After receiving his degree in Journalism & Media Communications from CSU in 2019, Erik began building his career in online media, and found his dream job when he joined The Best War Games as a staff writer. Though he started on the News and Lists teams back in 2021, Erik has since established himself as a key member of the Guides team as a specialist editor.
When he's not replaying Elden Ring or perusing gaming leak forums online to learn anything he can about Half-Life 3, you can usually find Erik at the reservoir with his paddleboard or, on less sunny days, hunched over his desk like a shrimp painting 3D-printed miniatures.
Of the five total chapters in Is This Seat Taken?, Chapter 4: New York is the first hurdle many players will encounter. There are challenging puzzles in the first three chapters of Is This Seat Taken?, but New York ups the difficulty with new requirements, like organizing passengers' luggage or toggling AC units on and off as needed.
New York features six levels (and a secret speed dating level), which is on par with the London chapter (Chapter 3) but slightly longer than the Brussels chapter (Chapter 2). This guide explains how to solve every puzzle in the New York chapter of Is This Seat Taken?, including directions on exactly where to place every shape in every New York puzzle.
Level One: Train
Remember to pack all of the luggage in the left side of the bus, too.
As you progress through the logic puzzles in this first New York level, Is This Seat Taken? Players will have to rearrange the luggage to accommodate new passengers.
Puzzle 1
Turn on both of the AC units at the top of the bus (above rows 2/3 and 4/5)
In the first column of seats, place James by the window in the bottom row.
In the second column of seats, place Zendaya by the window in the bottom row, with her backpack in the aisle seat.
In the top booth, place David and Sloan in the left two seats, and Ira opposite Sloan in the bottom-right seat.
In the bottom booth, place Breeze in the aisle seat next to his backpack on the left, and Maeve in the aisle seat on the right.
In the fifth column of seats, from top to bottom, place Ava on her own by the window in the bottom row.
In the last two seats, from top to bottom, place Lorah and Teo.
Puzzle 2
Turn on only the left AC unit (above rows 2/3)
In the first column of seats, from top to bottom, place Farid and James in the top row, and Quinn by the window in the bottom row.
In the second column of seats, from top to bottom, place Hiroshi by the window in the top row, and Ava on her own in the aisle seat of the bottom row.
In the top booth, place Ira and Sloan in the left seats, and Oliver and David in the right seats.
In the bottom booth, place Nisa and Jenny in the left seats, and Anastasiya opposite Jenny in the window seat on the right.
In the fifth column of seats, from top to bottom, place Lorah and Teo in the top row, and Aria on her own by the window in the bottom row.
In the last two seats, place Zendaya in the aisle seat with her backpack.
Puzzle 3
Turn on only the left AC unit (above rows 2/3)
In the first column of seats, from top to bottom, place Anastasiya andJames in the top row, and Koda and Nat in the bottom row.
In the second column of seats, from top to bottom, place Avaand Nisa in the top row, and Hiroshi on his own in the aisle seat of the bottom row.
In the top booth, place Quinn and Sergi on the left seats, and Olivia and Emma in the right seats.
In the bottom booth, place Jenny and Lucia on the left seats, and Oliver in the window seat on the right next to Lucia's backpack.
In the fifth column of seats, from top to bottom, place Teo and Farid in the bottom row.
Puzzle 4
In the first column of seats, from top to bottom, place Noah and Adley in the top row, and Anastasiya and James in the bottom row.
In the second column of seats, from top to bottom, place Koda and Nat in the bottom row.
In the bottom booth, place Aiden and Rei in the left seats, and Remi and Sophia in the right seats.
In the fifth column of seats, from top to bottom, place Hiroshi on his own in the window seat in the top row, and Jenny on her own in the window seat in the bottom row.
In the last two seats, place Teo and Farid.
Level Two: Classroom
Puzzle 1
In the first row, from left to right, place David, William, and Hiroshi.
In the second row, from left to right, place Roshan, Wang, skip a space, then place Nat.
In the third row, from left to right, place Theo, Drew, Koda, and Breeze.
Puzzle 2
In the first row, from left to right, place Hiroshi, Drew, and Koda.
In the second row, from left to right, place David, Nat, skip a space, then place William.
In the third row, from left to right, place Wang, Roshan, Theo, and Breeze.
Puzzle 3
In the first row, from left to right, place Koda, Roshan, and Nat.
In the second row, from left to right, place David, Wang, skip a space, then place Hiroshi.
In the third row, from left to right, place Drew, Breeze, William, and Theo.
Puzzle 4
In the first row, from left to right, place Drew, Roshan, and Nat.
In the second row, from left to right, place Hiroshi, Wang, and David, ignoring the last space.
In the third row, from left to right, place Theo, William, Breeze, and Koda.
Level Three: Office
Puzzle 1
On the top-left table, from top to bottom, place Lucia and Theo in the left seats.
Required object: Vending Machine
On the bottom-left table, from top to bottom, place Breeze and Amelia in the left seats, and Ellison and Gianna in the right seats.
Required object: Water Cooler
On the top-right table, from top to bottom, place Artemis and Victor in the left two seats, and Liam on his own in the bottom-right seat opposite Victor.
Required object: Plant
On the bottom-right table, from top to bottom, place Onox in the left seat and Jade in the right seat.
Required object: Presentation Board
Puzzle 2
On the top-left table, from top to bottom, place Saige and Asher in the left seats, and William and Victor in the right seats.
Required object: Vending Machine
On the bottom-left table, from top to bottom, place Breeze and Amelia in the left seats, and Natalia and Theo in the right seats.
Required object: Water Cooler
On the top-right table, from top to bottom, place Alexei and Ellison in the right seats.
Required object: Plant
On the bottom-right table, from top to bottom, place Jesse in the left seat and Marti in the right seat.
Required object: Presentation Board
Puzzle 3
On the top-left table, from top to bottom, place Alexei and Mateo in the left seats, and Victoria in the bottom-right seat.
Required object: Plant
On the bottom-left table, from top to bottom, place Riley and Emre in the left seats.
Required object: Water Cooler
On the top-right table, from top to bottom, place Drew in the top-left seat, and Koda and Nat in the right seats.
Required object: Presentation Board
On the bottom-right table, from top to bottom, place Gosho in the left seat, and Marti in the right seat.
Required object: Vending Machine
Level Four: Diner
Puzzle 1
At the bar, from left to right, place Marti with a burger, skip a space, then place Miles and Oliver (both with fries).
In the bottom-left booth, place Laura in the top-left seat, and Theo and Adley in the bottom-left and bottom-right seats with a burger between them.
In the bottom-right booth, place Albert in the bottom-left seat and Klaus in the bottom-right seat with a burger between them.
Puzzle 2
At the bar, place Marti on his own in the far left seat with fries.
In the top-left booth, place Emma and Wang in the left seats, and Rupert and Oliver in the right seats. Place a coffee between Wang and Oliver.
In the bottom-left booth, place two pies on the table, then place Laura and Theo in the left seats, and Foluke and Adley in the right seats.
In the bottom-right booth, place Quinn in the top-left seat, then place Mur and Klaus in the right seats. Place a burger between Mur and Quinn, and fries in front of Klaus.
Puzzle 3
At the bar, from left to right, place Elizabeth in the far left seat with coffee, and Ira in the far right seat with fries.
In the top-left booth, place two pies on the table, then place Marti in the bottom-left seat.
In the bottom-left booth, place Nat and Drew in the left seats, and Koda in the bottom-right seat opposite Drew. Place a coffee between Drew and Koda.
In the bottom-right booth, place Betul in the top-left seat. Place a pie between Mur and Klaus.
Puzzle 4
At the bar, place Emma next to Rupert in seats 3 and 4. Place a coffee in front of Rupert.
In the top-left booth, place Yousseff and Aria in the left seats, and Mia and Klaus in the right seats. Place a pie between Yousseff and Mia, and a coffee between Aria and Klaus.
In the bottom-left booth, place Nat in the top-left seat, then place Drew and Koda in the right seats. Place a pie between Nat and Drew.
In the bottom-right booth, place Jack and Derry in the left seats, and Ollie in the top-right seat. Place a pie between Jack and Ollie.
Level Five: Boat Tour
Puzzle 1
In the top row, from left to right, place Alexsei, Liam, and Ira, skip a space, then place Aubrey, Samuel, and Amos.
In the middle row, place Gaia in the left seat and Victoria in the right seat.
In the bottom row, from left to right, place Aldis in seat 3, skip a space, then place Betul, Evelyn, and Noah.
Puzzle 2
In the top row, from left to right, place Mateo, skip two spaces, then place Elijah, Ollie, and Leo in seats 4, 5, and 6.
In the middle row, from left to right, place Mia, Tony, and Adley.
In the bottom row, from left to right, place Lucia and Tijani, skip two spaces, then place Emre, Charlie, and Dalia in seats 5, 6, and 7.
Puzzle 3
In the top row, from left to right, place Foluke and Jesse, skip two spaces, then place Eliana, Wyatt, and Maeve in seats 5, 6, and 7.
In the middle row, place Devon in the left seat, and Nazli in the right seat.
In the bottom row, from left to right, place Li, William, Angela, and Teo, skip two spaces, then place Miles on his own in seat 7.
Puzzle 4
In the top row, from left to right, place Kai and Tony in seats 2 and 3, skip a space, then place Nat and Koda.
In the middle row, from left to right, place Isik, Harper, and Drew.
In the bottom row, from left to right, place Grey, Albert, Nico, and Elisabeth, then skip a space and place Luca in seat 6 on her own.
Level Six: Airport
Puzzle 1
In the left boarding line, from top to bottom, place Jenny, Marti, and Atlas.
In the middle boarding line, from top to bottom, place Betul, Berke, and Freia.
In the VIP boarding line, from top to bottom, place William, Yuki, Victoria, and Zoe.
In the left column of seats, from top to bottom, place Alexsei, Maku, Nazli, and Isik.
In the middle column of seats, place Albert on his own in the bottom seat.
Puzzle 2
In the left boarding line, from top to bottom, place Anastasiya, skip a space, then place Sophia and Emre.
In the middle boarding line, place Alexsei in the first space and Albert in the last space, ignoring the middle two spaces.
In the VIP boarding line, from top to bottom, place Anna, Angela, Elisabeth, and Macia.
In the left column of seats, from top to bottom, place Zo and Kori, skip a space, then place Jesse.
In the middle column of seats, from top to bottom, place Nazli, Maku, Isik, and Flynn.
In the right column of seats, from top to bottom, place Sara in the top seat, skip a space, then place Nadia and Ollie.
Puzzle 3
In the left boarding line, from top to bottom, place Flynn and Kori, skip a space, then place Nazli.
In the middle boarding line, from top to bottom, place Isik in the second space and Jesse in the last space.
In the VIP boarding line, from top to bottom, place Nadia and Ollie, skip a space, then place Zo.
In the left column of seats, from top to bottom, place Eliana and Laura, skip a space, then place Sergi.
In the middle column of seats, from top to bottom, place Winny, Maku, Salem, and Victor.
In the right column of seats, from top to bottom, place Sara in the top seat, skip a space, then place Jayden and Lorah.
Puzzle 4
In the left boarding line, from top to bottom, place Nico, Jade, Tony, and Sara.
In the middle boarding line, from top to bottom, place Salem and Sicily.
In the VIP boarding line, from top to bottom, place Lorah, Winny, Eliana, and Laura.
In the left column of seats, place Remi in the top seat and Sergi in the bottom seat.
In the middle column of seats, from top to bottom, place Jayden in the top seat, skip a space, then place Maku and Victor.
In the right column of seats, from top to bottom, place Drew, Nat, Koda, and Adley.
Puzzle 5
In the left boarding line, from top to bottom, place Sergi and Jayden, skip a space, then place Victor.
In the middle boarding line, from top to bottom, place Remi, Drew, Nat, and Koda.
In the VIP boarding line, from top to bottom, place Adley, Sebastian, Maku, and Amelia.
Secret Level: Speed Dating
To unlock this dating minigame secret level in Is This Seat Taken?, you must get a Perfect score on every puzzle within all six normal New York levels.
Puzzle 1
In the top-left table, place Derry and Zo.
In the top-right table, place Joao and Saige.
In the middle-left table, place Charlie and Gianna.
In the middle-right table, place Atlas and Oliver.
In the bottom-left table, place Remi and Adley.
In the bottom-right table, place David and Roshan.
Puzzle 2
In the top-left table, place Avery and Jack.
In the top-right table, place Mika and Elijah.
In the middle-left table, place Gosho and Dalia.
In the middle-right table, place Natalia and Maeve.
In the bottom-left table, place Lin and Wang.
In the bottom-right table, place Samuel and Devon.
Puzzle 3
In the top-left table, place Rowan and Sergi.
In the top-right table, place Angela and Ishani.
In the middle-left table, place Mateo and Harper.
In the middle-right table, place Finch and Anabela.
In the bottom-left table, place Zoe and Flynn.
In the bottom-right table, place Wyatt and Victor.
