Thread: Ikea - 5 level escape room...

Wow, I’m exhausted! Just got back from Ikea...

The best analogy I can think of is it is like an escape room - the first part - Level 1 we’ll call it is walking around getting an idea of your surroundings, working out what is what, then the puzzle begins. If you’re not familiar with how it all works (as we weren’t) then we get to the warehouse area to buy the furniture and found we’d not taken the details down for half the stuff we wanted so we had no idea which aisle certain items we in.

This then means a queue for the 6 kiosks that you can punch in the item details on, which reveals Level 2 and gives you the codes you need to find the items! Yesssss, on a roll now! So, a couple of small items down, now for the new bed base....

Ha ha! Another twist in the plot stopping you getting out! There are 4 seperate items to collect to unlock this part! And guess what - all the pieces are at different corners of the warehouse to add insult to injury! Almost there now, got all that sorted, onto the table and chairs and we’re home free! WRONG!

Another trap! I didn’t see it coming and I fell for it hook, line and sinker! The table was easy - right where it should have been - they do this to lure you into a false sense of security. Now the chairs, easy right? Nope. Go to the location listed and the bay is empty - recheck the computer after waiting in line for a spare screen - 42 in stock, location shows where I just failed to locate them. So now, it’s the third and most diabolical level of the game - having to wait for an Ikea assistant who’s being bombarded from all direction from other level 3 players in the same boat. Finally, it’s my turn, I show him what I need - ‘Oh yeah, their on the end of Aisle 24 because they’re on special’

Rats, I’d walked past them 8 times already and not noticed because they are all in the same brown boxes as everything else!

So now, we have 3 full trolleys and I’m starting to think this might not all fit in the mighty Hilux, but we press on as we can see daylight now! Expecting issues at the checkout, I was pleased to find they make taking the money off you really easy and we sped through there with ease - just have to follow the masses up to the loading area, bring the Hilux up, load and home free! Easy as, we’re almost outside now, what could they trip us up with now?

Level 4 is dodging the Security Gaurd who’s randomly checking people’s receipts and counting the items they have with them - given we have 3 trolleys full, I make a play and slow down, just in time a young family blasts past with a trolley full, headlong into the Security Guard who stops them for a check and we breeze past into the fresh air and sunshine. I’m starting to get the hang of this!

So to the loading area, some nice young Gentlemen usher us to a bay and SWMBO waits with the trolleys while I go find the car.

Level 5 is the maze! I was parked in the basement, so I asked how to get there - ‘use the lift around the corner’ - simples, so I do - only to find it doesn’t travel to the basement, only to the ground floor - now I’m out and loose in the shopping centre looking for a way down to where we started - 5 minutes later I found an escalator going down - they don’t make it easy to get out of these places that’s for sure....

Now driving up 3 levels to the loading dock, spend 10 minutes playing Tetris loading the Hilux, and we’re home free.

I don’t think we set any records on this attempt at nearly 3 hours, but I’m pretty sure I could do it quicker should I ever attempt this style of escape room again...

Now we are home I’m thinking Level 6 is putting it all together - many hours will now follow doing this me thinks...

Lured in once by daughter, bought nothing, never again