You may have heard of Netflix's Squid Game, the South Korean survival thriller show streaming on Netflix that first aired back in 2021. With the second season of the show just having been released last month, Google seems to have decided to give the show a little nod by creating a secret mini-game based on it that anyone can play in their web browser.

  1. Open the Google app on your smartphone and type squid game in the search bar.
  2. A brown card with a circle, a square, and a triangle will show up on your screen along with the search results. Tap on it to proceed.
  1. The game is the famous Red Light, Green Light game from the show and features the doll, Young-hee, as well as six players that represent your lives. The doll will recite 'Mugunghwa-kkoci pieot-seumnida' and will periodically turn away. Your goal is to get your players across the line at the opposite end, close to the doll but you can only do so while the doll is facing the other way and reciting the song.
  2. If you move them while it is facing you and the song stops, you will lose a life, which will be indicated by one of your players walking away and disappearing. You will lose if none of your players make it across the line. Tap the 'O' button to move your players and the 'X' button to stop them.
  1. Getting your timing right is the key to winning the game. While you can win even if one of your players makes it across the line, the secret goal is to get all of your players across without losing a single one. When you successfully get all your players across, a special animation will appear on your screen indicating your victory.

Things to know

  • You can play Google's secret Squid Game mini-game in your desktop web browser in the same way by searching for 'squid game' and clicking on the card when it shows up.
  • One trick to winning the game is to stop your players before the song ends and the doll turns around. You can also tap and hold the move button and your players will only move forward when you release the button.
  • You only need to tap the move or stop button once. Tapping them repeatedly will not make your players move faster or stop quickly.
  • To make the game extra fun, you can compete against your friends by playing the game at the same time on different devices, trying to speedrun it, or timing your attempts.