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Squid Game might have effectively ruined nostalgic childhood games for fans because every game has a deadly twist and lethal consequences. With each task upping the ante over three seasons in this dystopian horror landscape, fans move closer to the show's climax: Will Gi-hun be able to end the game once and for all?
The reason the games become instantly dangerous is because the creators know how to prey on the Players' desperation to win. Each character has a backstory and a dire reason they must win the 45.6 billion Won. So they will do what it takes, even murder.
Here are the seven most dangerous challenges in Squid Game, chosen based on their difficulty and tragic consequences.
Disclaimer: All opinions in this article belong solely to the writer. Spoilers for all three seasons ahead. The list is in no particular order.
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7 most dangerous challenges in Squid Game seasons 1-3
1) Sky Squid Game (Season 3, Episodes 5 & 6)
As the final game of the show, the stakes were higher than ever before. The players found themselves standing on a square tower, with a triangle and a circular tower looming before them. On each tower, they got time to eliminate one person by playing a pushing game. Technically, that means only three people need to be pushed for the rest to be safe.
What made this game in the Squid Game season 3 finale so dangerous was how fast alliances shifted. Whether it's Player 333, AKA Lee Myung-gi, turning on his own newborn daughter, or Gi-hun ultimately sacrificing himself so that the newborn survives, the game became a tragic symbol of the show's bleak premise.
2) Glass Bridge (Season 1, Episode 7)
Hopscotch with a death twist, this glass stepping game might sound simple, but it is impossible to crack. The players line up to cross a bridge by jumping from one panel to the next. Everyone always has two panels free in front of them. They have to choose which panel to land on and jump. The twist? The panels are made up of two types of glass. One is safe, while the other cracks and plunges people to their deaths.
The entire game is a death trap and a cruel joke on the players in Squid Game because nobody can predict which glass is which. Everyone towards the back of the line needs to remember which panel is safe to step on, or risk dying trying to play. Thirteen players die in this game, some accidentally, some cruelly pushed, and others choose to take their own lives.
Only three players--Gi-hun, Sang-woo, and Sae-byeok--survive the utter blood bath.
3) Six-legged pentathlon (Season 2, Episodes 4 & 5)
Group games never bode well in the Squid Game universe because betrayal is always on the menu. Five members are teamed up, and their legs are shackled together for the race. Along the way, the team must play five mini-games — Ddakji, Biseokchigi, Gonggi, Paengi Chigi, and Jegi — to advance to the next round.
While the infinite chances to try the mini-games until players succeed make it approachable, the time restriction, combined with teams lacking cohesiveness, makes the challenge maddening. This resulted in over a hundred deaths, which might sound like a regular occurrence in the game's universe, but is a horrific image to contemplate.
4) Keys and Knives (Season 3, Episode 2)
This is the deadly version of hide and seek. The red team is given knives to go on the offensive and kill players, while the blue team is given keys to find exits and escape before getting caught. The Reds need to kill to survive, and the Blues need to ensure they don't alert anyone to their presence. Which, in the case of a struggle or an attack, will become impossible.
This makes the game extremely violent and eerie, with fans waiting with bated breath to see what happens. Some of the most tragic deaths in Squid Game season 3 happen in this round, with Geum-ja sacrificing her son to save new mother Jun-hee, Myung-gi killing Hyun-ju, Gi-hun strangling Dae-ho to death, and Seon-Nyeo getting killed after a case of mistaken identity.
5) Tug of War (Season 1, Episodes 4 & 5)
While other childhood games utilize surprise attacks, knowledge of the game, or simple mental prowess to succeed, tug of war requires immense physical strength, which may not be possible for most people struggling with poverty. The unfavorable odds make the game perilous from the outset.
The objective of each team of ten is to pull the rope and drag the other team to the gap in the platform where they plummet to their deaths. Everything comes down to probability, which is particularly dangerous in the Squid Game world, as anything can happen. Even if a particular player is strong, there is no guarantee that the other nine players will be, and they end up dying anyway.
A staggering 50% of the players have to die for the others to proceed to the next round.
6) Mingle (Season 2, Episodes 5 & 6)
One of the most unpredictable games in Squid Game is Mingle. All the Players stand on a merry-go-round platform. Once the platform stops moving, a number is announced, indicating the number of people allowed in the allotted rooms. Before the time runs out, players need to find a spot for themselves in the rooms, or everyone in that room gets killed.
Mingle goes beyond being a simple numbers game and pokes at the weak links of the players. Alliances need to be broken, and new camaraderie needs to be formed in the blink of an eye to survive. In the tragic commotion, Young-Mi is pushed to the floor, and Myung-gi stops Hyun-ju from helping her, resulting in her being killed.
7) Red Light Green Light (Season 1, Episode 1 and Season 2, Episode 3)
The premise of the game itself is simple: a giant robotic doll calls out the Korean version of "red light, green light." All the players must remain still when the doll turns around, and those who don't are eliminated. But the dangers of this game lie in the naivety of the players who believe it's just a game.
In the pilot, when everyone realizes that elimination means death, the sudden blood and destruction cause everyone to run haphazardly, leading to large-scale killings in the very first episode. So, when this game repeats in Season 2, and Gi-hun exclaims that he has already played the game before, fans know how dangerous it can become.
Watch all episodes of Squid Game on Netflix.
