Accomplice is quite popular with out-of-towners but know-it-all New Yorkers should be entertained, too. Groups of participants (usually ten or so people) work together to solve a seedy mystery that involves journeying through lower Manhattan. Along the way, you meet and talk with a hilarious cast of oddballs and wiseguys, who provide the puzzle pieces you need to construct the big picture. But the main character is really the city itself.

Some of the more bizarre things you get to do at Accomplice include decoding cryptic messages and locating weird characters in crowded public places. If you ever need help or lose your way there's a "helpline" to phone, which will get you back on the right track. The more you get involved, the more fun you'll have.

On one of my two Accomplice adventures, my teammates and I struggled to translate a message in the back alleys of Chinatown, and then went on to deliver a secret package, which turned out to be a live frog. The other time I went, I didn't tell my friends that we were playing a game, and they thought it was all real. Priceless! It's that engaging. And for moms and dads, it's an especially exciting break from the tiring parenting routine.

Come fall, there will be three Accomplice "missions" to go on in NYC. Currently, the original Accomplice New York takes place in the streets and dark corners of downtown Manhattan. Accomplice the Village happens in Greenwich Village of course. A third, tween-friendly edition is set to launch at the American Museum of Natural History in the fall. (A pair of Mommy Poppins moms went on a trial run in the spring and had a blast.)

Although plot points and situations recur in each Accomplice edition, every experience is unique since the players and interactions are always different. Participants don't need pre-existing knowledge or detective skills. Your starting location is divulged during a sketchy phone call before you begin. The kooky tone of that conversation really sets the stage for the experience.

I've recommended Accomplice as an adults-only outing because, in my experience, it seems best suited to grown-ups. It's definitely not for young children. That said, it could work for teenagers if they want to tag along with their parents.

Tickets are $65 per person and include snacks and beverages (alcoholic for those of age) at cafes and watering holes along the way. The entire experience takes about three hours and covers a lot of ground. For more information, check out the Accomplice website. Actor (and busy dad—remember he has twins) Neil Patrick Harris is a big fan and the website has clips of him raving about it on several TV talk shows.