‘Squid Game’ Creator Reveals His Favorite Season 2 Game

With “Squid Game” Season 2 raises the stakes and introduces a new range of punishing challenges, creator Hwang Dong-hyuk recently shared which game stood out as his personal favorite.

Known for blending childhood nostalgia with life-or-death consequences, each game in the new season carries its own emotional weight and psychological complexity.

However, one game in particular captured the “Squid Game” director’s vision more than any other.

Warning: Major spoilers ahead for the season 2 finale of “Squid Game,” which is now streaming on Netflix.

‘Squid Game’ Season 2 Brought Back Several Familiar Games while introducing a series of intense new challenges. Ddakji, the game used by The Salesman (Gong Yoo) in Seasons 1 and 2 to recruit potential players, has made a return, setting the tone for the season’s high-stakes dynamic.

The season opened with a new addition: “Bread and Lottery”, introduced in Episode 1. In this recruitment game, the vendor purchases 100 pastries and 100 lottery tickets, offering them to seemingly random individuals in public , creating an unsettling sense of luck and despair in broad daylight.

Later in the same episode, a brutal confrontation takes place in a third game where The Salesman pits Mr. Kim and Woo-seok against each other. Their fate depends on Jokenpô, better known as Rock, Paper, Scissors, a deceptively simple game with deadly consequences in this context.

Another universally recognizable game, Russian roulette, makes its heartbreaking debut. Famous for its life-or-death stakes, this game is presented by The Salesman as a way for himself and Gi-hun to resolve their growing conflict, leaving the outcome entirely up to fate.

Of course, fans of Season 1 will immediately recognize the chilling return of Red Light, Green Light, the iconic childhood game overseen by the menacing doll Young-hee. His presence serves as both a callback to the series’ roots and a reminder of the ever-present danger that lurks in every seemingly simple challenge.

Viewers also saw the Six-Legged Pentathlon, which required participants to complete a series of interconnected tasks requiring teamwork, precision and unwavering trust in their partners. In Mingle, alliances have become both a lifeline and a potential trap, with players pushed to navigate changing social dynamics under extreme pressure. Meanwhile, the special trick (Lights Out) plunged the arena into complete darkness, removing any sense of safety and forcing players to rely on their instincts and raw survival skills amidst the chaos.

When it comes to the brutal, emotionally charged games in “Squid Game” Season 2, creator Hwang Dong-hyuk clearly has a favorite.

“I would say the pentathlon,” he said Variety. “Not only was it the most difficult shoot, but I think once it was over, I enjoyed watching it the most myself. And even more so because in one game turn you get five smaller games.

“And like in Season 1, I wanted to showcase these real children’s games that Koreans played growing up, especially the ones that I myself played growing up,” he continued. “With the way I was able to show the world five different matches in one round, I would say the pentathlon was probably the most satisfying to complete.”

Less than a month after its release, “Squid Game” became Netflix’s most-watched series, breaking records as the first Korean and foreign-language show to earn a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) nomination. Riding the wave of its unprecedented success, Netflix expanded the franchise with a reality series inspired by the show, premiering in November 2023.

“Because I created season 1 without thinking much about making the second season, when it was decided that we would make season 2, the pressure was indeed immense,” said director Hwang. IndieWire. “I was thinking: can I really achieve this? Will I be able to create or write something that would surpass Season 1?”

“But once I started writing, and once I immersed myself in the story of Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) returning to games with his own motivations, it actually felt good went better than I thought,” he continued. “I was able to create a story that I found more intriguing, come up with more interesting characters, and also come up with more original and intriguing games.”