Express: Utica, New York: City of Spies

Utica, New York with no guide, no clipboard, and nobody shuffling along behind a raised umbrella. This is not a tour. Nobody is at the front talking, there is no pace to keep up with, and nothing you have to be quiet for. You go where you think the answer is, at whatever speed suits you. The city carries on around you and you move through it with a reason, which is a completely different feeling from being shown around. You are not following a stranger with a flag. You are following a story, and the story belongs to your team. Each stage reveals the next, so the afternoon unfolds rather than being handed to you. Some of it needs someone paying attention to detail. Some of it needs someone willing to commit to something faintly absurd in a public place. Most of it just needs a group of people who are happy to be in it together. Stop for a coffee whenever you like. The story waits. Duck into a shop that catches your eye. Take the long way. The route adapts to you, not the other way around, and that is the difference between spending an afternoon in Utica, New York and having one. What you leave with is a few hours of shared puzzles and a version of Utica, New York that nobody on the tour bus got to see. Know before you go • It is outdoors and takes about two hours of walking at an easy pace. • The route and where you end up stay secret. That is most of the fun. • Keep an eye on traffic, weather, opening hours and what is around you. • Open departures run at 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM in the destination's local time. Booking privately? Start any day, at any half hour from 8:00 AM to 1:30 PM. • Change of plan? Rebook any time, free. • After the quest has loaded, temporary connection loss is supported and queued activity can synchronize when connectivity returns. • No paid attraction admission is required to complete the standard quest.