An Ottawa-based escape room company’s partnership with the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) could see successful players recruited to the federal intelligence agency.

Escape Manor’s cybersecurity-focussed escape room titled, ‘The Recruit’ will see players take on the role of CSE trainees when an unexpected disaster starts to unfold. Following the standard escape room formula, players will have 60 minutes to solve puzzles, crack codes and find hidden objects to ‘escape’ before it’s too late.

The feeling of immersion is an exciting USP that all escape rooms have. After picking a theme, players are then plunged into what seems like a reality separate from our own for one hour. In this case, however, there are distinct elements of realism attached to the espionage-themed room, as real-life technical experts employed by the CSE provided the puzzles, codes and video material that players will be interacting with.

Steve Wilson, a founding partner at Escape Manor, said: “They’re very analytical thinkers; we’re very dramatic and over the top. We had to marry those two mentalities to come up with a game that our clientele would play without CSE, but it had to represent CSE and get people involved in that world of intrigue”.

Successfully completing the room will give players the chance to crack a bonus cryptographic puzzle. Cracking this expert-level code could then land you a job at the CSE, with the option to leave your name and contact information; lucky candidates might receive a call from a CSE recruitment officer regarding employment opportunities at the agency. How exciting!

Visit Escape Manor’s website for more information: https://www.escapemanor.com/ot...