Every Game in Squid Game Ranked by How Easy It Is

There’s one main question that Squid Game constantly dangled in order to bait viewers onto its hook: how well would I do in that game? Over three seasons, the Korean TV series took us into a dark world where childhood games were given life-or-death stakes for players to bet on, in hopes of walking away with a life-changing cash prize, at the expense of other people’s lives. The show was built upon elaborate set pieces that brought the death games to life, giving viewers intricate detail and insight into elements that shifted the outcomes of each game, and the fate of its players.

Today we will be ranking all 11 main games played across three seasons by how easy each one would be to win (or just survive). However, the scariest thing about Squid Game’s games is that they require a mix of various skills as well as some blind luck in order to prosper. In that sense, we can form our rankings based on analytics about winning/surviving, but obviously, there are cases where the luck of the draw (or major psychological twists) will shift the probabilities entirely

NOTE: These rankings are only for the main set of games played during Squid Game Seasons 1-3. The “interlude” games played between formal gaming events (like the “Lights Out” massacre in Season 1 or “Bathroom Brawl” in Season 2) were spontaneous events that don’t fit this list.

11) Tug of War

We’ve all played “Tug of War” before in school or camp, so we all know that it’s not a very hard game to win. You either need to have more brute strength or better physics strategies than the opposing team. Even Squid Game Season 1 went to great lengths to point out that Tug of War can even be won by the seemingly weakest of teams, if you know the right way to play. So in terms of surviving the games, this is probably your best chance.

10) Sugar Honeycombs

The cookie game is only ranked as being harder than Tug of War because it is an individual sport that incorporates a “luck of the draw” element. If you choose a cookie with a simple shape like a triangle or a circle, it’s pretty easy to win. However, as we saw in Squid Game Season 1, those with shapes like the star or (especially) the umbrella had a much lower survival rate. Still, if Player #456 (Song Gi-hun) could figure out that licking the cookie (no pun) was the secret to success, there’s a pretty good chance you could, too.

9) Marbles

Now we start to get into the psychological aspect of the games. The marble game played in Season 1’s “Gganbu” episode remains one of the most heartbreaking and affecting episodes of Squid Game for a good reason. In terms of gameplay, the ability to choose your format of game, and only having to beat one opponent seems easy compared to so many of the other games. However, the pre-game selection process was designed to incentivize players to pair with those they had strong bonds with, and therein lies the “difficulty” of the game: Overcoming the guilt of killing off someone you care about. As we saw in the show, pairing players who don’t have deep connections is even trickier, as both players risk mutual destruction trying to outmaneuver one another or manipulate the gameplay before time runs out. To win the marble game, you basically have to admit you’re a selfish opportunist at best, or a backstabbing POS, at worst. For some, that shame is a fate worse than death.

8) Red Light, Green Light

Again, mind-screws are just as much a part of the Squid Games as any physical challenge, and that is never more relevant than when playing the very first game, “Red Light, Green Light.” The familiar stop-and-go children’s game suddenly becomes a whole other experience when the very first bodies get dropped. The sudden realization that the games are lethal causes a panic that automatically spells doom for a statistical number of players (the panic-stricken type). However, as we saw in Season 2, having some foreknowledge of the games, or a guide there to help the players, exponentially shifts the survival odds. In the end, all you have to do is freeze when the robot says “Stop.” It’s that simple… if you can keep your wits about you.

7) Squid Game

It’s a 1 vs. 1 final game: the most brutal part is just getting there. However, once you do, there is only one thing needed to win the final rounds of Squid Game: having more grit than your opponent. Every kind of player carries both strengths that need to be overcome and weaknesses that can be exploited by their opponent. Quickness and agility and overcome size and strength; strength, brute force, and ruthlessness can end the game just as quickly. Like the marbles game, the true “pain” of playing Squid Game is tapping into a savagery toward your fellow human being that can never be denied afterward.

6) Six-Legged Pentathlon

Ostensibly, this seems like one of the easier games to win, given what we see onscreen. However, the twist in this pentathlon is that you are forced to rely on your fellow teammates in order to survive. And that is a very tall order, given the high stakes. It can be as simple as correctly identifying which team members can accomplish which activities required of the race; it can be a doomed endeavor from the start if that very same process isn’t done correctly, or honestly. That lands the pentathlon in the middle of our rankings.

5) Mingle

Math is hard to do on the fly for just about anyone who isn’t a mathematician or avid gambler; working out those same calculations in tandem with others when your life is on the line is a whole different level of calculus. Mingle is low-key the most demanding mix of physical effort and psychological resolve required of players. The game forced those who thought they were close or had formed seemingly solid alliances to make split-second decisions on how to divide their ranks and whose survival they were really invested in. Like the pentathlon, this game requires equal levels of prowess and participation from your teammates (whoever they end up being each round), which instantly ups the difficulty of winning, unless you have 2 to 3 good people you’re sure you can rely on.

4) Sky Squid Game

Squid Game Season 3 tried to take things full circle back to Season 1 by making the final game a version of Squid Game on steroids. The “Sky Squid Game” turned the iconic shapes of the Korean game (circle, square, and triangle) and turned them into high-rise platforms of doom and human dysfunction. The game makers poison the well with hope: every player except three unlucky souls can survive the platforms and walk away with prize money. Except that process taps into a fundamental philosophical quandary humans have wrestled with for years: how do you choose the few that must be sacrificed to save the many? Squid Game 3 goes to great (divisive) lengths to argue that humanity is at a point where figuring out that answer with any kind of civility is all but impossible. And while it was depressing to watch, we’re not sure we can argue the deeper point. This game would definitely get ugly, and even if you start out thinking your chances are good, the nature of human relations would probably see your fate change, unexpectedly.

3) Hide and Seek

Squid Game Season 3 made it clear just why its version of “Hide and Seek” is actually hard to win: because the whole thing just gets so messy. Figuring out the teams is complicated enough, psychologically (bloodthirsty or violent people end up on both sides), and the mechanics of the game are so wild and unpredictable that it just all becomes a series of gang wars and duels to see who comes out alive. This game, arguably more so than any other, favors the ruthless and the selfish types. If you don’t have that killer instinct (or some very good ninja skills), you’re probably not going to make it.

2) Jump Rope

Jump Rope immediately establishes itself as one of the games designed to get rid of a large swatch of players, at once. First, you have to be up for the significant physical challenge of successfully jumping the rope while maintaining balance on the bridge, all while grappling with the psychological challenge of fighting sheer terror. As the episode of Squid Game 3 also revealed: any player can decide to bend the rules and start killing off their fellow players while crossing, or players can become panicked or entagled once the crossing line gets too bunched. This is a game where the odds are only in your favor if you are brave enough to go first – and even then, all it takes is one missed jump, and your life is over.

1) Glass Stepping Stones

This is the game that cemented Squid Game Season 1 as a phenomenon – and left the vast majority of viewers with serious PTSD from imagining this scenario. “Glass Stepping Stones” drags the worst aspects of the Squid Games to the forefront: there is no strategy or skill beyond playing the odds (going last gives the greatest chance of success), and even that order selection is done without the players knowing the grave significance of the choice. By the time you step out onto the bridge, it’s just choice and fate staring back at you. That dread leads to all kinds of desperation and chaos, including the overwhelming incentive for players to sacrifice one another as a means of figuring out the safe path forward through the process of elimination (quite literally). There is no game in Squid Game harder to survive, which is why only three players made it out alive – and even then, one got fatally injured even after she crossed the finish line (Player #067, Kang Sae-byeok). Name a game that is harsher to survive than that. Good luck.

Squid Game Seasons 1-3 are streaming on Netflix.

All 3 Seasons Of Squid Game Ranked