A real-life Squid Game is happening in Abu Dhabi
Don't worry, this version is murder-free. Probably.
- Best New Journalist 2019 Australian IT Journalism Awards
A real-life version of Squid Game will be played in Abu Dhabi.
It seemed a matter of time before Netflix sensation Squid Game became an organized real-life event. A version of it, that is, without the murder and bloodshed.
The survival drama involving deadly children's games, which quickly became one of Netflix's most-watched shows ever, has been reimagined for an event at the Korean Cultural Center in the United Arab Emirates.
The Korean Cultural Center's event will take place on Tuesday in its Abu Dhabi office and involves games actually played in the show (again, without the murder and bloodshed). Two teams of 15, wearing T-shirts featuring the show's logo, will play red light green light, Dalgona candy challenge, and paper-flipping games Marbles and Ddakji. The event's staff? They'll wear pink circle, triangle and square costumes to look like the guards in the show's death games.
While the event's registration page says there'll be some prizes, there's no mention of the same life-changing 45.6 billion won ($38.1 million) prize the 456 desperate contestants compete for in the show. Only UAE residents are eligible to compete and, to apply (the registration form is now closed), applicants had to answer questions that tested them on their basic knowledge of Netflix's Squid Game.
Unsurprisingly, this isn't the first time Squid Game has been played in real life. Squid Game is so popular it seeped into a Belgium school. The kids, who apparently watched the 18-plus show, played the red light, green light stop-start game and beat up those who lost.
