What The Show Is All About
The Squid Game is a new Netflix show set in South Korea created by Hwang Dong-hyuk and stars Lee Jung-Jae, Park Hae-soo, and Wi Ha-Joon. The TV show follows the stories of several different individuals that are invited to compete in a game where they will contend for $38 million.
What the players initially don’t know is that only one person out of 456 will survive the game. The series has received a lot of attention from the gambling world for its portrayal of gambling problems. There are certainly many elements of pure luck and everyone loses in the Squid Game in the end.
The film features six games. Five of them are based on children’s games that are popular all over the world, and one is a made-up game based on the traditional Korean candy Dalgona. Each game carries a lot of symbolism and meaning behind them, but it’s up to the viewer to decide what they mean. Whatever their significance may be, the games are an important part of what makes this show so interesting.
Each game has its own set of rules and objectives that must be adhered to. In the show, the rules of these games have literally fatal consequences for those who lose. In real life, they are challenging and fun games that help develop strategic skills, unconventional thinking, and teamwork.
The First Game: Red Light Green Light
Red light green light is a children’s game in which runners are allowed to leave their positions only when the leader calls out “green light”, at which point players can run or walk (but not skip), following instructions to stop when the leader calls “red light”. This simple yet engaging game is often played outdoors.
In Squid Games, making the wrong move during the game resulted in players being shot in the head by snipers. The first round of the game eliminated over half of the players, none of whom knew what they signed up for. When they entered the field, and so many people lost their lives, the players quickly realized that this isn’t the type of game children play.
Meaning of Red Light Green Light:
The game is a metaphor for life. Red light and green light represent opposing forces such as good and evil, safe and dangerous, or stop and go. The objective of the game is to follow the leader while avoiding being caught in the red light. This teaches children about taking risks, following rules, and working together.
In Squid Games, there’s meaning beyond that. Those who survived had to realize this as soon as possible: accomplish the goal no matter what. If you move the wrong way, you will end up dead. Everyone who didn’t accept the rules of the game died. The only players who made it out alive were either the lucky ones or the ones who realized that they are going to have to play by the rules and win.
Second game: Dalgona
The second game in Squid Game is Dalgona based on the sweet candy sold from carts on the streets in Korea. Dalgona is a Korean word for a type of sweet hard candy made from brown sugar, corn syrup, and baking soda. The candy is extruded into long ropes, which are then cut into small pieces.
In Squid games, the second round involved carving out the center figure in the candy. It was a very hard task to do. Players were equipped with nothing but a small needle, and it was an extremely delicate job to do. If you cracked the center figure even minimally, the guards would shoot you right on the spot.
The players were given very little time, and the smartest and most cunning of them got creative. Those who rushed or did their job poorly were eliminated in this round. It is not the strongest or fastest that always wins. During this round, only a few had some sort of advantage.
The main character didn’t die out of pure luck and quick thinking. He was sweating so hard as he was stressed to carve out the center figure, that his sweat actually dropped on the Dalgona and made it easier to carve out the candy. Then, using his wits, he started licking the center and made it wet and easy to push out. That was the only thing that saved him, and everyone started copying him, realizing they wouldn’t survive without this bizarre yet working method.
Meaning of Dalgona:
While the candy itself doesn’t have much meaning beyond being sweet and delicious, the game in Squid Games does. Even if you are given a task and a tool, think. Your most important tool is your brain. Using your wits can literally save your life. But even if you aren’t so bright or lucky, you can still do it. Look at those who succeed and what works for them, and imitate that. Those who used one of these tactics passed the game of Dalgona.
Third Game: Tug of War
The third game in Squid Game is called Tug of War, a game with deep cultural significance in Korea. It’s popular all over the world, and most of us have either played it or at least have seen it in action.
Tug Of War is a sports game in which two teams pull on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal being to pull the other team across a line. The game has been popular for centuries in almost every country there is. It was also played in Ancient China and Ancient Greece more than a thousand years ago.
While it’s a great way to test your physical side in real life, it was deadly in Squid Game. The difference between the show’s game and real-life Tug of War is that in the Korean show there was no line between the two teams. Instead, the opposing teams played on very high platforms, with nothing in the middle between them, only hard concrete after a long fall.
Tug of War was the first game in Squid Games where the players competed against each other. Exactly 50% of the remaining players were eliminated, as only one team could win, and the other would die as a consequence. Who won? It depends on who played.
When our main character played, his team was mainly made up of fragile men and a few women. The opposing team was all men, strong and young. Who won? Those who relied on strategy and not pure strength. By using a controlled strategy, the weak team was able to win, despite their lack of muscle.
Meaning of Tug of War:
The game has many meanings depending on the culture. In Korea, the game is a cultural event. It is seen as a symbol of strength and determination and is often used as a metaphor for life. The game teaches children about teamwork and how to overcome obstacles.
In Squid Game, Tug of War emphasized teamwork and coordination. Those who won used skill and communication, not raw strength. It was also the first time players sent the opposing team to certain death. The team that lost in the end, was grinning and saluting when they first saw who their opponents were. This signifies that you should never underestimate your opponent, and never celebrate before you win.
Fourth Game: Marbles
The fourth game in Squid Game is Marbles, one of the oldest games in Korean history. It is called Gonggi in Korea, and similar games are present all over the world, known as Marbles in English-speaking countries.
Marbles is a game in which players try to knock other marbles out of a circle or square with their own marble. There are also many other ways to play with the stones. Children can get creative and play any game they know, or even come up with their own game.
In Squid Games, this was the round that crushed many fans. It is because in the game Marbles, players choose their playing partner themselves, usually choosing someone they knew and cared about. Only after the game started were they told that only one of the duo will come out alive.
In Marbles, we’ve seen the characters cheat and betray those to whom they were the most sympathetic. It is during this game that the nature of players is revealed: no matter how much a person likes someone, they will always choose to save their own skin. That’s just the nature of how we are wired.
Meaning of Marbles:
Like Tug Of War, the meaning of marbles depends on the culture. In Korea, marbles are one of the oldest games in history. The game teaches children about strategy and how to win without using force.
In the show, the meaning is twofold. First, compete in the game you know and are most likely to win. Second, the game shows that sometimes, only one can win, and in that circumstance, each will try their hardest to win as if their life depended on it. In the show, it literally does.
Fifth Game: Hopscotch
The fifth game in Squid Game is inspired by Hopscotch, another classic children’s game.
Hopscotch is a game in which players throw a stone or marker into a series of numbered squares, then hop through the spaces, picking up the stone or marker after each jump. The game has been around for centuries and is popular in many countries.
In Squid Games, players didn’t have any stones. Instead, they had to throw themselves on glass platforms across a bridge on one of two platforms ahead. One of them was made of durable glass, the other was not. That means that they had a 50% chance of dying if they made the wrong choice.
On top of that, they couldn’t see the platforms as they were see-throughs. As such, everyone had to memorize where the previous player went, where the platforms were, and where the unfortunate met their fate. The unfortunate fate was of those who started first, as they knew not where to go at all and died almost instantaneous deaths. The main character was late to the game and was very upset that he was last. Being late is exactly what saved his life in the end.
Meaning of Hopscotch:
Like other classic children’s games, the meaning depends on the culture. In Korea, hopscotch is one of the favorite pastimes of young girls. It teaches them about making choices and how to be creative with limited resources.
The meaning of hopscotch in Squid Games lies at the very beginning of the game. Everyone rushed to be first, or as close to the first player as they could be. In the end, it proved deadly for everyone who went on the platforms first. This symbolizes that no matter how hard you try, sometimes it’s luck that matters.
The Sixth Game: The Squid Game
The sixth and final game in the film Squid Game is based on the Korean children’s game of the same name. The purpose of the game is different for attackers and defenders: the attacking team has to reach the house of defenders, and the defending team has to prevent that from happening by pushing the attacking team out.
This final round of the Squid Games is a test of strength, stamina, and strategy.
As there were only two players left, the main character and his childhood friend, there was only one way to win or lose. The Squid Game is supposed to be played with two teams full of members, so there wasn’t much to look at. In the final game, we see one of the players sacrifice himself for the other.
Meaning Of Squid Game
The Squid Game stands as a culmination for the whole tournament. Only one wins, the other dies. The meaning behind it is twofold, yet again: it’s you or the other. Even though the main character’s childhood friend was cruel and betraying all throughout the show, in the end, we see him redeem himself, as he sacrifices himself so that his friend can get out. This means that no matter how flawed we get, there is still something human left in us.
Rounding Up
In the end, we are left with a puzzling finale. Of all the games we’ve watched, of all the players that played, the ending was one person with the money. Squid Game is winner takes all, and loser gets none. Each game shows us how people can change when under dangerous circumstances, and how far they are willing to be gambling with their lives.
