Assembly is a Glulx interactive fiction game written with Inform 7 and is © 2023 by Ben Kirwin. It was an entry in IF Comp 2023 where it took NTH place.
In this Ikea-inspired game, you're finishing assembling furniture for your new apartment, but the DÖLMEN table somehow transports you back to the store after hours! To escape the store and foil a sinister plot, you'll need to assemble and disassemble lots of furniture with strange names!
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 of the game.
SPOILERS AHEAD. Reading a walkthrough prematurely can sometimes diminish one's enjoyment of an interactive fiction game. Please make an honest effort to play the game before reading this walkthrough.
In the showrooms, follow the arrows to go towards the restaurant, or go in the "from" direction to go the other way towards the entrance escalator. From the restaurant, always go west to return to the showrooms.
Bedroom
> x me. x box. open it.
> take booklet.
> put screws in tabletop.
> put pegs in legs.
> attach legs to tabletop.
> fasten nuts to screws.
> x table. touch it. (You travel to...)
Entrance hall
Note: The cart cannot be pushed up the escalator.
> x cart. x closet. open it. (locked)
> x doors. open doors. (locked)
> x sun. x escalator.
> u.
Showroom (three locations)
The showrooms are depicted as a maze, but it's really three rooms joined linearally; you just need to follow the arrows towards the restaurant, or go in the "from" direction to return to the entrance escalator. The arrows are randomized as you change rooms. Follow the arrows.
Each showroom features two of five random items from the Fall 2023 collection which you must examine to learn their product names.
As near as I can tell, the initial layout of the showrooms is fixed until you backtrack or go off the path, so this route should be both correct and sufficient; don't skip examining the items.
> x wallpaper. ("MAIJA")
> x chandelier. ("POUL")
> n.
> x shelving. ("DIETER")
> x table. ("FLORENCE")
> e.
> x island. ("MARTHA")
> w.
Restaurant
> x tables. x escalator. x wardrobe. enter it.
Maintenance closet
> x door. open it. (locked)
> x chest. open it. (need more light)
> take chest. (no: too big)
> x wardrobe. x booket. ("HINDER"; auto-taking the booklet)
> out.
Restaurant
> detach top. detach side. (The escalator is clear.)
> drop all. d.
Market hall
> x henge. x entrance door. w.
Entrance hall
> push cart e.
Market hall
> x office door. x window. e. (locked)
> n.
Self-serve furniture area
> x figures. x cairn. x racks.
> take DIETER. take POUL. take FLORENCE.
> s.
Market hall
> drop all.
> open DIETER. take booklet.
> put screws in tracks. put pins in tracks.
> put shelves on pins.
> climb shelving. enter window.
Back office
> open door. x desk. x lamp.
> x bulb. x outlet. x cord. (short)
> open upper.
> x POULSEN booklet. unscrew bulb. unplug cord.
> x SKATTKISTA booklet. (need screwdriver and hex key)
> put all on desk.
> w. u.
Restaurant
> take all. d. e.
Back office
> read HINDER book. attach side to base.
> attach wardrobe top to side.
> put book on desk.
> w.
Market hall
> open POUL. read POUL book.
> screw tube into base.
> screw holder into tube.
> attach shades to holder. take lamp.
> e.
Back office
> take bulb. screw bulb in POUL lamp.
> put POUL book on desk. x cord.
> plug long cord. take POUL lamp.
> in. (entering the wardrobe to return to...)
Maintenance closet
Note: The desk lamp's cord is too short to reach into here.
> x chest. open it.
> take screwdriver. drop lamp.
> out. w.
Market hall
> open FLORENCE. take key.
> e.
Back office
> x SKATTKISTA book.
> unscrew grub screws. (using hex key)
> remove cabinet top.
> remove upper drawer.
> unscrew machine screws.
> remove divider.
> drop all. x WILLIAM.
> w. n.
Self-serve furniture area
> remove nuts. remove bolts. remove braces.
> remove decking. (No, but the rack lists westward.)
> push rack. g. z.
You lose everything, and the way back is blocked.
> w.
Checkout area
You can try to enter the cairn from here, but that would be foolish. You're not going to do that, right?
> w.
Exit hall
A cultist locks the doors so you can't leave, and a fire is now raging in the self-serve area. Fortunately for you, the author is very kind: the fire never quite reaches you while you look for a way to escape.
> search debris. take box. ("DÖLMEN")
> open box. read book.
> put screws in tabletop. put pegs in legs.
> attach legs to tabletop. fasten nuts to screws.
> touch table.
You return to your apartment. Well done.
* * * THE END * * *
This is the response to CREDITS:
Thanks to Meara Kirwin, Mel Jason, Doug Egan, and Lance Cirone for beta testing, writing help, and sage advice. Without their help this would have been a very bad game. (Whether it is now any good is left for the reader to assess.)
Thanks as well to the authors of Inform 7 and the following extensions:
Standard Rules version 3/120430 by Graham Nelson
Far Away version 5/160517 by Jon Ingold
Whenever you open a furniture box, all of its contents are placed onto the floor and the box itself is discarded.
Whenever you are assembling or disassembling furniture, you must be holding its instruction booklet to succeed, even if all you're trying to do is unscrew a light bulb.
Follow the booklet's instructions as written to assemble something. Do the opposite actions in reverse order to disassemble something.
Carry only one booklet at a time. This greatly helps resolve disambiguation issues in favour of the parts associated with the booklet.
Except for the bulb and hex key, parts are not transferable to other pieces of furniture. You cannot, for example, assemble the FLORENCE table with the HINDER top; that would be a HINDERENCE.
The DÖLMEN is a two-legged table that resembles the Greek letter pi.
The HINDER is a magical wardrobe initially blocking the escalator in the restaurant. Another HINDER wardrobe is in the maintenance closet.
The DIETER is a strong shelving unit.
The POUL is a lamp with a long cord.
The POULSEN is the desk lamp on the office desk.
The FLORENCE is a glass-topped table.
The SKATTKISTA is the office's filing cabinet.
The WILLIAM is a rack in the self-serve furniture area.
This walkthrough is provided free of charge since the work it's based on has less than fifteen locations. Please consider it a thank you for your support!
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