Who will be the final winner? And what will happen to Seong Gi-hun's fate? The Netflix original <Squid Game> that shook the world is returning with a new season. It is finally time for the story that was somewhat interrupted in Season 2 to rush towards its conclusion. With the release of <Squid Game 3> on June 27 approaching, there is anticipation not only for the characters' fates but also for what games will appear. We have selected a few of our games that might appear in Season 3, along with the 'Jump Rope' and 'Tag' hinted at in the trailer.
Knock Knock Who Is It & Jump Rope
As hinted in the Season 2 post-credits scene, <Squid Game 3> will feature a new friend of Young-hee, Cheolsu. And in the main trailer released on May 1, there is a song that goes, "Who is it, it's a little kid, come in." This game can be played by two or more people, where one person starts singing, "Knock knock, who is it?" and the other responds, "It's a guest," and then the first person continues with, "Come in." Initially, when Cheolsu was revealed, it was expected to be the game 'Why Did You Come to Our House,' but it was confirmed to be 'Knock Knock Who Is It' due to the music in the trailer.
However, it seems that the drama will change this song to be used as the introduction for jump rope. The original lyric "It's a guest" has been changed to "It's a little kid," which will lead to a type of mission song like "Little kid, little kid, shout hooray" when playing jump rope. The expected method of jump rope in the drama is that when two people holding the ends of a long rope start turning it, participants jump in and start jumping, or participants wait and jump together to reach a target number or one by one exit. However, if we assume that a jump rope mission like "Little kid, little kid, shout hooray" is added, it could also be conducted as an individual game rather than a team game. A scene of jump rope on a narrow train track was included in the trailer, which can be seen as a variation of the method that induced falls during tug-of-war in Season 1.
Maze + Tag
The next game seems to be a game where the blue team and the red team are divided to overpower or escape from each other. In the teaser trailer, dividing teams with blue and red balls reminded one of a sports day, leading to speculation that a 'Ball Popping' game might appear, but unexpectedly, a somewhat ordinary tag-style game was revealed. However, overall, it seems that rather than simple tag, rules of a chase style often seen in modern entertainment or games have been introduced, as there appears to be a dead end in a set that seems to recreate a past neighborhood. Basically, the escaping team must find an exit to escape, while the chasing team will try to block them. Personally, I was hoping that 'Freeze Tag,' which was the best game of my childhood, would appear in Season 3, but seeing the style of play depicted in the trailer, it seems unlikely that 'Freeze Tag' will be included.
Director Hwang Dong-hyuk, who directed <Squid Game>, explained at the production briefing that there is a secret game that is not included in the trailer at all. We cannot know what game it is or when it will appear, but it can be assumed that something new will be added instead of the 'Squid Game' used in the climax of Season 1. On the other hand, it would be strange to omit the titular 'Squid Game,' so there might be another game. We do not know if a one-on-one game will be added to replace 'Squid Game' or if there will be another group game that could cause a large number of eliminations again, but I have chosen a game that could fit into <Squid Game>. This is purely the reporter's speculation, so if you expect another game to appear, please share your predictions in the comments.
Open Dongdaemun
Although Cheolsu's appearance and the train track background have revealed that it is a jump rope game, it still feels a bit disappointing. Could it be that another game is being played in the same location? If so, the game 'Open Dongdaemun' would be the most suitable. In this game, two people stand and hold hands to create a passage and sing, "Dong Dong Dongdaemun, Open up, Nam Nam Namdaemun, Open up, When it becomes twelve o'clock, the door closes." When they say 'closes' and lower their joined hands, the person trapped inside receives a penalty. The problem is that this game is likely to resemble the pairing game 'Round and Round' from last season 2. Moreover, Cheolsu and Young-hee are too big to create a door, making 'closes' seem meaningless. The feasibility is low, but I still want to see Young-hee and Cheolsu singing this song.
Blue and Red Flags
If there is a new one-on-one game, could there be anything better than 'Blue and Red Flags'? Blue and Red Flags is a game where one holds a blue flag in one hand and a white flag in the other, and must follow the commands given by the leader. Commands like "Raise the blue flag, raise the white flag, keep the blue flag still and raise the white flag" continue until at some point, the brain freezes. Excluding games like rock-paper-scissors in one-on-one games, Blue and Red Flags seems to be the most suitable. However, as this game has been used in many entertainment shows, it is very difficult to conduct it seriously. Since the point is for the participant to experience brain freeze while holding the blue and white flags in various ways, it could actually be detrimental in a serious genre like <Squid Game>.
Staking
In fact, it is a game that makes you wonder why it hasn't appeared yet. 'Staking' is quite difficult and often leads to injuries. One person from a team leans against a wall, while the others bend down and put their heads between the legs of the person in front to create a horse. Then the other team takes turns riding on that horse, and the person at the front plays rock-paper-scissors with the runner of the defending team. If they lose in rock-paper-scissors, they defend, and if they win, they attack. It is a national game that almost everyone knows as a folk game among high school students, but since there are too many physical ability differences among participants of all ages in <Squid Game>, it seems that staking cannot be performed either.
Towel Spinning
If the previous 'Staking' is a national game for high school students, Towel Spinning was a national game for college students in the past (again, I emphasize 'past'). It is a game where several people sit in a circle facing each other, and one person runs around the circle holding a handkerchief. Then, they secretly place the handkerchief behind someone, and the person with the handkerchief must catch the other person. Conversely, the person who placed the handkerchief must sit in the empty spot before the person they placed it behind can get up. In this process of chasing each other, Towel Spinning was a game that subtly conveyed feelings during MT (Membership Training). However, it seems unlikely to see this in <Squid Game> as it would be difficult to modify this rule for a survival game (eliminating participants by shooting is already sufficient), and the ambiguous point between psychological warfare and physical combat is similar to the Round and Round game. The chase that occurs over the handkerchief would be interesting, but it also feels redundant with the tag hinted at in the trailer.
Reporter Seong Chan-eol of Cineplay
