You Can Hunt For Hidden Treasure In The Streets Of Montreal In A Massive New Escape Game

There are secrets hidden in the streets of the city. An undiscovered treasure lies waiting for a daring explorer among the towering industrial complexes of the Lachine Canal. Now, a new Montreal escape game from A/Maze is giving you a chance to claim the prize.  

"The Secret of the Lachine Canal" is the company's first outdoor game, designed with public health guidelines in mind.

"The game offers the same type of escape game experiences as A/Maze's indoor adventures, but reshaped due to the reality caused by the pandemic," A/Maze CEO Alexander Karpov told MTL Blog.  

"Participants don't need to enter any buildings, come in contact with people or touch non attended props."  

The inspiration for the new game is "the legacy of John Redpath, an industrial pioneer who helped build the Lachine Canal," Karpov explained.  

According to the game's narrative, Redpath hid his most valuable possessions somewhere along the canal so that "only a true expert of the city would be able to locate" the treasure.

But it wasn't until the recent construction work on the Turcot Interchange that his notebook was finally discovered.  

Now, the Redpath family is enlisting Montrealers' help to find the cached fortune.  

Treasure hunters will get a copy of the notebook to find clues and solve puzzles on their journey.  

To play, gamers will have to reserve a time slot on the A/Maze website.  

On the day of their adventure, they need to go to the A/Maze Atwater location to get all of their tools.  

It takes between 90 minutes and two and a half hours to complete the course but note that this game is a race of sorts and participants will be competing for the fastest time.

The current best is one hour, 32 minutes and 53 seconds, Karpov said.

At the end of the month, the team with the best time will get a prize from A/Maze.  

The game can be played in French or English in teams of two to five players and you will need at least one cell phone with internet access to participate.

The cost is $45 to $50 per team.  

In the event of rain, you can pause at any point and then resume your adventure at a later date and you’re encouraged to bring your dog.  

The course starts at 3550 rue St-Jacques, “but finishes who knows where!”

Reserve your spot on the A/Maze website.