Escaparium (Laval) - "The Golden Jubilee"

Updated: Mar 15

LOCATION:  Laval, Quebec City, Canada

Photo above is property of Escaparium

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

📝 ETR DECODER

🔑 GAME: The Golden Jubilee
📅 DATE PLAYED: July 13, 2022
🎬 GENRE: Mining, Adventure
🧠 DIFFICULTY (Based on 4 Players): 6/10
👥 TOTAL # OF PLAYERS: 3-6 PPL
🕒 LENGTH OF TIME: 60 Mins.
💰 PRICE: CAD $31.99/PP
☎️ BOOKING TYPE: Private
🔓 ESCAPED/ COMPLETED?: YES

📖 THE STORY

The owner (Dr. Woo) of the world’s largest diamond (the Gold Jubilee) has died - but his will made public the tunnel series in which he stashed this prize! Now miners from all over the globe are flocking to the area to see who can find it first. However, Dr. Woo was a crafty sort who enjoyed a good game, and they’ve left some challenges behind to ensure that whoever finds the gem is worthy. Are you up for the task?

🎯 HIT THE BULLSEYE

This game is divided into two sections. The set in the initial phase is a beautiful, detailed rendition of a mine, in a Disney-esque kind of way! The seven dwarves would fit right in.
There were a lot of fun and unique puzzles, many of which were highly thematic and rewarding to complete. And, for the most part, there was a nice flow to the game.
What really set the game apart for us was the second phase, which occurs in complete darkness. Yep. We could not see a THING! Which means all of the puzzles relied on other senses, and they definitely all felt heightened. While we know there are other games out there with this kind of room, they’re not common, and it’s the first we’ve played. We adored the fresh challenge and the innovation in the puzzles, and the way it added a new dimension to our teamwork.

🧩 MISSED THE MARK

The first room in particular is not too large and could get a bit crowded if you were at the max player size of 6.
The lighting in the first phase is rather dim, which set the ambience but sometimes made it hard to read the digits on the locks.
There was one puzzle in the first phase that had what is apparently an unusual hiccup, which meant we spent some time trying to solve while missing a piece.
Some of the puzzles in the pitch black phase, while enjoyable to play, did not make as much sense thematically as those in the first section.

🏹 TAKE A SHOT?

Escaparium has a lot of incredible and creative rooms that are highly regarded. While we’ve only played 4 thus far, Golden Jubilee was actually our overall favorite (yes, even over the amazing Wardrobe for Sale) and an incredibly memorable experience. While we really appreciated the set and enjoyed some of the puzzles in the first phase, we absolutely LOVED the pitch-black section. It provided novelty and seemed to really elevate our teamwork - we were definitely in the flow! If you are traveling as a pair, it also felt like a perfect game for two enthusiasts, though the official minimum is 3. We highly recommend it, so long as everyone is comfortable in the dark. (There is also crawling in regular play of the game, but I believe there could be a workaround for this if needed.) And plan to take a day at Escaparium if you can! With so many fantastic games in one place, plus the bar/cafe with tabletop games…there’s a ton to do here!

ℹ️ ADDITIONAL INFO

There seems to be plenty of free parking in a lot right outside the building. There is a large waiting area, bathrooms, and - most excitingly - a full game cafe and bar! We had some tasty nibbles between games, though not quite enough time to dip into one of the ones they had available. In addition to board games, they have a LOT of the replayable tabletop puzzle games, so a great way to check some of those out!