Escaparium: Magnifico’s Circus (Montreal)

Magic. On a grand scale!

At Magnifico’s Circus, prepare yourself for a day filled with wonder and excitement. Here, you’ll embark on amazing rides that will thrill and delight you. Test your skills and win fabulous prizes in our exciting games, perfect for all ages.

Bring your friends and family to share in the joy and fun. From the youngest to the young at heart, everyone will find something to love at Magnifico’s Circus.

And when the sun sets, the real magic begins! Gather under the big top to witness an unforgettable circus show. Our talented performers, dazzling acrobats, and hilarious clowns will leave you awestruck and full of wonder.

Magnifico’s Circus is not just a show; it’s an experience you won’t want to miss. Step right up and join us for a day of fun, laughter, and unforgettable memories!

The TERPECA rankings often heavily influence our decision making when booking games, especially if we’re travelling quite a distance for a game; and let’s face it, Montreal isn’t a short little hop away from the UK. But, with two games in the Top Ten games of last year’s TERPECA rankings, and a third claiming position 28 all at one venue (and that’s ignoring their rankings in previous years), we knew that the games at Escaparium’s Laval location would be worth making the effort to visit. Now it helps that we do have friends and family relatively nearby (at least, by North American standards), making it a little bit easier to justify the trip. But I would be lying if I said that the timing of the trip wasn’t chosen specifically in the hope that Escaparium’s newest game would be open. And our gamble paid off when the announcement was made that Magnifico’s Circus would be opening to the public, just a few short weeks before our trip.

We experienced the magic of The Lost Island of the Voodoo Queen our first night in Montreal, but it was the following day that was to be the main attraction, so to speak. The day began by checking out a Wardrobe for Sale, followed by a round of mini golf off site, and then exploring the Forgotten Cathedral before settling into the comfortable seating in Escaparium’s reception area to wait for the circus to start.

Just a few short minutes before the circus was due to begin, a member of the Escaparium team appeared in reception to collect us. He handed over our beautiful tickets, and directed us down the corridor, indicating that we wouldn’t miss the entrance. And indeed, the entrance to Magnifico’s Circus was unmistakable, with the classic red and white canvas of a circus tent and the twinkling lights adding some cheer to the darkened hallway. As we approached, it quickly became clear that this was to be no ordinary escape room, and the show began.

IMMERSION/ROOM DESIGN

Magnifico’s Circus is a work of art. Truly, the more you allow yourself to become a part of the story, rather than apart from it, the more you will fall in love with Magnifico’s Circus. This game is so much more than a game, and immersive isn’t even close to the word to describe it. The sets are absolutely spectacular and come together with the lighting, music, sounds, and even smells to create the perfect atmosphere. The space is awe inspiring, turning our journey through the circus into an adventure, filled with moments of joy, whimsy, and even a bit of sadness.

While the set is incredible, it is the narrative, and the actors that drive it, that makes Magnifico’s Circus something special. The story is beautiful – poignant and moving in a way I didn’t expect.

PUZZLES

Where to start with the puzzles? In a word, they were delightful. Every challenge we encountered, whether it was something tactile, a test of our communication, or even just performing a bit of magic, the puzzles were fair, logical, fun, and just simply a joy to solve.

The puzzles were varied, with plenty of tactile and interactive tasks that were fun as well as challenging, alongside other puzzles that followed a more familiar “escape room” style logic. But whatever task we encountered, it was so perfectly meshed with the narrative and its surroundings that the puzzles never really felt like puzzles, but rather the only logical thing to do in the situation we found ourselves in. The puzzle part was simply figuring out how to accomplish our goal.

GM/CLUE SYSTEM

Clues are a tricky thing to discuss, because for the most part the puzzles were so intuitive that often the subtle lighting cues and excellent sign posting were more than enough to guide us in the right direction. It always felt as though we arrived at the solutions in a totally organic way, effortlessly flowing from one thing to the next and in the rare instance where that was not the case, then help was always available in another form.

Throughout our time in the circus, we met no less than six distinct characters, and actually, possibly even  more than that. The characters we met were there to help us just as much as we were there to help them, providing narrative exposition as well as more explicit hints and nudges whenever we faltered. The actors’ performances were flawless, and the more we as the players put into our interactions, the more we got out of the experience. It was a joy and a delight every time a member of Magnifico’s Circus entered the space, and I truly cannot praise the cast enough.

ANYTHING ELSE

The word “circus” has become synonymous with the word “spectacle”, and Magnifico’s Circus was certainly spectacular on a level unlike anything I have encountered in an escape room before. I actually have no words to describe just how truly beautiful this game is, and it is something that absolutely must be experienced to believe.

Success / Failure

Final Rating:

Team: 4 players

Address: 5545 Boulevard des Rossignols, Laval, Québec, Canada H7L 5S7

Website: https://www.escaparium.ca