In Season 4, episode 5 of Reality Escape Pod, we headed to Canada to chat with Jonathan Driscoll and Sacha St.Denis, owners of Escaparium escape games, Nuit de Terreur haunted attraction, L'Atelier resto-pub game cafe, and Ezkapaz immersive experiences. As you can tell from their list of businesses, Jonathan and Sacha have big ambitions. Not only do they have over 30 escape rooms under the Escaparium brand, they have recently expanded into a haunted attraction with escape room elements, a game cafe integrated into their Laval location, and an immersive experience at a local speakeasy bar.

It's not just the number of experiences that are epically sized. Their flagship games Rain Corp., Wardrobe for Sale, and The Lost Island of the Voodoo Queen are jaw-droppingly enormous, filled with endearing characters, immersive puzzles, and touching storylines that actually made me cry. When setting out to build a haunt, Jonathan and Sasha didn't want a generic maze. Instead, they created a haunted attraction that's part maze, with mini-escape room elements and private immersive interactions.

It's no easy feat juggling so many different projects. Jonathan and Sacha are supportive leaders and are extremely appreciative of their large creative team. The owners of Escaparium have managed to stay humble and are receptive to constructive feedback, while maintaining their ambitious aspirations. Escaparium is an immersive gaming brand of epic proportions. It's hard to put into words how massive their games are, and that's why I highly encourage you to visit their locations in Montreal.

Show Notes

Thank you to our sponsors: 

• Morty - A free app for discovering, planning, tracking, and reviewing your escape rooms and other immersive social outings.

Buzzshot - ‘Customer Satisfaction Software’ for your escape room business. Streamline your marketing and grow your escape room business with pre- and post-game features including robust waiver management, branded team photos, and integrated review management. Use code REPOD2022 in the dropdown list when booking a demo for 20% off your first three months.

Our escape room and immersive gaming convention, will be an incredible event for creators and consumers of the games we love. We hope to see you in Boston. Learn More about RECON.

Hosted by David Spira & Peih-Gee Law

Produced by Lisa Spira

Edited by Steve Ewing of Stand Inside Media

Music by Ryan Elder

Logo by Janine Pracht