Kriti Mehrotra
Although Netflix’s Hwang Dong-hyuk-created ‘Squid Game’ season 2 is a true continuation of the original 2021 installment, there are some stand-out significant differences between the two. That’s because while season 1 focuses on just the competition wherein stakes are deadly, its successor revolves around former winner Seong Gi-hun’s (Player 456) efforts to shut it down for good. However, he actually ended up in the game all over again, only to soon realize that many of the challenges had been replaced by new ones — for game three, Mingle substituted Tug of War.
With No Props and No Strategies, Mingle is a Simple Game
In a usual game, Mingle lives up to its title in every way conceivable since its sole objective is to have participants team up in a group comprising the exact number of people that is called out. It essentially tests one’s adaptability, efficiency, as well as gait, all the while also seeing how they perform under pressure owing to time constraints, environmental chaos, or other external factors. The additional aspect regarding this in the Netflix show is that the contestants are all very aware that if they fail to find a team in the set time, they lose not only the game but also their lives.
In other words, Mingle is a refreshingly uncomplicated game played among several people. It is kicked off by a leader at the helm who chants a song or simply “mingle” for a while before suddenly yelling out a number. This is the moment when the participants scramble to fall into groups of that exact number as quickly as possible or end up facing elimination so the next round can start with fewer people. As the rounds progress and the number varies, more often than not, the contestants end up interacting with diverse individuals from all walks of life, which is what gives the game its name.
Mingle can actually conclude whenever the leader wants or when there are just two players left in the arena because it is truly a simple game requiring no extensive props, structure, or strategies. Most of this is true for its variation in the Netflix production, too, with the only major differences being that the leader is a faceless announcer who yells out the number following a song, and that elimination is death. As for how long the game lasts, it begins with exactly 255 players and ends when there is an even hundred, meaning it takes out 155 people in five rounds, with the numbers being 10, 4, 3, 6, and 2.
There Are Only a Few Steps Involved in Playing Mingle
In any usual game of Mingle in the real world, the first step is obviously picking out a leader because they will be the one to actually kickstart everything for the group, no matter how big or small. Think of it as when you choose your banker in Monopoly or your seeker in Hide-and-Seek — just like that, there needs to be a leader in Mingle; otherwise, it simply wouldn’t work. It is then the leader’s responsibility to pick a mantra during which all the players have to move amongst themselves so as to ensure fair play in the sense they are not just sticking close to their friends to always end up in teams.
This latter part is something that isn’t exactly followed in ‘Squid Game‘ season 2, but it makes sense considering the stakes of the rounds they play are much, much higher than anything else. Coming back to real world Mingle, as mentioned above, what follows next is the leader calling out a number and the participants swiftly arranging themselves into groups of the announced number. They actually have to do so in a pre-established period of anywhere between 10 to 30 seconds, and they will denote they have succeeded by either holding hands with their group members or getting into a group hug. The others left behind will be sidelined for the rest of the game, and then new rounds will progress until only the winners are left in the middle.
Read More: Do Mom and Son (Player 149 and Player 007) Die in Squid Game Season 2?
You must be logged in to post a comment.