Warning: Spoilers ahead for every season of Squid Game
Summary
With the recent release ofSquid Game’s third and final season on Netflix,fans finally got to witness every single game featured in Hwang Dong-hyuk’s magnum opus. After all, this is one of the reasons this South Korean thriller series became so popular, as the idea of people in dire need of money playing twisted and violent versions of classic kids’ games is as innovative as it is disturbing.
These unfortunate contestants participated in many different games across the event’s two on-screen editions (as seen in seasons 1 to 3) and most of them became synonymous with the series. However, the following games are the best ones in the show, based on their creativity, their intensity, and all the deaths they resulted in.
8Mingle
Simple, Silly, And Effective
The concept ofMingleis simple, but very effective: players stand on a moving platform in the middle of the arena while music plays. The moment the music stops, a number is called out. The players must then form groups based on that number and enter one of the safe rooms. Those who fail are killed by the soldiers.
Naturally, the fast-paced nature of this game led to chaos and violent deaths, which made a disturbing contrast with the “Round and Round” song that was played in-between rounds. Even though not many important characters perished during Mingle,it did result in the sudden death of Kim Young-mi, which made this game even more memorable and tragic.
7Jump Rope
Even Harder Due To Unforeseen Factors
Netflix heavily advertised that Season 3 ofSquid Gamewould feature a new gameincluding both the iconic animatronic doll Young-hee and her boyfriend, Cheol-su. In the season’s third episode, viewers found out that it was none other thanJump Rope.The two giant dolls rotated a giant rope across a parallel bridge that players had to cross while jumping, before time ran out.
This is another simple game that anybody can understand, which made its long-awaited reveal all the more surprising. Crossing the bridge while jumping on time was already challenging, but things got even harder because of two crucial factors. Gi-hun had to cross while holding Jun-hee’s newborn baby, and Player 096 stood at the other end of the bridge to push any players who tried to cross. It was up to Gi-hun to get him out of the way. While Nam-gyu’s death at the hands of Min-su was incredibly satisfying, Jun-hee’s tragic suicide remains one of the most emotional moments in the show.
6Glass Stepping Stones
An Unpredictable Game In Which Many Characters Met Their End
The fifth and penultimate game of the 2020 games wasGlass Stepping Stones, a more sadistic version of hopscotch that took place on two parallel bridges. Players have to cross the bridge in a set order by jumping on glass panels. Some are tempered glass that is safe to stand on, while others are normal glass that will break when someone steps on them. A few players knew how to tell which glass panel was which, but this was still an inherently unpredictable game.
Glass Stepping Stones resulted in sixteen deaths, all of them shocking. The most memorable moment was when Han Mi-nyeo grabbed Jang Deok-su and threw herself at one of the normal glass panels,taking out one of the most despicable players with her. Seong Gi-hun, Cho Sang-woo, and Kang Sae-byeok were the only survivors, but even they were not safe after passing. All the glass panels exploded at the very end, which left Sae-byeok with a lethal injury.
5Sugar Honeycombs
Playing With Candy Has Never Been So Suspenseful
Few games inSquid Gamehave become as popular and iconic asSugar Honeycombs. In it, players have to choose one of four shapes at random (a triangle, a circle, a star, and an umbrella). They each receive a dalgona candy, and must carve their chosen shape without breaking it. If they fail to do so, they are executed by the Pink Soldiers around them.
For such a simple premise, it is incredible how intense this game got. This was one of the first times when it seemed like Seong Gi-hun was going to die,but seeing him find a way to succeed was extremely satisfying. As always,Squid Gameis full of surprises, because all the players that survived but failed to carve their shapes in time were killed by a firing squad at the very end.
4Six-Legged Pentathlon
Led To Epic And Victorious Moments
Season 2’sSix-Legged Pentathlonis one of the most fun, creative, and interesting games. Teams of five players with their legs tied together have to complete five mini-games in order and reach the end before time runs out. But there’s a caveat: they have to decide who’s going to clear each mini-game in advance, and if they can’t keep moving until it’s cleared.
The Six-Legged Pentathlon is technically five games in one, which keeps things fresh and hectic. Legendary moments took place during this game.Cho Hyun-ju slapped Seon-nyeo to make her come into her senses and finally complete her mini-game. And there was Gi-hun’s glorious montage, showing his team quickly clearing all the mini-games, until In-ho tried to sabotage them at the last minute.
3Red Light, Green Light
The Most Iconic Kids’ Game In The Series
Red Light, Green Light, the first game in the entire show, had to show the players (and, by extension, the audience) how dark, gruesome and twisted these games were going to be, and it definitely succeeded in that regard. Since variations of Red Light, Green Light are played by kids around the entire world, it was easy for worldwide audiences to understand.
The 2020 iteration of this game seemed fun and simple at first, but the moment a player moved when he wasn’t supposed to and was killed by one of the guards immediately cemented the tone of the rest of the show. Red Light, Green Light isthe only game to appear in both editions, as it was also the opening event of the 2024 games. Despite the audiences’ familiarity, this second version was still shocking and suspenseful, especially during the infamous “Fly Me to the Moon” montage.
2Hide And Seek
Season 3 Kicked Off With A Surprisingly Violent Game
There seems to be a theme in this show of making the fourth game the cruelest and most gruesome. It happened with Marbles in Season 1,and again withHide and Seekat the beginning of Season 3. Players were split into two teams, without knowing that they were going to face each other in a game of hide-and-seek. One group would have to hide, and the other would have to find and execute them.
Hide and Seek is cruel not only because it pits the players against each other, but also because it’s the only game in which they are actively forced to kill each other. The stargazing labyrinth in which the game takes place made things even more confusing and chaotic. Hide and Seek resulted in the deaths of many beloved characters, like Cho Hyun-ju, Park Yong-sik, Seon-nyeo, and Kang Dae-ho. It proved to audiences that Season 3 was going to be the darkest one yet.
1Marbles
The Game That Made People Cry Their Eyes Out
Most fans ofSquid Gamestill considerMarblesto be the highest point of the series, and for good reason. As the fourth game of its respective edition, it forced players to choose a partner, only to reveal that they’d have to face each other in a game of marbles of their choice. Whoever had the fewest marbles at the end would be eliminated.
This simple but cruel premise led to many emotional moments between this beloved cast of characters. Kang Sae-byeok befriended Ji-yeong, who ended up sacrificing herself so that her new friend could keep living. Gi-hun was forced to play with Il-nam, whose mental health was declining, so the main character had to trick him in order to win. (Of course, it was later revealed that the old man was actually the organizer of the games.) But the biggest highlight of Marbles was the tragic death of Ali Abdul. He was betrayed by his friend Cho Sang-woo at the very end, resulting in a shocking death scene that broke the hearts of audiences around the world.
