All the 'Squid Game' challenges ranked from easiest to hardest
Netflix's " Squid Game" features several children's games that are amped up to a dangerous level.
The series, which released its final season on Friday, follows a group of people in debt who compete in these games to win billions of South Korean Won. However, the players are killed if they lose the game.
Across the three seasons, people compete in 11 different games, with one game that was repeated across the two seasons.
Here's the games ranked based on their survivability.
Squid Game
The final game of season one is Squid Game, which the show is named after.
In the real-life South Korean children's game, players try to reach a goal zone while their opponents attempt to block them. In the show, each player is equipped with knives to harm their opponent until they can no longer move.
You have a 50/50 chance of survival since it's one of the few challenges where you're only up against one other player. Of course, that can be skewed based on your strength and ability to fight versus your opponent's.
This game is much more in your control than other games, giving you a higher chance of survival.
Sky Squid Game
In Sky Squid Game, the final game of season three, the players are put on a very tall stone structure and told to push at least one player off the structure to their deaths before the time runs out. After one round, they move to another smaller stone structure, and the game is repeated. There are three rounds of this game.
In the show, player 100 and his group of men have the right idea for success: they team up and push out one of the other players each round. However, neither player trusts the alliance, leading to it falling apart.
With nine competitors and only a minimum of three needing to be killed, you have a high chance of survival compared to most of the games. Avoid being the least liked player in the group, keep aware of any backstabbers, and make sure you always have the pole (the only weapon to push people off), and you've survived the Sky Squid Game.
Marbles
In season one, episode six, players are told to pair up before learning they are playing Marbles, which is a game within a game. They are each given a bag of marbles and told they must choose a game to win their opponent's bag. The winner moves on, the loser dies.
Since most players teamed up with an ally or close friend, this game brutally manipulated their emotions and trust, forcing them to turn on their allies. So there's a chance you would forfeit to let your partner go through.
If you decide to play, the difficult part is persuading your partner to play a game in which you think you'll have an advantage. But you may still get lucky and win on a random game, so we're not putting this game higher on the ranking.
Mingle
In Mingle, the game shown in season two, episode six, players ride on a carousel until a number is called out. Then, they have run into a room in a group the same size as that number before time runs out.
Of course, this game can quickly become chaotic as players forcefully take people into rooms or drive them out. If you make the right alliances beforehand, you have quite a good chance of succeeding.
Ensure you're never the odd one out, and you should be fine.
Dalgona
In Sugar Honeycombs — known to many fans as the Dalgona challenge — players must cut a shape out of a biscuit without breaking it. They get shot if they don't complete the game in 10 minutes or break the biscuit.
Dalgona requires speed and care, which are often two conflicting attributes. Some people may be able to do both, but many won't be able to handle this game under the pressure of their possible death and hearing people being shot around them.
Red Light, Green Light
In Red Light, Green Light, the opening game in seasons one and two, players must run to a finish line in five minutes. The twist is that a rotating doll at the finish line turns sporadically during the game. A player is shot dead if a doll sees them move or they don't reach the finish line in time.
The pressure is the worst part of this game. Can you keep your cool and stay still when people around you are getting shot? Can you make sure you won't trip? And there's a time limit, too, so you can't be too slow. All these factors culminate in a game that is a lot harder than it seems.
Even with the help of Seong Gi-hun, the show's lead character, who has played the game before, many people still died in season two. That's why we're putting this in the middle of our ranking.
Jump Rope
The final 24 players play Jump Rope in season three, episode three. Except that the rope is a giant rotating metal bar, and they have to cross a bridge with a small gap in the center, while avoiding being hit by the bar. If you get hit, you fall off the bridge, which is very high in the air, and die on impact.
It's a game that looks relatively easy to complete. The two challenges are having enough energy to keep jumping until you reach the end, and timing your jump over the gap in the middle so you don't get hit by the bar.
But this game can also become more complicated based on the players around you. They can push, stop you from going forward, or tire you out. The biggest threat here is your fellow players, and that unpredictability makes this game much harder.
Tug of War
In season one, episode four, players are asked to form teams to play Tug of War. Two teams are taken to high platforms, chained to a rope, and instructed to pull the other over the edge to their death.
You may be able to trick your way to win, like Gi-hun's team did in the show, but in most cases, the game is a matter of strength and resilience. You could put in all your energy, but if you're against a stronger team, there's no way to survive this.
Six-Legged Pentathlon
In the second game of season two, players get into teams of five, are chained together, and have to race another team around a circuit. But at five sections in the circuit, the team has to stop and complete a minigame to move forward. A different member has to do each challenge. You are shot if the other team reaches the finish line first, or neither team makes it to the finish line in time.
This is another game in which you rely on your fellow players and hope your allies have the right skills to complete the five tasks. Plus, some of the minigames are pretty hard, especially under the pressure of death, making this one of the most difficult games to survive.
Hide and Seek
The first game of season three is Hide and Seek, in which players are randomly assigned to the hiding or seeking team.
Hiders are given one of three types of keys to open doors and have to either survive for 30 minutes or find the exit to escape. Seekers are given knives and must kill at least one hider to pass the game.
If you're a hider, your chances of winning are slim. Players learn halfway through the game that they need all three keys to get through all the doors to survive and exit the game. But working together makes you a bigger target for the seekers, and the exits seem near impossible to find in the episode since only two players could find them. Your best bet is to find a good hiding spot and hope you can fight any seekers that find you.
The seekers get an advantage of having a knife, but a weapon is useless if you don't know how to use it, or face someone skilled enough to disarm you. Hyun-ju took out multiple seekers, and she's probably not the only one.
Although Hide and Seek doesn't have the highest kill count in the show, over half the players died in it, making it the second toughest game to survive.
Glass Bridge
In Glass Bridge, players pick jerseys that put them in order from one to 16 and are instructed to cross a bridge of two columns of glass platforms. The catch is that one glass platform in each row is too weak to carry your weight, leading to you falling to your death.
This is the cruellest game of the entire show. While other games test your strength, intelligence, agility, or other skills, this game is pure chance. If you're anywhere in the top 12 spots, you'll have to be the luckiest person in the world to get to the end without stepping on the wrong platform.
Players at the back have to hope the other players are willing to be sacrificial lambs, or no one will make it to the finish line. If every game were as difficult as this one, no one would be left alive by the end of the show.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Business Upturn
22 minutes ago
- Business Upturn
Is ‘Squid Game' returning for season 4? Everything we know so far
By Aman Shukla Published on June 28, 2025, 17:30 IST Last updated June 28, 2025, 11:04 IST If you're anything like me, you've probably been glued to Netflix, binge-watching Squid Game Season 3, which dropped on June 27, 2025. The show's wild ride of deadly games, gut-punching drama, and sharp jabs at society has kept us hooked since that first Red Light, Green Light game. But now that Season 3 is out, wrapping up Seong Gi-hun's story, everyone's asking: is Squid Game Season 4 happening, or is this the end? Let's dive into everything we know about the show's future. So, Is Squid Game Season 4 Happening? Straight to the point: no, Squid Game Season 4 isn't in the cards. Hwang Dong-hyuk, the mastermind behind the series, has been clear that Season 3 is the final chapter for the main story. At a press conference in Seoul, he said, 'We don't have plans for a fourth season. That was decided while working on Season 3.' He's poured his heart into telling Gi-hun's tale, and after years of crafting this dystopian world—starting with his first draft in 2009—he's ready to close the book on it. Hwang's also been open about how grueling the process was. He's mentioned losing teeth from the stress of making the show, which sounds like a nightmare. So, it makes sense he'd want to wrap things up after three seasons. That said, he's not slamming the door shut on the Squid Game universe entirely—just the main storyline with Gi-hun. Why End It After Season 3? Hwang's decision to stop at Season 3 isn't just about burnout. He's said in interviews, like one with The Hollywood Reporter , that he feels he's told the story he set out to tell. The show's always been about more than just survival games; it's a raw look at how society chews people up, especially through Gi-hun's eyes. By the end of Season 3, Hwang believes he's landed that message. Plus, let's be real—stretching the show further could get stale. Some critics, like folks at ScreenRant , have pointed out that another season of Gi-hun fighting the game's shadowy organizers might feel like retreading old ground. Seasons 2 and 3 were shot back-to-back and written as one big arc, split for maximum impact. It's a smart move to go out on a high note rather than risk dragging things out. Ahmedabad Plane Crash Aman Shukla is a post-graduate in mass communication . A media enthusiast who has a strong hold on communication ,content writing and copy writing. Aman is currently working as journalist at


Business Upturn
23 minutes ago
- Business Upturn
Alice in Borderland Season 3: Everything we know so far
By Aman Shukla Published on June 28, 2025, 19:00 IST Last updated June 28, 2025, 12:24 IST Hey there, Alice in Borderland fans! The thrilling Japanese sci-fi series is gearing up for its third season, and we're just as excited as you are to dive back into the wild, dangerous world of Borderland. After the jaw-dropping ending of Season 2, complete with that mysterious Joker card, there's so much to look forward to. Here's a rundown of everything we know so far about Alice in Borderland Season 3. Alice in Borderland Season 2 Release Date Get ready to mark your calendars— Alice in Borderland Season 3 is set to hit Netflix in September 2025! While we don't have an exact date yet, Netflix confirmed the release window during their Next on Netflix 2025 Japan event, along with some tantalizing first-look images. Filming kicked off in September 2023 and wrapped sometime in early 2024, so the show's been in post-production to bring those epic game sequences to life. Given the nine-month gap between filming and release for Season 2, September 2025 feels right on track. Stay tuned for a precise date as we get closer Alice in Borderland Season 2 Cast Update The heart of Alice in Borderland is its characters, and we're thrilled to know some fan favorites are returning. Netflix has confirmed that Kento Yamazaki will reprise his role as Ryōhei Arisu, the clever, video game-obsessed hero, and Tao Tsuchiya is back as Yuzuha Usagi, the tough mountain climber who's Arisu's partner in survival (and maybe more). Their chemistry carried us through the first two seasons, and we can't wait to see how their story evolves. Other characters who survived Season 2 and might return include: Nijirō Murayama as Chishiya , the sly and strategic player. Aya Asahina as Kuina , the fierce fighter with a heart of gold. Ayaka Miyoshi as Ann , the cool-headed analyst. Dori Sakurada as Niragi , the unpredictable troublemaker who somehow keeps surviving. Shô Aoyagi as Aguni , the tough-as-nails leader with a tragic past. Yuri Tsunematsu as Heiya, the archery-skilled high schooler who became a fan favorite in Season 2. There's also buzz about Riisa Naka possibly returning as Mira, the Queen of Hearts, maybe as a ghostly figure like Hatter in Season 2, though nothing's confirmed. And with the Joker card looming, we might see new faces or even characters like Banda and Yaba from the Jack of Hearts game stepping up as villains. No full cast list yet, but we're keeping our fingers crossed for more updates Alice in Borderland Season 2 Potential Plot Season 2 ended with a massive twist: after Arisu and Usagi defeated the Queen of Hearts and woke up in a hospital, thinking they'd escaped Borderland, a gust of wind scattered a deck of cards, leaving only the Joker card behind. This has fans buzzing—does it mean they're still trapped in the game? Here's what we can piece together about Season 3's plot: An Original Story : The first two seasons adapted Haro Aso's manga, but Season 3 will dive into uncharted territory with an original storyline, since the main manga ended where Season 2 did. Manga creator Haro Aso is still involved, so expect the same mind-bending intensity. The Joker's Role : In the manga, the Joker is a 'ferryman' who guides players back to the real world, but the show's teaser hints at a more sinister role, possibly as a manipulative game master. This could mean new, psychologically twisted games that mess with reality itself, testing Arisu and Usagi's grip on what's real. Alice in Wonderland Vibes : The show loves its Alice in Wonderland references, and Season 3 might introduce characters like Tweedledum and Tweedledee , who haven't appeared yet. Expect more trippy, fairytale-inspired challenges. Reality or Illusion?: The Season 2 finale suggested the players were in a limbo state after a meteor strike, caught between life and death. Season 3 could explore whether they're truly back in the real world or stuck in a virtual reality—or even a new layer of the Borderland games. There's also talk of drawing inspiration from Aso's spin-off manga, like Alice in Borderland: Retry , where Arisu returns to Borderland as a married man, or Alice on Border Road , set in Kyoto. While these might not be adapted directly, they could spark ideas for new games or settings. Whatever happens, expect high-stakes action, emotional depth, and plenty of surprises. Ahmedabad Plane Crash Aman Shukla is a post-graduate in mass communication . A media enthusiast who has a strong hold on communication ,content writing and copy writing. Aman is currently working as journalist at
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
If You Enjoyed ‘Dept Q', Don't Sleep on New Prestige Crime Series ‘Smoke'
There's a lot of noise around the big blockbusters coming out right now – Fast cars! Dinosaurs! Jonathan Bailey's flip flops! – but while the cinemas are busy whipping themselves into a frenzy, a new prestige drama is quietly dropping onto television screens. As Netflix's recent Dept Q showed, a high-calibre, low-key crime thriller can scratch a different kind of itch, and if you've burned your way through that one, you're in luck: another superior offering is on its way. Smoke, which consists of nine hour-long episodes, isn't set in dreary old Britain/Scotland, but takes place in dreary young America, in an unspecified state. It does, however, star several British actors, including a chisel-jawed Taron Egerton in the lead, who also executively produces the series. Egerton plays Dave Gudsen, an amiable and ominously named firefighter turned arson investigator who is wrestling with memories of the traumatic conflagration that ended his former career. Dave is also getting flak (I stopped myself saying 'heat' – you're welcome) from his boss (an excellent Greg Kinnear) for failing to identify the two serial arsonists who are running rampant through the local area. One of them, 'The Divide and Conquer' arsonist, is setting off simultaneous fires in multiple public locations including supermarkets, so that the fire departments are stretched beyond capacity. The other, the 'Milkjug' guy, is burning down ordinary people's houses with cooking oil, though viewers are given more than a tip-off of who that might be with the introduction of downtrodden fry cook Freddy (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine). Dave, however, is having minimal success tracking down either culprit – in fact, he seems rather distracted by his own literary ambitions, as he's got a schlocky fictionalised memoir on the go – and the situation is raging out of control. The corporation that owns the supermarkets isn't happy and is threatening to take action against the whole department; that, if not people's houses burning down, might be what's needed to light a firecracker up Dave's... (sorry but it's so hard!). What does Dave need? Why, a partner of course! And preferably one towards whom he can feel mild animosity, if not outright contempt. Enter Michelle Calderon (another conspicuous name, from the Spanish for 'cauldron'), played by the impressively self-contained Jurnee Smollett, a detective from a different police force who has been assigned to assist Dave for reasons that aren't entirely clear. Michelle has secrets, including a toxic affair with her former boss (another Brit, Rafe Spall) and some fire-related trauma from her earlier life. She's doing her best to block it out – mostly by exercise – but the past, as we know, doesn't like to stay buried. Of course these elements are all familiar, some might say hackneyed, tropes of the crime genre, but what elevates Smoke – which is based on the true-crime podcast Firebug – is the quality of its cast and, thanks to writer Dennis Lehane (Gone Baby Gone, Shutter Island), who created and wrote the series, its big-swinging script. 'Fire doesn't give a fuck about your wallet, or the size of your gun, or the size of your dick you wish was the size of your gun,' narrates Egerton, presumably quoting from the book Dave's writing in giant letters in his notepad (maybe it's not so bad after all!). It's punchy stuff. Smoke looks great too – all desaturated compositions of sickly grey-greens, with the striking billows of pale yellow when a fire is burning white-hot. And fire really is staggering beautiful, as much as it is terrifying and obliterating and all the other things that get writer-mode Dave so hot under the collar. It's certainly a change to have a drama that focuses on ash dispersal rather than blood spatter. (For a bit of bonus cred, the title track, over elegant sequences of smouldering pages, is performed by Radiohead's Thom Yorke.) That said, there are no dinosaurs, or F1 cars, or flip-flops. But Smoke does have tension, and great performances, and slow-burn simmer. Also, if you stick with it, the promise of some serious twists (and John Leguziamo!) to come. 'Smoke' is now streaming on Apple TV+ with new episodes every Friday You Might Also Like The Best Men's Sunglasses For Summer '19 There's A Smartwatch For Every Sort Of Guy What You Should Buy For Your Groomsmen (And What They Really Want)