IKEAthon Amsterdam #1
👋 Hej! Välkomna!
Straight from Berlin, join us for our first IKEAthon in Amsterdam - a marathon of playful challenges through the depths of Ikea. Grab your friends, make a team, or come solo to compete in a pretty ridiculous competition.
We’re not here for MALM, SLATTUM, or BILLY; we’re here to have GYCKEL!
🔮 How it works
We start with breaking the ice (metaphorically) with games to get everyone warmed up and ready before splitting up into teams of 3-5 for the IKEAthon.
After covering some ground rules, each team gets an envelope 💌 that contains challenges. Teams will have 120 mins to complete all challenges and collect points ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ (like Super Mario Party but real).
We've handcrafted each challenge around the innate playfulness of the store, with a mix of physical and creative challenges. And a bit of detective work.
When the time is up, we’ll get together to share favorite moments and give out some treats and trophies 🥳
🌈 What to expect
🤹 3 hours of curated activities
🪑 Lots of basic chairs on display
💚 Meeting other playful humans
👶 10% escape room, 20% scavenger hunt, 71% unique
🧠 Challenges that work your body and mind
🌭 1€ (veggie) hot dogs
🫶 Play nice, play weird
IKEA is our playground for the day, but it’s also a working store shared with customers and staff. All challenges are designed to be playful without damaging products, disrupting shoppers, or making extra work for the people who work there.
People around us will probably notice some unusual and playful scenes along the way and that energy is part of the experience. If a challenge doesn’t feel appropriate in the moment, just move on to the next or do it at a later point. Good mischief leaves no mess behind.
🍑 Brought to you by
IKEAthon Amsterdam is a Speeels × Out of Bounds experience, co-created especially for Amsterdam. We joined forces through our shared love of playful encounters, joyful absurdity, and turning ordinary places into unexpected adventures.
Out of Bounds
Out of Bounds consists of Zil and Matthias (and some friends sometimes <3) who met at an experience design camp in Romania. Zil came from big timey New York theater stuff and Matthias came from Berlin. Together we decided to curate events that are novel, fun, and designed to bring out the joyful little being in us all. In a perfect world we would be helping people find genuine joy, awe, and silliness in the most ordinary places (and win the lottery).
Speeels
Speeels organises unique, interactive outdoor games designed to challenge, entertain, and connect people. Our events range from high-energy pursuits to mind-bending strategy challenges, all crafted to bring out your inner child while engaging in meaningful social interaction.
🎒 How to sign up
You can join with friends, with a partner, or completely on your own—all are equally welcome. Teams will consist of 3–5 people. If you register with friends, we’ll make sure you stay together. To create balanced teams, smaller groups and solo players may be matched with some lovely new teammates.
We will send the precise meeting location to attendees 24 hours before the event starts.
🐒 FAQs
Starting with the most important question that's probably on your mind:
Are watermelons really a part of the gourd family?
Yes...yes they are.
Is this an official IKEA event?
Nope! IKEAthon Amsterdam is an independent event and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by IKEA. We’re simply big fans of the store’s wonderfully playful setting. All challenges are designed to respect the space, the products, the staff, and everyone doing their Saturday shopping.
Can I come on my own?
Absolutely! Plenty of people join solo. We’ll introduce you to some lovely teammates before the IKEAthon begins, so you won’t have to navigate the showroom wilderness alone.
Can I sign up with friends?
Yes! If you register with friends, we’ll keep you together. Teams consist of 3–5 people, so if your group is smaller, we may add one or more new teammates to create balanced teams.
What types of challenges can I expect?
It's a mixture of physical and creative challenges, with a bit of detective work. As you can tell we don't want to give away too much.
What if I'm running late?
Please try to be punctual as it will be hard to find your team once they're let loose inside IKEA.
Is there a reward for the winner(s)?
Not just for the winners 🐣.
I can’t make it this time, are you doing this again?
Maybe! You can leave us your email in this google form and we’ll let you know if we do another one.