Leonard Cotte/Unsplash/Courtesy of Ariodante

“Everyone can go to space if they have the money,” says Ricardo Araujo, the founder and CEO of the discreet ultra-luxury agency Ariodante, which creates extraordinary travel experiences rooted in art, history and culture. “You just pay some millions to get there. You call SpaceX and that’s it.”

He’s talking about a segment of ultra-high net worth travelers who have been (or could have been) everywhere and done everything. “I’ve spent the past ten years working with centimillionaires and billionaires. I know very well their mindset,” says Araujo. “They aren’t bored; that’s not the right word. But you’re at the point in life where you have everything and you start living on the surface because everything feels the same.” The grand events, the luxury hotels and the Michelin meals become a blur. What’s really appealing is “engaging with something, being yourself and being challenged.”

Now he’s making his biggest bet yet on that mindset. Ariodante—which usually creates private games only for member clients who pay a sizable retainer—recently announced a first-of-its-kind, player-led, live-action game that takes immersive travel to a new level. It’s called the Queen’s Lost Diamonds and is themed around a real, centuries-old royal scandal. And in this case, anyone can apply to play (though Araujo is interviewing candidates to make sure they really get it before inviting them to sign an NDA and buy a ticket).

Unlike a space jaunt, for instance, the Queen’s Lost Diamonds is a one-off experience that can’t be bought simply with money. “You can’t experience it again because it’s never going to happen again,” says Araujo. “And each person who experiences it is going to have a completely different experience” because of the choices they make throughout the game.

A company announcement likens would-be players to Indiana Jones or Nicolas Cage’s character in National Treasure, unraveling mysteries in glamorous locales. The Queen’s Lost Diamonds will take on one of the most scandalous conspiracies in French history as it unfolds over three days with all of Paris as its playground. Nearly a year in the works, it’s based on input from historians and scientists, with the assistance of hundreds of actors, appearances from real-life experts and access to secret spaces in iconic venues.

Tristan Colangelo/Unsplash/Courtesy of Ariodante

Araujo has also said he was inspired by the parallel reality exhibited in David Fincher’s film The Game, though he says the complexity and scale of his venture make comparing it to producing a film “too easy.” Players will investigate real manuscripts and historic accounts that complicate established theories; probe characters portrayed by actors and explore restricted areas in landmark monuments, some of which have never been accessed by non-custodians.

The dates, which will be sometime in 2025, are under wraps for obvious reasons. There’s security and privacy for high-profile clients, of course, but also to preserve the exclusivity. Participants will be told just a short time beforehand, “so it’s not something [other people] can prepare for,” explains Araujo. “If I tell them the story of the game, they know what’s going to happen” and might try to play along. (That said, he’s been teasing with a few hints on his Instagram.)

Even once the NDAs have been signed, the advance information given to actual players will be limited. “If I say how many actors there are going to be, they’re going to be expecting the people they meet to be actors when maybe they’re not. If I’m bringing in whatever fashion designer, they’re going to think that the guy is fake while he’s actually the real fashion designer.”

He continues, “This is about architecture rather than me being fancy. I’m not withholding information just for marketing reasons. This is the first time something like this is happening.” (Likewise, the price is not being published, largely because it’s changeable based on hotel preferences, possible extensions and the usual travel choices, though it’s safe to say it will start in the mid-six figures.)

The something—or rather, somethings—that are happening will be big. The scenarios that Araujo’s team are devising are complex, filled with high-stakes challenges, tests of bravery and morale, and situations that call for using powers of persuasion and deduction. Players choose their own path, making countless decisions based on whom they consider to be allies or enemies.

This means they’ve come up with about 150 scenarios that might play out, depending on whether, say, players leave a hotel via the front door or sneak out the back, whether they turn right or left, or maybe just stay and have another glass of wine. And the players “are never going to notice anything [about all the other possibilities] because they’ll have no idea that I’ve planned 20 other things that they’ll never see.”

All of these potential scenarios have been designed with the on-the-ground travel logistics wizards that have powered Ariodante’s trips for a decade, as well as scholars, historians and archaeologists. Getting the serious people on board was a snap, says Araujo: “It’s something so unique and so fun that everyone wants to be part of it.”

He reiterates: “We are basing this on something real, something that really happened and hasn’t been understood.” He knows better than to imagine they might solve a mystery that has flummoxed historians for decades, but perhaps “we are going to shed new light on something.” Along with that draw, he mentions scholarly participants who were theater kids in high school and eager to act again, experts who want to share their knowledge in an engaging way, and others who simply enjoy a good game.

“I haven’t had a single person saying, ‘No, I don’t want to be part of it.’”

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