The Final Exam

Sauve Qui Peut (Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Canada)

Time limit: 60 minutes

Age limit: Recommended 8+

Player limit: 2-8 (recommended 4-6)

Difficulty: Intermediate

Awards: TERPECA Nominee (2022-2023, 2025)

Date visited: July 2026

Following an incredible couple of days at Escaparium Laval, we finished up our Canada escape room adventures at Sauve Qui Peut (SQP) in Saint-Jean, located about 40km southeast of downtown Montreal. We were initially going to do SQP earlier and leave Escaparium to the last day, but we advised to do the drive down to Saint-Jean on the weekend to avoid getting stuck in traffic — and we're so glad we listened!

First up, The Final Exam, a game recommended to me by SQP after I informed them that I have two boys. We had heard mixed things about the room, but just about everyone agreed that it was very different! So how was it?

• The Final Exam was a cool room and definitely one of the more distinctive and memorable games of our Canada trip. I can understand why it was recommended. The background story is that you and your team have been unfairly accused of cheating and will be sent to summer remedial classes unless you can break into the school and remove your names from the list!

• This was not a big room, but the clever use of vertical space made it feel bigger than it really was. I thought the theming was solid, though as a school setting, there wasn't really much they could do aesthetically to wow players. It did feel and look like an older room with some wear and tear, albeit still well maintained.

• The gameplay is more on the physical side, requiring everyone to climb and at least one person to crawl through confined spaces. As such, I understand that it's not a game for everyone, but I can also understand why it's a favourite among younger players.

• The other interesting thing is that the game has very few puzzles, by my count between 6 and 10. However, they are mostly rather elaborate puzzles that can take you a long time to solve. In fact, I think we spent the bulk of our time on the first the puzzles, one of which was a teamwork dexterity puzzles and the other was based on a playground game.

• We came up with multiple variations of the solution for the playground puzzle that we thought were intuitive and logical, but none of them turned out to be correct, and we actually needed a nudge from the GM in the right direction. And even then, it was quite difficult to solve as you needed to be very quick on your feet. We were told by our GM afterward that they do provide modified versions of this puzzle to make it easier for younger teams (such as offering a solution sheet that they simply have to follow).

• Once we got through the initial couple of puzzles, it was smooth sailing for the most part, though the remaining puzzles still required a lot of time to solve as they were often multi-step and multi-faceted — for instance combining hunt and seek with teamwork and observation and physical challenges.

• On the whole, we quite liked this room because of its unusual theme and distinctive puzzles and style of gameplay. Definitely one to add to your visit to SQP if you're looking for something a little different.

Escape time: 47 out of 60 minutes

Theming	Atmosphere	Puzzles	Creativity	Fun
B+	B	A-	A	A-

Verdict: A fun, physical school-themed game with very few but also very elaborate puzzles. Good for younger teams and those who enjoy puzzles involving movement and dexterity.

OVERALL RANK:

H	E	Z	J
B+	A-	A-	A-