Watch Squid Game: The Challenge

Squid Game: The Challenge is a reality competition series based on the hit Netflix drama Squid Game. Debuting in 2023 on Netflix, the show features 456 real people competing in a series of children's games for a chance to win a $4.56 million cash prize. Just like in the fictional show, contestants on Squid Game: The Challenge are eliminated if they fail to win a game. However, no one is actually harmed or killed - they are simply ejected from the competition. The stakes feel high nonetheless, as contestants put their physical and mental limits to the test for a shot at life-changing money.

The set design of Squid Game: The Challenge impressively mirrors the elaborate Korean world of the original show. Players compete in massive stadiums and wear the iconic green and pink uniforms from Squid Game. The gigantic mechanical doll and masked guards overlook each game, ratcheting up the intensity. Even the meals contestants eat between competitions are modeled after the on-screen cuisine.

Squid Game: The Challenge features a diverse group of contestants from around the world, each hoping to be the last player standing. Their backgrounds and motivations vary - some need money for medical bills, others want to pay off crushing debt. A few are simply thrill-seekers looking for the ultimate adrenaline rush. No matter their reason for competing, only one will ultimately prevail and take home the giant cash prize.

The games themselves are both physically and mentally grueling, designed to push contestants to their breaking point. Classic children's games like Red Light Green Light and marbles take on enormous new meaning when played for such high stakes. Contestants must balance intense focus and precision with speed and agility to advance. One small mistake could instantly end their chance at winning millions. The physicality of the games is impressive to watch, but the psychological toll they take on players provides the most drama.

What makes Squid Game: The Challenge so compelling is that it taps into the same intriguing questions as the scripted drama. How far would ordinary people go when offered the chance to radically transform their lives? What happens when competition turns people against each other? Can humanity prevail when pitted against itself? Seeing real people grapple with these dilemmas as they dodge elimination infuses the show with an addictive blend of voyeurism, schadenfreude and triumph of the human spirit.

While fictional works like Squid Game dramatize scenarios we hope never happen in real life, Squid Game: The Challenge satisfyingly brings the story to reality in a safe, controlled environment. As contestants laugh, cry and embrace after each round, viewers are reminded that we’re all vulnerable people just trying our best - whether or not millions are on the line.

Squid Game: The Challenge is a series that is currently running and has 1 seasons (10 episodes). The series first aired on November 22, 2023.