The Most Captivating Games of "Squid Game", Explained (And Some Parallels)

Netflix's "Squid Game" built tension from simple playground rules, but what kept viewers hooked wasn't only danger; it was design. Each contest distilled a clean mechanic: bluff or be read; move or freeze; pull together or collapse. Those same mechanics show up every day in digital play, where timing, risk, and teamwork are translated into inputs, pings, and match dynamics. Rather than rehashing the basics, it's more useful to ask how these TV set-pieces map to the games people actually play now. 

Advertisement

Marbles look a lot like poker without cards. "Red Light, Green Light" behaves like a latency test with human stakes. Tug-of-war is a lesson in comms and roles that any co-op squad would recognize. Seen this way, the series becomes a lens on modern play patterns: probability thinking, reaction-time optimization, and social coordination. These aren't just story beats; they are the building blocks of today's most engaging digital experiences. And because those experiences evolve as hardware, networks, and player habits shift, the parallels are only getting sharper.

Marbles vs. Texas Hold'em poker

In "Squid Game"'s marbles, each pair invents rules but faces the same crunch: limited rounds, imperfect information, and a partner who might not be predictable. That's poker, stripped to its essence. You manage odds without seeing everything, pressure opponents into mistakes, and decide when to protect a lead or gamble to close a gap. The closest digital mirror is table play that rewards reading ranges and controlling variance across many short sessions.

This is where Texas Hold'eEm real money enters the picture as a widespread format that treats uncertainty as a resource. Like the marbles players who switch from guessing odd/even to baiting a risky throw, strong Hold'Em players vary their line: some hands want fold equity (a clean "STOP"), others want to induce (a quiet "go"). Pot odds in poker echo the marble count on the ground: are you priced in to take a shot, or is it better to wait a round for a higher‑EV spot? Stack depth maps to the number of marbles left; short stacks force tighter, more polarized choices because a single mistake becomes terminal. And while the show dramatizes deception with shouted feints, digital poker turns that into timing and sizing tells: how fast you act, how consistently you size, how your story fits the board texture.

Importantly, interest in poker hasn't faded because these loops remain compelling: quick decisions, visible feedback, and long-run skill edges. Many players gravitate to Texas Hold'Em real money games precisely because the structure rewards disciplined selection and bankroll thinking over time. Just as the marbles contestants sometimes slow the pace to regain control, smart Hold'em players throttle risk, selecting ranges preflop, controlling pot size postflop, and recognizing when variance helps or hurts. The emotional arc aligns, too: a small trap sprung at the right moment feels like winning a whole episode, not just a hand. And although the props differ, chips instead of glass spheres, the driver is the same: balancing hidden information with pressure to outplay a single counterpart across a finite set of rounds. In both arenas, mastery looks like a calm risk where it counts and restraint everywhere else.

Red light, green light

The very first game in "Squid Game" is "Red Light, Green Light", a simple stop-and-go children's game that quickly turns into a massacre. Hundreds of contestants sprint across a field, allowed to move only when a giant robotic doll calls out "Green light". The instant it says "Red light", anyone caught moving is brutally eliminated. 

At Shibuya Station in Tokyo, a pop-up イカゲーム ("Squid Game") installation sits beside the busy escalators, with security staff managing the crowd. Inside the pink display, the larger-than-life "Red Light, Green Light" doll stands center stage, an iconic symbol Netflix now uses to advertise the series. The bright booth and surrounding signage highlight how the show spills into everyday city life.

This chilling scene with its eerie, oversized doll and the sudden bang of those who fail to freeze in time, became one of the show's most iconic images. As creator Hwang Dong-hyuk explained, he designed this deadly contest to illustrate a harsh reality: "We are fighting for our lives in very unequal circumstances". In the context of the game, that inequality is literal (the poor contestants versus the all-powerful game masters), but the phrase also reflects how a simple schoolyard game can become a fight for survival under extreme conditions.

What's remarkable is how "Squid Game"'s take on Red Light, Green Light mirrors the tension of certain video games and online challenges. In fact, the concept of a large group competing under strict rules, where a single misstep means elimination, is central to the battle royale genre of games that has exploded in popularity in recent years. Games like Fortnite, for example, drop 100 players onto a map with the rule that only one can ultimately survive; one wrong move or lapse in attention can knock a player out, much as a single flinch spells doom in "Squid Game"'s first round. It's no surprise, then, that observers immediately drew parallels between the show and these digital survival contests. 

Forbes famously described "Squid Game" as "'Fall Guys' with murder", comparing it to Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, a lighthearted battle royale party game where players navigate obstacle courses and get eliminated in rounds. Indeed, Fall Guys and "Squid Game" share a similar structure: hundreds start, only a few make it past each game until one winner remains - though in Fall Guys losing is considerably less fatal!

Audiences love games (to watch and to play)

"Squid Game" became a phenomenon in a short time because people have always been captivated by games, no matter their age. So much so that even if someone approaches you on the street and asks to quickly play a card game, it's hard to resist. Here is proof from one of social media channels:

Voir cette publication sur Instagram

Shared by Ignition Casino (@ignition_casino)

The parallel connection between games in TV shows and on digital platforms simply shows how interconnected pop culture is. In this case, we can say that digital platforms become a way for people to take part in fun or strategic games on their own as active entertainment.