I Went To The Squid Game Experience In LA & (Barely) Survived

If you would have asked me a week ago if I’d ever volunteer for the Squid Games, my answer would’ve been a firm no. However, after going to the Squid Game: The Trials, which is a pop-up experience in Los Angeles inspired by Squid Game and Squid Game: The Challenge, I realized that walking the Glass Bridge, aka Memory Steps, is a lot easier when you have friends by your side. The Squid Game experience is a chance for you and your crew to play the games seen in both Netflix series, and just like in the show, alliances are everything.

Over the course of 70 minutes, you and a group of other contestants compete against each other during six different games, like Warships and Marbles. While losing a game in one of the shows would mean either death or elimination, that’s not the case at the Squid Game experience — and thank goodness, because I’d be gone after the first game.

Instead of being eliminated once you lose a game, you get to continue on — which is great since tickets start at $39 per person and the experience would have lasted all of five minutes if I’d been eliminated right away. The only round where things get serious (and elimination is real) is Red Light, Green Light, which is held in a room that looks just like the one from the show and has a giant Young-hee doll overlooking everything.

Overall, the entire experience made me feel like an actual contestant — from seeing all the guards dressed in their pink jumpsuits and masks, to playing games that I recognized from the show.

The Games Inside The Squid Game Experience Are Slightly Different Than The Show

When you first arrive at Squid Game: The Trials, you don’t immediately enter the games. Instead, you’re given a wristband that tells you which group you’re in, and while you wait your turn, you get to explore a Squid Game-themed night market with food, drinks, merch, and even a few claw games. One of the machines had the blue Teddy Bears from Squid Game: The Challenge.

They also had a few photo ops around the room, including one with the Young-hee doll, and a digital dalgona candy challenge you could play. Our group was called after about five minutes, and we were brought into a room where we registered our wristbands and took photos. These photos follow you around from room to room on giant TV screens, telling you how many points you have and where you stand in the rankings — so make sure to snap a good pic.

After registering and getting an introduction from the Front Man in the dorm room, it was time to play. The first game was Memory Steps, which is inspired by the Glass Bridge, which I failed right away. While it hurt my ego, I wasn’t alone; only a handful of people survived out of the 30 people in our group. It was humbling, but did help to calm my nerves when I realized that the consequences were not as bad as in the show.

From there, we were told to pick a shape — a circle, triangle, star, or umbrella. While many people assumed our next challenge was going to be the dalgona cookie game, things aren’t always as they seem. Instead of picking our candy shapes, we were picking teams to play a completely different game.

While many of the games are the same from the show, there are some slight changes — like playing a life-size version of the board game Operation. While you don’t necessarily need to be familiar with the show, it may help you win the games. For instance, my friend was one of the only people to survive Red Light, Green Light, and it’s all because he kept his hands in his pockets and moved slowly, one step at a time.

Throughout the experience, you’re asked to get into groups of people, and you’ll either be working together as a team or forced to compete against each other. I stuck with my friends the entire time, which helped us out when we had to work together like during Warships. However, we were forced to play against each other in Marbles.

Bringing friends definitely helps, especially if you have a surviver. In the final challenge, the three remaining contestants got to resurrect five more people to play the last game, and my friend chose me. While I didn’t end up winning, it was fun to get to play every single game.

Spoiler alert: In the end, the winner is given the choice to keep the prize or split the win with everyone who lost and forfeit the winnings. I’d probably be pressured into resurrecting everyone else, but both of my friends would keep the prize — and that’s probably the better choice since what you win is actually valuable.

VIP Makes You Feel Like A Winner After You Lost The Games

We had VIP tickets for the experience — which are $99 per person — so when we finished the games, we got to hang out in their lounge. Before going in, we were given a drink card and a golden animal mask, like the ones they wear in Squid Game. The lounge had a bar, comfortable seating, free photo booths, and TV screens to watch other groups compete.

Our card got us one free cocktail, and I chose the Red Light, Green Light Flight. The Red Light drink ($16) was a grapefruit soju with pomegranate juice and a szechuan pepper spray on top that really tingled my lips. I liked the Green Light drink ($15) a little more, which had vodka, lemon juice, soda water, pandan syrup, and a lychee skewer on top.

Along with having access to the lounge, VIP also comes with parking at the venue, which is $15 on its own. VIP is a splurge and definitely not necessary, but I think it helped my friends and I feel better after losing.

The Squid Game Experience Is More Fun Than I Expected

Being in ultra competitive situations makes me nervous, but I quickly realized that the pressure was off for Squid Game: The Trials. If you’re there to win, you might have a different experience, but I was just along for the ride and had the best time with two of my BFFs. I would even go again with a bigger group, especially knowing how it all went down the first time. And while I did finish in fifth place, maybe I’d win a second time around.

Squid Game: The Trials is open now in Los Angeles on select days and times, through January 2024. The experience is being held at the CBS Studios, near The Grove at 200 N Fairfax Ave.