The Armory

When I heard about City 13 from Wisconsin closing down in January 2025, I was bummed as I really wanted to play Save the City, which was a 4 different room, 4hr long, escape adventure. Last summer when visiting Twisted Limits in McHenry, I learned that TL along with some new owners would be partnering to rebuild City 13’s rooms, and resurrect the Save the City experience. Through this partnership, City Limits Escape Rooms was created by first deconstructing the old City 13 rooms in Wisconsin, and recreating the Save the City experience (all 4 distinct rooms and themed hallways) in Lakemoor, IL, with some improvements to the games/sets/puzzles to make it their own. City Limits website is still currently under construction, but they recently opened for business in May 2026, and can be booked by calling the number on their website. We literally called them an hr before we wanted to play and they accommodated our needs. Upon arrival at CL, the lobby sets a nice tone with a futuristic vibe and a clean look. We were greeted by one of the owners, Michelle, with her daughter Sam, whom GM’d the game for us. Since they just opened, Michelle explained to us how they acquired the games and how the building process has gone so far. Very interesting to learn about everything. Since it would only be 2 of us on a random Wednesday evening, we decided to play The Armory, which is City Limits’ easiest room and most basic in terms of tech, yet there still was quite a bit of fun toys/puzzles throughout. The set instantly grabs you and immerses you as it feels like you are in a beat-up weapons room. The room lacks lighting in order to set the mood, but there is enough lighting to not make it a significant obstacle. There are plenty of objects to find, and there are additional objects found that may not get utilized, so you need to distinguish. Flow to the room was ok, but there were a few times where we needed to take another look at everything (or receive a nudge) on what to work on next. There was only 1 lock and 2 keyed locks in the game, and each were theme appropriate, so several fun puzzles to solve which used mechanics or tech. There was 1 math related puzzle using tech which could stump people for a bit, but I actually enjoyed this puzzle a lot. Although there were multiple areas to explore, I would recommend 2-4 people for this room as it is pretty straightforward and not the largest space (2 is probably perfect if you do this room as a standalone game). This room is probably more appreciated when you are completing the Save the City Adventure, as it would be even more exciting when you get to use objects discovered in a completely different room. With all of this said, and knowing this would be CL’s most basic experience, we still had a fun experience. After we concluded our game, we got a tour through the rest of the facility, taking a quick peek at the other rooms, areas in the building for additional games, their neighboring Racing venue (which also has VR Escape Rooms), and then their Boardwalk Cafe & Games (which is their board games, life-size games, and Food/Beverage venue). It is clear that CL is in this for the long haul and is making very good decisions on how to run not only a successful Escape Room, but an entertainment complex. Michelle was very open to suggestions on how we thought the room went and how the entire building of rooms looked and felt overall, and has a good plan for their future. Michelle said that their team would continue to make improvements to all of the games as they get played so they can continue to get better with the flow. In addition, Michelle said that a great customer experience is what they are striving for, so if people need a few extra minutes to experience the entire room, they will accommodate that. I see great things coming from City Limits Escape Rooms and am looking forward to playing all of their rooms (or possibly the Save the City Adventure) in the future! Highly recommend checking them out.