Who hasn't played hide and seek in their younger years?
I even play it now (when the inlaws come over that is).
But a group in the Netherlands is taking the game to a whole new level. They wanted to organize a game of hide and seek at a massive Ikea store in Amsterdam and more than 19,000 people signed up.
Pretending not to completely freaked out, a store spokesperson said, while Ikea does not want to stop people from having fun, it is just not safe to have that many people in the store playing a game.
An event at a second store saw 13,000 people sign up and once again had Ikea officials freaking out and shutting down the fun and games.
"In general we are happy our customers are playful and want to have fun together with friends and family,” said the spokesperson. “But unfortunately this hide and seek phenomenon has reached proportions where we can no longer guarantee the security of those who are playing or our customers and employees.”
I did not even know there was such a thing as an Ikea hide and seek phenomenon.
My understanding is someone noticed the stores were so large they make a great place for the age-old game and they invited a few friends to play. Then those friends invited a few friends and the next thing you know thousands of people wanted to get in on the fun.
I have been to Ikea stores – mostly because my wife makes me. She loves Ikea. She loves to wander around and look at all the different items and get ideas for what she would like to do in our home.
I follow her like a lost puppy dog trying not to look too bored, because while I do not love Ikea, I do love my wife, so it is part of my husbandly duties.
Kind of like putting up with, I mean, enjoying a delightful visit from those inlaws I was telling you about earlier.
We have purchased a few items from Ikea which, of course, has to be assembled by the purchaser using a wonderfully 'informative' set of instructions. Basically, they are a piece of paper with a bunch of diagrams and numbers on them.
All you have to do is hold boards A, C, D and F while inserting screws M, L, Y and Q. It is that simple. And as long as you happen to have six hands and a slinky for a spine because you have to twist in so many different directions at once, it is a piece of cake.
Anyway, Ikea stores are large with a lot of places to hide, so I can understand why it is such a great place to play the game.
I also read it has been going on for a while, but is now reaching epic proportions and is being shut down in the name of safety.
When my kids were little, they loved playing hide and seek and they always wanted dad to play.
I was more than happy to oblige, but found available hiding spaces somewhat lacking.
Because they were little kids they could crawl in to, under and behind things. At 6'4” and over 200 pounds, I was much more restricted in my places of hiding.
"I found you behind the door again, dad.”
"I found you in a closet, dad.”
"I found you behind a different door, dad.”
"I found you in a different closet, dad.”
You get the idea.
The good part was, they were so young it was always a thrill to find me.
It was then my turn to find them and I would always have a “hard time” locating them and would make a big deal out of it when I did find them.
My children are too old for hide and seek, or any of the kiddie games we used to play.
But it would seem hide and seek in a department store has no age limit, so maybe we will play again. I just hope Ikea has lots of doors and closets.
Copyright 2015, Darren Handschuh
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