavenger-hunt activities for kids on the Fairy Hikes that culminated each camp session.
As an adult, temporarily relocated to Brooklyn, Moo got into designing interactive activities for friends’ special occasions and eventually turned her talent into a business called The Wilde Hunt (www.thewildehunt.com), in collaboration with her childhood friend Noelle Kimble McEntee. In 2023, the two undertook an ambitious project: to create a communitywide scavenger hunt, called The Hunt of New Paltz, which took place the weekend before Halloween. It was immensely successful, with 115 players signing up and a couple of dozen downtown businesses serving as hosts – which mostly meant handing out clues to teams as they showed up.
Much of the puzzle design was done by a friend named Brian Lawton, a dancer, choreographer and producer who frequently works with the Vanaver Caravan (in fact, he’s currently working on a major new dance production to be called America in Motion, about which we’ll undoubtedly be hearing more in the months to come). When it comes to his day job, swing, Lindy hop and other jazz dance forms are Brian’s particular area of expertise. But he also has a lifelong passion for making up puzzles and clues, and was involved in a project to create an immersive theatrical experience that incorporated “escape room” puzzle elements when the COVID pandemic brought such in-person gatherings to a halt. To keep the fun going, he started up a company called Twisted Labyrinth Games (https://twisted-labyrinth.com). “I was creating these online escape room experiences,” he explains. “There’s one called The GodPod, where the gods are testing humanity to see if they deserve to survive.”
Recruited by The Wilde Hunt for the 2023 Hunt of New Paltz, Brian responded with a mind-boggling array of acrostic, mathematical and logic puzzles, cryptic song lyrics, visual clues hidden in plain sight in shop windows, codes to crack, physical objects to find and contests to win against rival teams. Different routes through downtown were painstakingly mapped out for each of ten teams, so that they wouldn’t all be descending on the same business at one time. Costumed non-player characters (NPCs, in roleplaying-gamer lingo) were stationed at various locations to pass along clues when asked the right question.
Hunt of New Paltz players were encouraged to wear costumes, stay in character as much as possible and patronize local businesses that had agreed to sponsor the event. Home base was the Gunks Gaming Guild & Café on Church Street, and completing the entire quest took up to seven hours. As might be expected in a public event of this scale, chaos occasionally ensued, but this reporter can testify from direct experience that the fun factor was immense.
That was a year-and-a-half ago. In the interim, Moo scaled back her workload to have a baby, now nine months old. But the team is back, with a brand-new partner: the Wayfinder Experience, whose live-action roleplaying (LARP) experts will bring new dimensions to The Hunt of Kingston when it unfolds in the Uptown/Stockade District part of the city on Sunday, May 25 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (rain date: Monday, Memorial Day, May 26).
“We’ll provide the foam weaponry and court intrigue,” says co-owner and marketing director Trine Boode-Petersen, along with additional props and costume components from Wayfinder’s hoard. VIP ticket holders will get to pick out an outfit for the day from a costume rental rack Uptown, according to Trine. “We’re currently making a lot of props in-house.”
One big difference in the Kingston version of the Wilde Hunt, thanks to Wayfinder’s involvement, will be a more elaborately developed storyline, with lots of folks who usually work as LARPing camp counselors taking part as actors in several skits, as well as NPCs. Players, called Guildmates, will meet at a central gathering point (still TBD) at 1, 3 and 5 p.m. to watch and compete in a medieval-style “tournament” at which the story will unfold and key clues be divulged by costumed roleplayers. If you’ve ever attended a Renaissance Faire or a murder mystery dinner theater, you know the drill.
Here’s the premise of the unifying narrative, per the Wayfinder website: “The Princess of the River Courts has vanished on the eve of her wedding. The Duke of Summerwatch lies in a cursed slumber, unreachable by spell or song. The royal wedding is proceeding regardless (because politics), but the King and Queen have called for an Open Tournament and Investigation, inviting Guilds from across the realm to uncover the truth. Your mission: Follow the trail of clues left behind by suspicious characters and strange creatures – the Knight, the Bard, the Wizard and (unfortunately and inexplicably) Gnomes. Each may know more than they’re telling. You and your Guildmates must gather evidence, unlock secrets, participate in challenges and – when the final bell tolls – submit your theory on what really happened.”
More so than The Hunt of New Paltz, The Hunt of Kingston is designed as a “choose your own adventure” type of experience, says Moo. Brian notes that it’s being structured in such a way that participants can solve the three main “quest lines” – finding the Knight, the Bard and the Wizard – in as little as three hours. But you can spend the full allotted time if you want to crack every puzzle, find every Easter egg and complete every side quest.
The latter, he says, occur at “sites where unusual gnomish activity has been detected.” Veterans of the Hunt of New Paltz will recall Gnomes as having been ubiquitous during that event as well. Maybe the organizers simply have a special fondness for the tiny beings, but they also seem particularly appropriate to a puzzle game, since “gnomic” utterances are notoriously enigmatic in nature.
At the end of the event, when the final secrets are revealed, there will be prizes handed out – including for best individual and team costumes. Dressing up is not mandatory, but adds to the immersive feel of the experience, as any “Rennie” can attest.
Guilds can be put together in advance by groups of up to seven friends or family who want to play the game, or else assembled by the organizers; the registration form on the website offers multiple options. It’s possible to play without teammates, but disadvantageous, so there will be an in-person gathering point for group-ups and clue help, called the Solo Adventurer Hub, as well as an event group chat for coordination, tips and spontaneous collaborations. A cellphone is an essential tool for participation.
The Hunt of Kingston will be family-friendly up to a point, but themes, puzzles and performances are designed to engage teens and adults, and some of the destination businesses will be taverns. The event is generally not recommended for children under age 10, and any participating children must be under adult supervision at all times.
Part of the intent of The Hunt of Kingston is to “allow people to experience Kingston in a way they didn’t have before, to interact with businesses in a different way,” Brian says. That will include a considerable amount of walking – an estimated 2,500 to 6,000 steps – with as many as 30 businesses potentially involved, so be sure to wear sensible shoes. Persons who wish to explore the Land of Kingstonia, but need mobility/accessibility accommodations, should contact Wayfinder in advance to request a customized low-impact route.
“The whole of Uptown Kingston is going to be like a big game board,” Moo enthuses. “It will be an immersive, multilayered, multifaceted escape-room game event that should appeal to anyone who’s curious and looking to do something new. Kingston is so ready for this kind of event.”
Admission to participate in The Hunt of Kington costs $45 General, including full access to the Hunt, storyline materials, interactive characters and the after-party; $65 for VIP, which adds costume rental options, free drink/snack tickets, a special prize bag and early access to clues or secret quests; $25 for a Child Ticket, which includes access to the main Hunt and all family-friendly quests. Note that there’s a $5 upcharge for all credit card purchases. All players will receive a custom Hunt map and entry into the “royal festivities,” and a riddle delivered by e-mail or text the night before will lead you to your starting point.
Join the family! 
