Ddakji
How to play: This traditional Korean game is very similar to what we millennials in Mexico know as tazos, only that in Korea it has reached such a degree that they even broadcast tournaments on television. Here, the objective of the game is to hit a folded origami paper with another of the same and make it turn and land on the reverse side.
How to win: It would seem that the strongest has the advantage, but in reality the winner is the one who is more coordinated. The joke is to whip the paper in such a way that most of its surface hits the bottom paper. It also helps to ensure that the smooth part of the paper (that is, the one without creases) is the one that sticks, as this helps to push the bottom paper and create the necessary bounce to flip the other origami.
Green light, red light
How to play: This game in some places in Mexico is known as frozen, and consists in that the players must reach a finish line while an extra person is in front of the group, but with his back to them. When that person turns to the group, everyone should stay still until they turn around again. Whoever does not achieve it in five minutes, loses.
How to win: This game is not just about how fast you can run, but about how much surface you can cover at each step, so that when the red light goes on – that is, when the observer (or the giant doll in the series) turns, it is easier for you to stay stable. The joke is to take long strides and do them in such a way that you keep your foot flat towards the ground for as long as possible. In that sense, walking is more efficient than running.
Another factor to consider is the distance to travel, to know how fast you have to move. In the series, the stage is designed to appear smaller than it actually is, so it would appear that players could afford to walk slower. However, the reality is not like that. To notice this, you can learn to measure distances with your thumb and a piece of anatomical knowledge that indicates that your arm is ten times longer than the distance between your eyes. Knowing this, stretch your arm out in front of you, thumb up. Aligns the thumb with a closed eye so that it covers or is aligned with a distant object (in the case of The Squid Game, a good reference is the security guards). Without moving your head or arm, open the eye that you had closed and close the other. You will notice that the thumb appears to have moved to another point. So, you should compare this difference with the estimated size of something that is familiar to you (a car, a tree). If, for example, between the distance you noticed, you estimate that three compact cars will fit (approximately 4.3 meters each), the apparent displacement could be approximately 25 meters. Now, multiply that by ten (the distance of your arm), and you will notice that there is 250 meters of distance between you and the guard. If we add to that that you have five minutes to reach the goal, you will see that you have no time to lose. Perhaps unnecessary skills, but that at some point could save your life.
Another recommendation is to keep your eyes on your feet, in order to block out distractors, such as the giant doll or the little song, and focus on your stability.
The next survival tip is mentioned in the same series: always stay behind someone else. This way it will be more difficult than the motion sensor if you do some micromotion.
Dalgona sweet
How to play: This game does not have a name, but it is inspired by some typical Korean caramel candies, called dalgona candies. They are a kind of round lollipop, with marked figures, and children often play to separate the figures from the rest of the candy without breaking them.
How to win: This game is not easy, because it depends a lot on the type of figure that touches you. The candy is made from a mixture of sugar and baking soda, which creates such a consistency that it is difficult to tell which way the figure will break, and a cut can create micro-breaks that disfigure the drawing. However, physics tells us that the more acute angles the figure has, the more fragile the figure is. Thus, if the umbrella figure touches you, your chances of success are minimal. However, as we see in the series, all is not lost. Each palette comes with a needle to unmold the figure, but at no point is there a rule that says it is the only thing you can use. Seong Gi-hun, the protagonist of the story, notices it and begins to lick the candy to melt it. As the edges of the figure are much thinner than the rest, the heat makes the cut melt in a very organic way.
Another option involves looking beyond the obvious: they could have used the little bottle that the paddle comes in to collect liquid (saliva or sweat … gross, but that’s what it is), and carefully submerge the paddle. That way it would come off faster.
Slaughter
How to play: This is not a game, but it is a situation is a slaughter in the dark that the group faced outside of the activity program.
How to win: It is a very risky situation. However, there are two strategies that help. One, although it seems counterintuitive, is to stick to one of the edges of the room. Thus, there are two sides from which they cannot attack you and you reduce your chances of dying. However, the best option is to hide under the bed, as the darkness will make you more difficult to find than the contestants who are “outside”. What do you care to look like a coward.
Rope game
How to play: Two teams take a rope at each end and pull it. The first team to fall loses.
How to win: If your opponents are stronger than you, you cannot depend (obviously) on your strength. And although in the series they develop a whole strategy to win, in real life it would be required to break a couple of rules (remember that pulling the rope was considered an Olympic sport, and as such, it has many rules) that are never mentioned in the play. The first one involves the points of contact with the rope: officially, it can only be done with the hands. However, if you rest your arm on your thighs, you use more force to your advantage and can pull the rope better. Another trap is for the member at the end of the rope to use an anchor tie, a tie in which the participant ties the rope around the torso. This allows you to focus on pulling the string without even having to touch it. Another specific option for the game of The Squid Game It would be for the whole team to move to one side and for the last one to tie the rope to the post that is next to the players, and thus they would only have to shoot in vain. The team would end up lined up in such a way that the opposing team would not notice the trap and would continue to pull the rope without realizing that it is useless.
Marbles
How to play: The options are thousands, as players have the freedom to choose their own game, or even to invent it. The bad? For this activity, the players have to make pairs, and the one that loses must die (ignorantly, obviously they all teamed up with their favorite person).
How to win: Here, there appears to be little that can be done about it. However, the strategy is to choose a game that your opponent thinks he can win but that you know that you are going to win. We refer to the game of neem. It is apparently very easy: players collect their marbles and take turns taking one or two marbles, and the person who takes the last one wins. It seems like a game of chance but it is not: to win, you must make sure that you are the one who starts the game and takes two marbles. Then you take the opposite of your opponent. That is, if he takes two, you take one, and if he takes one, you take two. If you follow this throughout the game, it is a guarantee that you will have to take the last one. The only thing that could make you lose is if your opponent also knows this trick, which is highly unlikely if you were unaware of it before reading this.
If this for some reason doesn’t work, steal your opponent’s marbles, go to the guard, and say you won. Your rival will surely attack you, and since violence is not allowed they will kill him.
Glass floor
How to play: Contestants must walk one by one on a path made of a mixture of tempered glass tiles and other normal glass tiles. If they step on a tempered glass, no problem; these hold up to two people. On the other hand, if they fall into a normal glass one, certain death. They have 16 minutes to cross the road.
How to win: This game is different from the others, as it is not about skill or strength, so it all depends on luck. The game has eighteen pairs of tiles, this is equivalent to 262,144 different paths, and only one correct one. This means that there is only one way to win: cheating. The participants left their shoes at the beginning of the road, and just those are the perfect tools to survive. With two shoes and a jacket you can create a kind of pendulum that you can throw to the tiles. If one breaks, you jump to the other. If for some reason this fails, you can always walk on the metal bars that hold the tiles; a very cardiac situation, but, overall, it is very certain that you will die, anyway.
The only thing that could stop this from working would be that viewers didn’t like the strategy. However, in the game we see dozens of rules being manipulated, so it would be worth a try.
Squid game
How to play: In the first episode of the series they explain it: “In my town we had a game called Squid game. We call it that because it is played on a court shaped like a squid. The rules are simple. Children are divided into two groups, attack and defense. Once the game begins, the defense can run with two feet in bounds, while the attack outside the lines can only jump with one foot. But if an attacker cuts through the squid’s waist passing to the defense, he is given the freedom to use both feet. […] We call that ‘inspector royale’. When we were ready for the final battle, the attackers would gather at the entrance of the squid. To win, the attackers must kick the small closed space on the squid’s head. But if someone from the defense manages to push you out of the squid’s limit, you die. […] Once the squid’s head is hit, it is won and yells: ‘Victory!‘”.
How to win: Here, the participants deviate from the game and get into a fight, but if we wanted to play things as they are, we would have to start by remembering that both players received a knife at dinner time, and that gives the game a greater complexity. This makes being a defender the best chance of winning. You just have to make your attacker reach the tip of the triangle, almost where the space that he should touch with his foot is, because that is where the space between lines is narrower and it is easier to knock him down.
Congratulations, you have won the squid game!