Squid Games

This article is about the annual competition. For other uses, see Squid Game.

"Every person standing here in this room is living on the brink of financial ruin. You live like pieces of trash. You all have debts that you can't pay off. When we first went to see each of you, not a single one of you trusted us. But, as you all know, we played a game. And as we promised, we gave you money when you won. And suddenly, everyone here trusted us. You called and volunteered to participate in this game of your own free will. Will you go back to living your old and depressing lives, chased by your creditors, or will you act and seize this last opportunity we're offering here?"

A Manager introducing the Squid Games to the players in "Red Light, Green Light"

The Squid Games are an annual competitive event featuring hundreds of participants—456 in South Korea—engaged in a series of six children's games. The ultimate winner of the competition receives a grand prize of ₩45.6 billion, symbolizing the total number of players. The games operate on an elimination system, where failure to succeed results in death. For each eliminated player, an additional ₩100 million is added to the prize pool.

The Squid Games were created and funded by Oh Il-nam, a rich businessman who worked with other wealthy clients called the VIPs to make the games happen. Il-nam explained that the games were meant to entertain the rich because having too much money and freedom made life feel boring and lacked excitement. The first Squid Game took place in 1988, with 33 annual competitions held up to 2020. The series continued, with the most recent game being in 2024. The games are conducted on a remote, untraceable island, with participants rendered unconscious during transport to keep the location a secret. According to the VIPs, Squid Games have since become a franchise as there are many versions of the Squid Games in other countries.

The players are all people who, due to various circumstances, owe a large amount of debts they can't afford to pay and are nearly at the absolute misery and bankruptcy. Il-nam believed the Squid Games ultimately provided a service for the contestants as well, because even though the majority are killed, it also provides a distraction from their monotonous lives and an opportunity to win money and escape from their dire financial situations.^[1] Equality was considered the most important aspect of the game, with every player receiving a fair game under the same conditions, which the organizers considered more fair than the inequality and discrimination the contestants faced in the real world.^[2]

Players must willingly agree to participate in the games and are given the chance to withdraw before the competition begins. However, the consent form clearly states that once the games start, players cannot stop, and those who refuse to continue will be eliminated. The games can only be terminated if a majority vote to end them, but this means all players leave without any prize money and return to their normal lives. This option was exercised in 2020, allowing players to reconsider and return later if they changed their minds. This rule was updated in 2024, so that the accumulated money is divided equally among the players should the games be terminated.

The rules are reinforced, and the contestants are controlled by a large number of masked guards, who never reveal their faces or identities to the players and regularly apply deadly force when enforcing the rules or eliminating players who lose competitions.^[3] As of 2020, the guards and overall games are managed by Il-nam's "Front Man" Hwang In-ho, who was the winner of the 28th Squid Game in 2015.^[2]

Games

The games played each year differ. In 2020, the events included Red Light, Green Light, Sugar Honeycombs, Tug of War, Marbles, Glass Stepping Stones, and the eponymous Squid Game.

In 2024, the known games were Red Light, Green Light, Six-Legged Pentathlon and its five further mini-games (ddakji, flying stone, gonggi, spinning top, and jegi), and Mingle. As of right now, the remaining three games from that year were not shown and remain a mystery until the release of the third season, which is scheduled for June 27th, 2025.

Players

Joining

The players will be given a card after having rounds of playing ddakji with the recruiter. The player will call the number on the back of the card. The receiver will then ask for the participant's name and birthday and gives them the password and a meeting time. The participant will be picked up by workers who then gas them to knock them unconscious. Upon arriving the island, they are wheeled to a room where all their belongings and clothes (except for their undergarments) are kept in a box and changed into their player uniform. Then they are now put to their beds.

Card

The cards are used for entering the game. They have a phone number on them which informs the player about where to get picked up by a worker. The cards are later used by The Flower Seller to get in contact with the creator of the Games.

Uniform

Contestants wear a sea-green jacket and a white shirt underneath for the top and sea-green pants and white slip-ons. The jacket has a high collar and a patch of the players' number on the left side of their chest and on the top of their back. The jacket sleeve has a white stripe that reaches to the elbow. Like their jacket, their pants also have a white stripe on each side of their pant leg and reaches down to the end. Their white shirts have sea-green lining on their collars and sleeves and their number is written in a big font-size on the back and the front.

Consent form

The consent form states the rules of the Squid Games that the players must sign and follow.

In 2024, the third clause stated that if the players tied in a vote, they will vote again. A fourth clause was added to the consent form, stating that the players could vote after every game to either terminate or continue the competition, and that the prize money accumulated for each eliminated participant would be totaled and evenly distributed among the remaining players should the games end.

Staff

This is a list of the staff that operate the Squid Games, as well as their ranks, if any.

List of known winners

This is the list of winners of each Squid Game, according to a document listing winners of the sixth and final round, briefly read by Hwang Jun-ho.^[2][4]

Trivia

• The total prize of ₩45.6 billion for winning the games would have converted to approximately $37.9 million in June 2020 and $33.2 million in November 2024, on the dates the games in those years took place. The amount of money added to the prize pool for each eliminated player would've converted to about $83,114 and $72,807, respectively.
• It is implied that the Squid Games may be international and not just hosted in Korea as a VIP said that the contest "in Korea" was the best.^[5]
• As of the end of Season One, there is a possibility that the 34th Squid Game has already occurred, as the epilogue takes place in late-December of 2021. However, the game may not have gone forward as planned, as Oh Il-nam's decline may have impeded operations.
  • It is unclear how the games have progressed in the years since. If they did continue annually as planned, then the game taking place in 2024 wold be the 37th one and 2025 being the 38th one.
• The 33rd Squid Game had 5 returning players: Mun Jang-ho, Park Pil-sam, Jang Seung-jong, Cho Su-jin and Choi Woo-seong, the winners of the 2nd to 6th Squid Games. These are the only five known winners that return for a second go at the 33rd Squid Game but however they lost.
• The 2024 Squid Games had two returning players: Seong Gi-hun, winner of the 33rd Games, and Hwang In-ho, winner of the 28th Games. These are the only two known winners to have ever returned for a second go at the games.

References