Spyscape

Went here in January for a date with my partner and we had a blast! He loves James Bond and although this didn't have as much of an explicit Bond focus he still loved it because of the historical elements and fun activities. Amazingly, we spent a little over two and a half hours at this place because we pretty much took our time, ready everything, and played every game. It's possible to do it in less time if you're not as attentive to certain details. My favorite part was playing the special ops laser tunnel game but mostly every activity was great. I did terribly with the number/logic/mind games at the little stations but my partner did great on those, lol. At the end of experience, there's a really nice treat of seeing a breakdown of your spy profile and key attributes. The way they described us individually was pretty spot on. There's a gift shop that has different sections for you to purchase customized products based on your spy profile which was also a nice touch. And finally, they send you an email with all of your profile info in addition to the video of you playing the laser tunnel game! If you're big on documenting memories you will love that. And just to add a note on COVID since this is an interactive space, I really appreciated how serious this museum was about keeping visitors safe during the pandemic. There was hand sanitizer, gloves, ways to play the games on your phone instead of having to touch anything, a stylus in case you didn't want to use your phone and just wanted to directly interact with the different stations, masks were strictly enforced, etc. If you go there with a jacket or bag, there's a coat check where you can place your items in a big clear plastic bag meant for your items only. Overall, it was pretty seamless.

Signed up to be a beta tester for their Spygames after having visited the Spyscape museum within the same building. The museum was great and was filled with espionage-related historical information and had interactive stations where you can build your own spy profile. Your scores at these interactive stations are tracked through a wristband you receive at the front desk when you sign in.

The Spygames area is still in development but you can sign up as beta testers in groups of 2-6. Your entire team go through different zones with different objectives that test your ability to strategize, work together and under pressure, as well as some of your physical abilities. It was a great and fun experience to do. I would suggest signing up for a non prime time slot to avoid crowds.

Better to buy tickets online than in person (it's more expensive if you buy it at the counter).

Came here with my brother on a weekday afternoon and it was not too crowded.

The ID bands make it easy to keep track of all the questionaires and activites you have to complete in order to determine your spy profile. A large elevator slowly takes you up to the 2nd floor while you watch a video which was interesting. That aspect makes exploring this museum more interactive. My favorite exhibits were the surveillance room, lie detector room and the special ops laser room (which they send you a video of too). Basically all the activities that were "spy" like. It took us about 2 hours to get through the whole museum at a leisurely pace.

The exhibits provide a brief background on the history and importance of espionage in determining the outcome of certain historical events. There were also items on display too which added to the "history" aspect of this museum.

Don't forget to grab a free pencil or rubber wristband with your role on it as you leave (it's by the checkout counter).

The museum is more enjoyable to explore when it's relatively empty. When it gets crowded, you'll be left waiting to access one of those scanning stations in order to complete the rest of your personality profile.

There are also free lockers which are locked with your band which I thought was convenient. The lobby also sells a bunch of books related the topic of spies or brain games. They had YA novels, manga, comic books, children's books etc.

Took my boyfriend here and really loved how interactive the experience is here. You have quizzes you respond to throughout the museum and you find out at the end what job you'd have in the spy game. You can answer the questions online for your spy profile but I recommend just doing it here. The overall experience took us about 3 hours. There was also a Batman experience that cost extra and I've heard that's it's own experience.

Overall--was it worth the price? I'd say it was. It was pretty fun, learned a lot, and it makes for a great date spot.

Tips:
--There are free lockers at the gift shop to hold your coats!
--the hallway leading to the bathroom upstairs has a heat tech monitor that follows your movements, so it's fun to play with! I got caught dancing in there with my boyfriend haha

I had never been to Spyscape, so I didn't know what to expect, but it was fun! I really enjoyed going through the interactive exhibits and playing all of the games, and creating my own spy profile. I channeled my inner Carmen Cortez to solve each riddle and complete each quest. Overall I really had a great time and enjoyed the experience.

That Monday was also Storybook Monday which meant they gave out a free book with each ticket purchase. I also got a reward on the yelp app after I had checked in, which was a camera cover sticker for my computer and phone. The employees were really nice and helpful too. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone looking for something to do in the city.

December 2021 - COVID Review:

My husband and I chose this as one of our attractions for our Go City Pass. Although it's located much further north from Times Square and other touristy attractions, I think it's well worth the trip since it was a really fun and interactive experience!

When you first arrive, they give you bracelets that you can use to create your "spy profile" and stylus pens to use on the touchscreens. The elevator ride is your "spy briefing" and the floors are marked with arrows so that you know where to go next.

At the very end, you enter a room to get a full synopsis of all the info they've gathered of you as a spy. I kinda wish the visit was a bit longer since the Go City Pass was valid for the basic experience, but it was still fun to see all the different exhibits and play the games from your phone!

Great, kitschy experience.

You go in and you're given a bracelet to wear, which contains your ID for the games. The museum is very interactive, with everything from small personality tests to problem solving games. The interactive nature of the exhibits is really where this place shines. The laser room is very cool. At the end via email you get your spy profile and even a video of you in the laser room. I personally loved the exhibit about reviewing surveillance cameras.

It does feel cool to use your ID bracelet to 'unlock" the games.

While I didn't use it, they have lockers (free, I think) where you can store bulky jackets, etc.

Some of the interactive games I notice have canned responses. For example, there was one about identifying deception and I later realized even if I gave completely nonsense answers, the response from the machine was the same.

Bond exhibit was nice (I am personally not a Bond fan, but I went with someone who is a Bond fan and they loved it). They have the model car used in the films and while you can't go in it, you can get really close to it which is nice.

Overall, I can't say I learned a ton about spying here, so I would say if you are coming here for a more academic perspective on spies, you will be disappointed, but if you just wanna let your inner spy out, this is a fun place to spend a few hours.

Went to spyscape last week we loved it! It was so cool and the activities were fun and engaging. My kids are 9 and 7 and they both really liked it, but I think if my younger son were any younger he would've been too young to really enjoy it. The best part was the laser maze at the end, so cool and we got to do it as many times as we wanted. It was also really cool to get your "spy profile" at the end, my kids really got a kick out of that. If you're into spies, espionage, action/thrillers or have anyone "tech-y" in your family, you'd love spyscape!

I went to spyscape with my boyfriend a few weekends ago and had SO much more fun than anticipated! It's such a cool experience. We went when it was raining and it's definitely a great activity to do on a really hot or rainy day.

You definitely have to go at your reservation time, otherwise they usually make you wait. Once you enter, you get a band with an electric tag that gathers your information throughout the museum. At different stations, you scan your tag and answer questions that help build your spy profile. At the end, it calculates everything and tells you what type of spy you would be and thats pretty neat! Staff is also friendly and will answer your questions thoroughly.

We paid $40 per ticket (including the James Bond exhibit, which I totally recommend) because we were both students at the time. I think regular tickets are $10-$15 more per person (pretty standard price for most things in NYC). We ended up spending 3 full hours inside and were preoccupied almost the entire time, it was way longer than I thought.

The laser room was definitely my favorite part of this museum. There's usually a long line for this attraction (we waited an hour because it was really crowded when we went) but it's so worth it!!

Also the James Bond exhibit is fun for die hard fans and for people that don't know much about the movies either. If you're going to visit spyscape you might as well just gain entry into this part of it as well, it is pretty fun. The entire thing is interactive which makes the museum more worthwhile. Of course, we did some reading (as it is a museum) but overall it was really fun! If they ever have new installments, I would go again. It's fun for all ages!

I can't believe I didn't know about this place before. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Spyscape museum. It's a great place for those of us that love all things spy/coding/hacking. The activities are the best! All of them are meant to build your spy profile and at the end of the museum you'll get to see what kind of spy you'd be. Every exhibition is well done and you learn so much! I got some great movie recommendations out of it and a safe/fun experience. For COVID, they are taking temps at the entrance. They have a coat checking system, provide you with a stylus to use for the activities, require that you wear a mask all throughout, and have hand sanitizers everywhere! If you're a James Bond fan too, book your reservation now!!! They have a James Bond exhibit that you'll think is absolutely cool!

As I walked to the American Museum of Natural History 20 minutes before it opened, I saw a line that went to the end of the street. One glance and I "noped" out of there. I just didn't want to deal with the large crowds so I wanted something else. A quick search for other museums led me to Spyscape which seemed interesting so I bit the bullet.

General admission is $47. There was also the 007 exhibit but I didn't have a lot of time to do that. After you purchase a ticket you get an identity band on your wrist to use to take some tests to determine what kind of spy you are.

You walk around the museum reading about different topics like encryption, deception, and intelligence. You learn about the history of spies and the progression and development of spy equipment. You learn about the use of spy equipment in wars in history. There are some challenges and activities that are very interactive and engaging. At the end you get your spy profile to see what spy role would best fit you. It's really like a personality test and it was pretty accurate for me.

Overall it took an hour and a half for me to get through all of it. The subject itself is more appealing and interesting to me than natural history so I'm glad I came here instead.

Also, they have free bag check/lockers which is really nice.