This autumn, Paris will transform into a high-stakes arena where history, intrigue, and luxury travel converge. Known for crafting immersive, narrative-led adventures, Ariodante will offer a select few “golden tickets” to its most ambitious project yet: The Queen’s Lost Diamonds.
Billed as the most intricate immersive game ever attempted, the three-day experience reimagines the boundaries of luxury travel and interactive storytelling. Inspired by the psychological disorientation of David Fincher’s ‘The Game’, it invites participants to investigate one of France’s most scandalous and enduring conspiracies, a historical mystery that has confounded scholars for centuries. When the game concludes, organisers claim, fresh light will be shed on the real events behind it.
A Mystery Unfolding in Paris’s Secret Corners
Founded in 2015 by self-proclaimed travel alchemist Ricardo Araujo, Ariodante has built a reputation for creating one-off experiences that weave art, history, and culture into bespoke travel narratives. But this game embodies this philosophy in its boldest and most complex iteration to date.
Over three days, Paris itself becomes the board, the stage, and the puzzle. Players navigate restricted areas within landmark monuments, some never before opened to non-custodians, while examining authentic manuscripts and archival accounts that challenge long-held historical theories. Every encounter, every lead, every location feeds into a multi-dimensional plotline where fact and fiction are impossible to disentangle.
“It took over ten months of intense work by our stellar team to create this player-led, multi-dimensional game. Its complexity and scale are such that comparing it to producing a film feels too easy, finding a way to effectively blur the lines between fiction and reality – overlaying countless strands of parallel storylines – into a live-action game took years of trial and error. The Queen’s Lost Diamonds is by far the most intricate immersive game ever attempted and will be unlike any other that the players have or are likely to experience.” Ricardo Araujo – Founder of Ariodante
A Player-Led Game of Nerve and Nuance
The Queen’s Lost Diamonds works against its players, turning each decision into a test of nerve and strategy. Players face moral and strategic dilemmas, navigating a shifting network of allies and adversaries. Bravery, persuasion, and deduction are tested in equal measure, with the emotional highs and lows designed to leave an impact that endures long after the game’s conclusion.
The gameplay is entirely player-led, choices determine the path, the alliances formed, and ultimately, the truth uncovered. Each storyline adapts in real time, ensuring no two participants experience the same journey. This framework thrives on unpredictability, ensuring no participant can foresee where the story will lead.
As with all Ariodante’s bespoke creations, absolute privacy remains essential, ensuring the inner workings of the game are a closely guarded secret from both the public and the players.
Exclusive Access to a Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience
True to Ariodante’s discreet ethos, there are no public ticket sales. Interested individuals must apply directly, sign a strict non-disclosure agreement, and be personally approved by Araujo. Only then will they be invited to secure a place, deciding whether to form a team or take on the challenge solo.
For the first time, Araujo will also offer limited behind the scenes glimpses of the project’s creation via Instagram. This tantalising mix of subtle clues, select location reveals, and insights into the decade of experimentation provides the only public window into this closely guarded endeavour.
The game’s rigorous demands are matched by its selective entry. Participants require intellectual curiosity, emotional resilience, and the psychological flexibility to navigate challenges that deliberately work against conventional problem-solving approaches.
Storytelling Brought to Life
Each experience begins with a blank canvas, built entirely around the client’s passions and curiosities. With comfort and exclusivity assured, the focus shifts to transformation, intellectual stimulation, and moments that cannot be repeated.
The agency’s approach prioritises narrative over location, ensuring the destination exists solely to serve the unfolding story. This approach requires months of in-depth research and meticulous planning, culminating in an experience whose outcome remains authentically unpredictable until the very last moment.
For those who make the cut, the journey will be as much about who they become as about what they uncover. The Queen’s Lost Diamonds offers something increasingly rare in luxury travel: the possibility of genuine surprise, authentic challenge, and the chance to uncover lost truths, all while experiencing Paris from perspectives hidden to the public.