"I'm an author of board games and designed a lot of treasure hunts before the escape game adventure".

Rémy Lapalus is game designer at Kryptex. He is in charge of designing puzzles and laying out the game space. Before becoming a game designer, he was in charge of events for a board game store. It was his passion for gaming that led him to the escape game.

What is your role as game designer at Kryptex?

I'm in charge of projects from the very beginning. The game designer designs the puzzles and lays out the spaces. He takes care of the scenography, decoration and atmosphere. He does all this on the PC. I'm also the link between the workshop and the subcontractors. In short, I design everything from A to Z on the IT side. 

What is your initial training? What brought you to escape games?

I trained as a civil engineer and worked in the construction industry for ten years. At the same time, I've always had a passion for board games. This passion became so all-consuming that I decided to leave my job as an engineer to become co-manager of a board game store where I was in charge of events. I designed escape games and ephemeral treasure hunts for a variety of customers, including colleges and public bodies. I also played an active role in the creation of the Saint-Etienne Board Game Festival, where I met the manager of a company specializing in escape games. Following the health crisis, I had to stop my activity and was hired by this company. 

What types of games have you already designed?

I'm a board game author. One of my board games is about to be published and released commercially. I've designed a lot of treasure hunts in museums, but also for secondary schools, before embarking on the escape game adventure. I've also designed explore games, a treasure hunt in Belgium, another game in a museum and an escape game in a château in Aubigny-sur-Nère. I also worked on an Arsène Lupin room in Bordeaux. 

Which projects are you most proud of?

My board game, of course. The Arsène Lupin project, soon to open in Bordeaux, is my first real venue. So it's an important moment. Players take on the role of detectives who enter Arsène Lupin's hideout. There, they will discover the different facets of the character. I can't really say much more without revealing key elements of the plot. What I can say is that this is a game with a final twist.