Squid (game)
Squid game (오징어 게임) is a traditional Korean children's playground game of territorial attack and defense, played on a court drawn in the shape of a squid, in which an attacking player on one foot tries to push through defenders to reach the squid's head.1 The game gave its name to the 2021 Netflix survival drama Squid Game, which dramatizes it as the lethal final contest of a series of children's games and made the name known internationally.2
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Traditional Korean children's playground game, played on a squid-shaped court1 |
| Objective | The attacker fights through defenders to reach the squid's head; the defender tries to stop them1 |
| Court markings | A circle, triangle, and square drawn on the ground form the playing field3 |
| Netflix series | Squid Game (2021) uses children's games including Red Light/Green Light, Dalgona, Tug of War, Marbles, Glass Bridge, and the final Squid Game4 |
| Series prize | 45.6 billion won, the amount offered to participants in the fictional competition5 |
| Later seasons | Season 3 introduces a Sky Squid Game staged mid-air3 |
The traditional game
The game is played on a diagram drawn on the ground that resembles a squid, with the shapes of a circle, a triangle, and a square marking the zones of the court.1 • 3 One side attacks and the other defends: the attacker, moving under restrictions such as hopping on one foot, attempts to advance through the court to the squid's head, while the defenders try to force the attacker out.1 Because it is a folk game passed on in schoolyards, local versions differ in their exact rules.1
The Netflix series and its games
The 2021 series Squid Game is an ensemble drama centered on Seong Gi-hun, also known as Player 456, who competes in a secret competition run under the direction of a figure called the Front Man.6 The contestants play a sequence of children's games in which elimination is fatal: Red Light/Green Light, Dalgona, Tug of War, Marbles, Glass Bridge, and the final Squid Game itself.4 The winner receives a prize of 45.6 billion won.5
The final game of the first season returns to the original playground game. Its set was deliberately plain: production designer Chae Kyoung-sun, who helmed the show's art direction, describes season 1's final game as a simple circle, triangle, and square drawn on the floor.3 In the third season, director Hwang Dong-hyuk moved the final contest into the air, and the set for the Sky Squid Game uses giant pillars in the shapes of the circle, triangle, and square, the components of the squid court, with staircases inside them.3
Adaptations
The property has been licensed for tabletop play. Mixlore, an Asmodee imprint, publishes Squid Game: The Game, a party game for 3 to 6 players aged 16 and up that packs the six trials of the first season into one box and has each player lead a team of tokens through them in about 45 minutes.4 Netflix's own guide to the franchise also explains the games of the first two seasons and the rules of the Sky Squid Game.2
References
- Official Squid Game (Korean) Rules, Official Game Rules
- All of the Squid Game Games Explained, Netflix Tudum
- In 'Squid Game' Season 3, New Arenas Toy With Life and Death More Than Ever, Marie Claire (interview with production designer Chae Kyoung-sun)
- Squid Game: The Game Review & How to Play, Board Game Breakdowns
- Squid Game, Asmodee UK (Mixlore)
- Everything to Remember About Squid Game Before Watching Season 2, Time
Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Board, card, and puzzle games › Board games › Modern designer board games › Children's, family, and gateway games
Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026
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