Watching Squid Game on Netflix is a nail-biting, panic-inducing, thought-evoking rollercoaster. You are the spectator, but what if you became a player? Envision yourself as Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) or Sae-byeok (HoYeon Jung), presented with a chance to win 45.6 billion won (about 39 million USD) if they make it out of these deadly children’s games alive. Gi-hun primarily won due to luck, and the dirty work of others, such as Sang-woo (Park Hae-soo). But what would you do? If you intend to win the games and claim the prize money, you need a foolproof strategy for each game. Step into the green tracksuit and white slip-ons, because it’s time to play the Squid Game. If this isn’t already obvious, this is all hypothetical food for thought. Don’t pull a Mr. Beast and mimic these games in real life.
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Game 1: Red Light, Green Light
This is the easiest game to win because all you need is agility and endurance. Footing is everything. Walk forward with broad steps and flat feet. Though you may be tempted, do not run. Prioritizing speed will most likely backfire since running makes it harder to come to a complete stop, and you can easily stumble while regaining your balance. Only save a sprint towards the very end, when the finish line is only a few feet away. Sang-woo notices the robot doll detects motion. His next sentence translates to “You won’t get caught if you’re behind somebody else.” In other words, use your fellow players as human shields. If the doll can’t see you flinch at a gunshot, the guards won’t kill you next. Sae-byeok wields this strategy against Deok-su (Heo Sung-Tae), and she makes it out alive.
Funny enough, you probably want to keep your distance from others as well. You don’t want to be in the way if a frightened player makes a run for the gates. You also don’t want to trip over another player like Gi-hun. Had Ali (Anupam Tripathi) not been there to save him, it would have been a very different show.
Game 2: Dalgona
While three characters enter this game with prior knowledge, you don’t really need it. Even not knowing what these shapes might mean, simple usually means safe. This tactic means you either choose the triangle or circle. The triangle is the best choice because it’s composed of the fewest straight angles. The circle is second best, as you wouldn’t need to lift your needle from the cake. As noted by Gi-hun’s reaction, the umbrella is the worst shape to pick. A shape with detail and rounded edges -- like the curved umbrella handle -- translates to a more difficult, time-consuming task. If you do end up choosing a difficult shape, don’t panic. Panic will make your hands tremble and will surely lead to a fatal cut.
Mi-Nyeo (Kim Joo-ryoung) proves her resourcefulness by heating the needle with a lighter. Her mistake is giving Deok-su the lighter. Given his demeanor, Deok-su cannot be trusted to repay the favor, as shown when he rejects her in Tug-of-War and Marbles. If you want to play the games right, it’s vital to keep necessary information to survive private. While Sang-woo was kind of a jerk for deceiving his teammates, he’s playing in a calculated manner. Sae-byeok showed observational skills by following him, for she saw that his fast choice meant he recognized her sighting. Gi-hun realizes he can see the outline of the shape in the light and licks the honeycomb to coax it out of its mold. Director Hwang Dong-Hyuk (Silenced) actually used this trick to win dalgona as a kid. He even tested it out the night before filming to make sure it worked. This would be the optimal decision, yet what might be more time effective is collecting your saliva in the container, or licking the bottom of the container to soak the candy so the edges melt, and you can carefully extract the shape.
Bonus round: Killing spree
The only smart option here? Hide. Crawl under your bed, curl yourself up in a ball and wait until it’s over.
Game 3: Tug of War
Tug of war is a full-body strength test. Your legs need to press down and move backward, your arms to grip the rope, and your core/back to maintain the pulling position. You can maximize the strength of your team by placing the strongest person in the back and tying the rope in a loop around them. This is your “anchor.” A general rule is to mix the weakest and strongest players along the rope to keep both sides balanced. Il-nam’s strategies hold up. First, he says there needs to be a good leader, and everyone must focus on the back of the leader’s head. Keeping a steady focus ensures the team is in sync. If just one player on Gi-hun’s team refused to take the three steps forward, they would have slipped and fallen to their deaths. This is the one challenge where teamwork means everything.
For the first ten seconds, Il-nam suggests leaning back, practically lying down. As you do this, extend your arms to keep your body as straight as possible. Use an underhand grip, and set your feet a bit wider than shoulder-width apart. Positioning is key. Remember, tug-of-war is about full-body strength. If your strategy is just pulling, you’re going to tire out. Think about pushing against the ground and use your legs to hold you down.
Game 4: Marbles
This game is the most devastating because your victory results in your partner’s elimination. But getting a choice of game to play grants an advantage. Therefore the game you choose must be based on skill and not chance, hence why playing “Odds or Evens” is a bad option. You can play a game like Mancala, which works because the object is to collect all the pieces. You’ll just need to adjust the game for 20 pieces as opposed to 48 pieces. Instead of the traditional two rows of six pits, you’ll dig two rows of five pits. Place two marbles in each pit. At the end is your Mancala, or store, where you collect the marbles. The basic gameplay is choosing a hole, picking up its marbles, and dropping them counterclockwise until you run out. If you run into your own Mancala (store), drop one marble in it. If you run into your partner's Mancala, skip it and move on. You get another turn if the last marble you drop is in your Mancala. Although, if you drop it in an empty pit on your side, you capture any marbles in the pit as well as the parallel pit. The game ends when all the pits on one side are empty, and the player who still has marbles on their side captures them.
Going first is best, and you should start with the third hole because your last marble will land in your Mancala, which earns you a second turn. Now you can play from your rightmost hole, which puts the marble into your partner’s hole and prevents them from making that same move. Defensive plays like these will prevent your partner from capturing marbles; the rest of your plays should maximize the marbles going in your mancala. Sang-woo plays dirty and betrays Ali. If this is your angle, ask your partner for their pouch of marbles to set up the game. Or you can distract your partner, getting them to look away or perhaps drop their pouch. Once you have both pouches, you can walk up to the guard and win the game.
Game 5: Stepping Stones
Good thing Gi-hun didn’t choose the first vest, because his chances of surviving would’ve been slim to none. Numbered vests must determine the order of players. As seen with the other games, hanging towards the back is smartest. Then you can see how others perform and learn from their mistakes. In this case, it’s quite simple, as their mistakes clear up the right path of stepping stones. These games are designed to kill you, so you need to find loopholes. No one thought of walking on the beams in between the stepping stones. This strategy does not go against the rules, and ensures a much better chance of survival, as the beam is the sturdiest surface.
Using the marble to test the sound of the glass is wise. However, other items are available: discarded shoes. Throw the shoes at the glass platforms. If it crashes through, you know to step on the adjacent platform. With sixteen players, you have thirty-two pairs of shoes, which are more than enough for the amount of stepping stones. Like the glassmaker, you can determine the difference between tempered and regular glass visually, but also by touch. The edges of tempered glass are much smoother than regular glass. Since the tiles are spaced only a few feet apart, you can reach out to feel them.
Game 6: Squid Game
The final game is Squid Game, which Gi-hun and Sang-woo played together as children. The rules are as follows: The players get divided into offense and defense. Whereas defense can run on two feet, the offense must hop on one foot. If the offense cuts through the body of the squid, beating the defense, they can get back on two feet. The attackers assemble at the squid’s entrance and need to tap the circle at the top (it's head) with their foot. If the defense pushes you out of bounds, you lose. Although Gi-hun chooses offense, you’re better off choosing defense. Remember Newton’s first law of motion: An object in motion remains in motion unless acted on by an unbalanced force. It’s much easier to interrupt motion than struggle against it. Plant a firm stance and grapple with your arms outward so that you are immovable, and you keep the other player at a distance so they can’t strike.
In addition, the offense must hop on one foot, which is an automatic disadvantage against the defense, who remain on two feet the entire time. Considering the high-pressure circ*mstances, you may have to resort to playing dirty. There’s only one person left standing between you and that money. Try and take your opponent down so they can’t advance across the field -- or if you do choose offense, so they are no longer an obstacle. Aim for the eyes, throat, or groin. Don’t be afraid to bite like Gi-hun. Once the other person is on the floor, drag them towards the edge of the field and let the guard kill them.
Congratulations, you have won the Squid Games as well as 45.6 billion won! You used physical strength, intelligent cleverness, and creativity to beat the odds and the other players. Everyone else is dead, but that’s just how the honeycomb crumbles. Now go dye your hair red and get on that dang plane!
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