Welcome to the mysterious world of Escaparium… The Laval company, recognized beyond our borders for its escape games, reaches a peak with its Cirque Magnifico. Launched last August, the experience is awaiting ranking in the Top Room Escape Project (Terpeca) for the best escape game of the year internationally.
Published at 9:00 a.m.
Julie Roy
Special collaboration
The experience is unique, the players – who are in a group of at least four – must solve puzzles imposed by three actors. A mix between an interactive theater piece and a puzzle game, whose participants are immersed in the atmosphere of an old-fashioned circus with settings that are worth seeing and in which they themselves have a role to play.
“Three of our nine games are top 25 in the world, according to Terpeca. THE Cirque Magnifico surpasses them all,” said Jonathan Driscoll, co-owner of the establishment.
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Escaparium has just launched its new game, the Cirque Magnifico.
“We invested nearly $1.3 million for this creation, a significant investment for an escape game. It took 18 months of work and a team of 30 people from Quebec, including 6 solely in the design, who participated in the realization of this project,” says the entrepreneur who is passionate about games.
It didn’t take long for the news to get around to fans, so much so that you have to wait a month and a half before having the chance to reserve a time slot for the experience which lasts 150 minutes.
Followers from all over the world
In the meantime, visitors can choose one of the eight other games available in this 45,000 sq. ft. space.2. Escaparium also receives more than 100,000 visitors per year, 10% of whom come from abroad.
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Sacha St-Denis et Jonathan Driscoll
I’m not afraid to say that we are the leaders in escape games in North America and even internationally. There are tourists who come here for a week just for the purpose of playing all our games. At the beginning of next summer, 130 people from the United States booked a 5-day tour to play with us.
Jonathan Driscoll, co-owner of Escaparium
Still in hyperactive mode, Jonathan Driscoll has no intention of resting. The team is currently working to improve the game Rain Corpranked 114e in the world, according to Terpeca.
The game has only just begun
Jonathan Driscoll and his wife, Sacha St-Denis, also co-owner, continue to push the limits of entertainment. Victim of flooding last summer, the couple condemned the lobby of the complex and closed their fun pub to begin a new project.
Next May, they will open the first interactive bar restaurant in the province. In a warehouse destroyed by a spaceship, the new place with around a hundred seats will have the appearance of the best science fiction films. Visitors from elsewhere will entertain and surprise the guests who will try intriguing drinks. The concept also includes a private all-inclusive formula with an interactive story.
“All the worlds of Disney, Universal Studio and cinema inspire us. We don’t just want to have a bar, but to bring people to a new experience. There will be action, this will not be the place to come and chat quietly. » The cost of this new project represents an investment of $600,000.
