WASHINGTON—While the Hi’s Eye staff was exploring Washington, we were far away in the country of Khandar on a classified mission. Khandar is the fictional country located in the International Spy Museum, where we became special agents in an interactive spy experience.

When we were led to the starting point of Operation Spy, it was immediately clear how immersive this experience would be. Our cell phones had to be turned off, so we had no way of contacting anyone or even knowing what time it was back in D.C. This distance from the outside world allowed us to be completely immersed in the mission.

Before the mission, we had a minute to create secret agent names. Ours were Agent Baby Spice and Agent G, and they stuck with us throughout the mission, never revealing our real identities.

While the specifics of our mission are classified, we can tell you it certainly put us to the test. It required us to run through the streets of Khandar, collaborate with our fellow agents and use our best judgment to make quick, life-altering decisions on the spot.

Our mission leader, Tarik, was easily the most impressive part of the experience. Even when he first met us, he never acknowledged that Operation Spy was just a game. Before even introducing himself, he asked if any of us had been followed by a possible enemy.

Tarik remained completely in character throughout the mission, never once showing a hint of laughter. With every word, he emphasized the urgency of our mission and pushed us to our limit for each task.

A young boy, “Agent Scramble,” (inspired by the scrambled eggs he had for breakfast) became somewhat of a leader of our group. Although we’ve been sworn to secrecy about the mission’s details, we can say that we would not have succeeded if it weren’t for Agent Scramble’s leadership and sacrifice.

Although Operation Spy was only a game and Khandar isn’t real, it was easy to forget that. As we unscrambled private phone conversations, broke into a high-security compound and interrogated a fellow agent, we didn’t have time to think about the outside world.

Our fellow agents also took their spy identities seriously and never broke character, though the two of us couldn’t help but laugh at some points.

With an ever-changing series of interactive missions offered at Operation Spy, rest assured we will return to the International Spy Museum again to reclaim our secret-agent alter egos and fulfill our duties as international spies.