Your 12 most burning questions about Squid Game on Netflix, answered

Life hasn’t been the same since Squid Game was released. The plot has us hooked, the characters are making us cry more times than we’d like to admit, and based on Google Trends, it looks like every single one of us has lots of questions about Squid Game.

The questions we’ve all been asking are things like what the Squid Game prize fund is in pounds, is Netflix being sued for the show and you know, would I actually survive as a player? There’s much to talk about. Here are all the questions people have been asking about Squid Game, finally answered.

1. What is 45.6 won in pounds?

Ok, so since Squid Game first aired we’ve all at least once Googled how much the prize money is in pounds. The contestants are battling for the chance to win ₩45.6 billion if they survive the games – this is roughly £28.2million or in US dollars it’s $38.6 million.

2. What is the Squid Game?

Right, the actual “Squid Game” that the show is named after is shown a couple of times during the show, but still, a lot of us have no idea how it actually works. Searches for “how to play the Squid Game” and “what is the Squid Game” prove it is one of the main questions we have all been asking.

Squid Game is played on a space that has an outline with two circles, one at the top and one at the bottom. A triangle intersects the circle at one end, and a square intersects the other. In the show, Gi-hun explains the rules. He says: “Children are divided into two groups: the offence and the defence. Once the game starts, the defence can run around on two feet within bounds, while the offence outside the line is only allowed to hop on one foot. But if an attacker cuts through the waist of the squid outpacing the defence, he or she is given the freedom to walk freely on two feet. After preparing for the final battle, the attackers gather at the entrance of the squid. In order to win, the attackers must tap the small closed-off space on the squid’s head with their foot. If the defender pushes you out of the squid’s line, you die.”

3. Why is it called Squid Game?

Quite simply, the game is called Squid Game because the court it is played on is shaped like a squid. The show is called Squid Game because it’s named after the game.

4. What is the age rating of Squid Game on Netflix?

You can’t deny that the show is pretty gory. With violent shootings, horrendous deaths and even some organ harvesting for good measure. So, it’s no surprise people have been wondering what age rating the show has. There’s no age recommendation on Netflix’s shows, but the British Board of Film Classification has given Squid Game a 15 rating in the UK for “sexual violence references, injury detail, crude humour, sex, suicide, sexual images, violence”.

5. How do you make the Squid Game honeycomb cookies?

After watching the honeycomb game, everyone is after the recipe for the lil cookie treats and TikTok is full of people trying the challenge out for themselves. The Dalgona cookies from Squid Game are actually pretty simple to make, so if you want to test how steady your hands are, here’s your chance.

You just need to heat sugar until it caramelises, add some baking soda and stir, pour the mixture onto a baking tray in a circle shape and flatten with a spatula, press your chosen shape into it with a cutter and then leave it to harden.

6. Can you buy a Squid Game tracksuit?

Um, yes. And you really should, they are a vibe. In fact, there’s a whole load of Squid Game merch that you can buy right now. You can buy the workers’ shape masks – a set of all three shapes setting you back just £15.99. You can get the blue tracksuits – with numbers on and everything, for £37. And you can get the red worker tracksuits too. They’re all on Amazon, just in time for Halloween.

7. Who is the robot doll from Red Light, Green Light?

She is the movement. She is the right now. She, is the iconic robot from Red Light, Green Light – the first game we saw on the show. But who is she? Yes, people have been Googling if she is real and who she is. The real-life version of Squid Game’s doll has been on display in Jincheon County in Chungcheongbuk-do Province, South Korea. She was specially created for the show, but has since been placed outside a museum.

However, she must be real. Because Vulture interviewed her over the phone. Yes, really. “I’m so nervous! I’ve never been interviewed before,” she began. She then explained she is named after the flower, Mugunghwa, or the Rose of Sharon in English. “You can call me Chantal,” she said.

She says she’s wanted to be an actor since she was young, and “couldn’t believe it” when she got the Squid Game role. She says her outfit in the show was “channeling a classic Korean everygirl”. “It was a really incredible experience [on set]. I was really nervous at first because it was such a big production, but the entire cast and crew were so warm and professional. I had a dance session with some of the background actors, which really loosened me up,” she says. I think I’m done with the internet for today.

8. Is Netflix being sued over Squid Game?

Despite its very clear success, Netflix has found itself in some hot water over Squid Game. It started when a man said his real number had been used on the business cards in the scenes where Gi-hun is approached in the subway to play the game. He now says he has received “endless” calls and text messages, making it “difficult to live my daily life”.  He claims to have been rang over 4,000 times and that Netflix offered only ₩1million (about £620) as compensation.

Then Netflix was actually sued officially over Squid Game. South Korean internet provider SK Broadband sued Netflix because Squid Game is just so damn popular. The broadband provider is asking Netflix to pay for costs from increased network traffic and maintenance work after views of the show surged so quickly. SK Broadband alleges that traffic from Netflix on its network has increased by 24 times from May 2018 to September 2021. The internet provider wants Netflix to pay for network usage dating back to 2018. For 2020 alone, that amount was estimated to be around £16.9m. Netflix has appealed, naturally.

9. Are the show’s subtitles correct?

The subtitles in Squid Game are mostly correct, however they have come under fire for being incorrect in places and therefore not explaining the depth of some characters completely. People have argued if you watch the show with subtitles “you didn’t really watch the same show”.

 

The difference seems to stem from which type of subtitles you watch with – English subtitles or English closed caption subtitles. English subtitles are translations, with the assumption you can hear the dialogue and other verbal cues and just not understand it. Closed caption subtitles are for deaf or hard of hearing viewers and include both the dialogue and other relevant audio. Closed caption subtitles skew the dialogue further from the original translations.

So, if you want just straight forward translations you need to change your subtitle settings to be English subtitles not closed caption.

10. What are all the Squid Game games?

There are six games in Squid Game, all based on popular children’s playground games. The first is Red Light Green Light, similar to Grandma’s Footsteps in the UK. The second included cutting a shape out of honeycomb, where you lose if your final shape gets broken in any way. The third was a classic game of tug of war, but with a deadly twist. The fourth game was marbles, with the Squid Game contestants told they could play any game with the marbles, with the intention one player ended up with them all and the other was left with nothing. The fifth game was like stepping stones, but in the show the players had to step on glass, some of which was strong enough to hold their weight, some was not. The final game was Squid Game.

11. Will there be a Squid Game season two?

Nothing has been confirmed by Netflix, but everything is pointing at Squid Game being renewed for a second season. Netflix usually waits at least two weeks before coming to these decisions and then bases it mainly on the popularity and demand for the show. Given Squid Game is on track to be the most popular Netflix show in history, and has got to number one in every country it has been released in, I think it’s safe to say it has that one in the bag. Plus, the ending (no spoilers) definitely showed there was more to come.

However, the creator has said he wrote the original series back in 2009, and it took 10 years for it to get picked up, after multiple rejections. Hwang Dong-hyuk has said he hasn’t written or thought of any developed ideas for season two, and if he were to create one would need the help of a writers’ room and multiple directors. But, Netflix has those in bucket loads!! Watch this space!

12. Would I survive Squid Game?

Ok, so a lot of people are wondering if they would survive Squid Game themselves. Which is expected when you’re glued to watching people try. To answer one of the biggest Squid Game questions, The Tab has created a quiz to find out, scientifically, if you would live to see the outside world again if you entered the games – take it here.

Squid Game is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

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