Room Escape Artist

🧁

Location:  Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, Québec, Canada

Date Played: March 2, 2025

Team size: 3-7; we recommend 3-4

Duration: 60 minutes

Price: $33.95 CAD per player

Ticketing: Private

Accessibility Consideration:  All players will have to crawl and climb, some more than others. (Talk to Paradox42 about accommodations if this is a concern.) All players put on slippers, which are provided, to play this game.

Emergency Exit Rating: [A+] No Lock

Physical Restraints: [A+] No Physical Restraints

At Mimi Cupcakes is one of the best escape rooms around Montreal, Canada. Here are our recommendations for great escape rooms in the Montreal area.

REA Reaction

While the opening set might look minimalistic, there was a lot to munch on in At Mimi Cupcakes. In the second act, the vibe shifted to bigger, louder set pieces, all of which housed interesting, collaborative puzzles.

At Mimi Cupcakes was a classic, puzzle-forward escape room, with fun, thematic gameplay. The puzzles were generally built into larger, interactive set pieces, and required us to make connections between disparate information, giving satisfying ahas. Where we recommend improvements, it’s to eliminate unnecessarily frustrating process components, giving more space for the fun ahas.

Montreal (including its surrounding suburbs) is known for top notch escape room venues, many of which push the boundaries of escape room design in different creative directions. With its adorable set and compelling gameplay, we recommend puzzle-minded players looking to pick up another light-hearted game in the region, stop in for a taste of At Mimi Cupcakes.

Who is this for?

• Playful players
• Puzzle lovers
• Any experience level

Why play?

• Some adorable moments
• Strong, collaborative puzzles

Story

Our neighbor Mimi begged us to help her open her cupcake shop after her employees went on strike.

Setting

At Mimi Cupcakes opened with an ultra minimalistic cupcake shop. Most of the detailing in the space was white, with pops of color mostly consisting of oversized cupcakes.

As we pushed deeper into the game, the aesthetic shifted, leaning further into cuteness and louder details.

Gameplay

Paradox42’s At Mimi Cupcakes was a standard escape room with a moderate level of difficulty.

Core gameplay revolved around searching, observing, making connections, and solving puzzles. Some of the challenges relied heavily on communication.

The was a puzzle-focused game, and much of the gameplay was non-linear; we could solve the puzzles simultaneously and in the order of our choosing.

Analysis

➕ The theme was adorable. The opening set was minimal, but with exquisite detailing where it mattered most – for the cupcakes! The vibe was spot on. The names were 🤌

➖ The intro video relied on AI art, which was distracting, and set the wrong tone for a lovingly home baked game.

➖ I didn’t really love that the story of this game was that we were scabs crossing a picket line. Paradox42 didn’t do anything in-game with this premise, but the story itself did linger in my mind.

❓/➕ All players have to climb and crawl in this game (some more than others). While this doesn’t thrill everyone, it wasn’t too strenuous. Plus, because Paradox42 provides all players with slippers, these spaces were clean, even on a snowy day. The padding was well maintained too.

➕ The puzzles were hefty. We enjoyed the oversized items and tangible interactions. There was a lot to chew on.

➖ That said, one layered puzzle was missing substantial clue structure. Both our teams failed to interpret a key part, and ended up redoing the long process component of this puzzle.

➕ At Mimi Cupcakes included multiple communication puzzles, with teammates sharing information across disparate spaces. The game space was well designed for communicating and we never struggled to shout or be heard.

➖ One such puzzle could have benefited from gates that locked solutions in place, especially because the tolerances were not tight enough for the interface.

➕ The hint system was light and playful, perfectly fitting the tone of the game, and never detracting from the experience.

➕/➖ Tonally, the finale was a delight. That said, the reveal was painfully slow, which juxtaposed poorly with the ambiance.

❓ There was a heavy search element to this game, especially in the first act. If you aren’t solving something, search again!

Tips For Visiting

• There is a parking lot.
• This game is available in English or French.
• All players must wear slippers in the game. Paradox42 provides slippers. You can also bring your own.

Book your hour with Paradox42’s At Mimi Cupcakes, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Paradox42 provided media discounted tickets for this game.