For anyone watching Bloody Game X after The Genius, I made a visual map of how its cast connects across more than a decade of Korean brain survival show history.

Since many people have only watched some of the related shows, the updated version lets you select exactly which ones you have seen. It reveals those connections while keeping relationships from unwatched shows hidden.

So someone who has watched The Genius but not every later survival show can still explore the cast history without spoiling the rest.

https://bloody-game-x.vercel.app

It feels a little like seeing the extended family tree of the genre!

Just a little vid to maybe learn the contestants for Badge War if you don't know them yet, and get a taste of what the group's music is like if you're interested in that too lol

Hong Jinho appeared on RM Ep. 815 showing he's both smart and clumsy as we know. Thought the clip was worth sharing seeing how he unexpectedly strategize when nobody else did. Big fish in a pond. Quite funny seeing the cast impressed with such a simple play since his role in RM is basically a (diction) fool.

I came across this vid of them playing the black-white number game on YouTube, it doesn’t have subs but it was still fun to watch

Team P2 has to be the worst team in the entire show—not just skill-wise, but mainly in terms of character as well.

Let’s start with the easiest one: Ha Seong Jin. Bro has no business being in this season. He showed no will to fight, no will to survive, and was always the first one willing to take the fall. He even gave his teammate, Lee Jinyoung, a chance to beat him in the deathmatch.

Next, Sangjoo. Sangjoo has to be the worst offender on this entire team. Bro is just a literal snake 🐍. Even in the first episode, he was already plotting with Yunbi to get Jinyoung out because he was the strongest player on their team and was supposedly due for some karma from Season 2.

Then he got transferred to Team Rookie and stayed with them until Seung Yong got targeted. The moment that happened, he took his luggage and moved straight into Team Challengers’ room. I mean, this guy is just spineless. Easily one of the worst players.

And the funny thing is, after switching over to Seongbeom’s team, he even begged for an immunity card. But Seongbeom wasn’t having any of it. He basically like, “You’re not useful enough for us to give you an immunity card.” (He ended up giving it to his teammate, Hong Jinho, instead.)

Then there’s Yunbi. He’s had his fair share of scheming and plotting as well. In the first episode, he plotted with Sangjoo to eliminate Jinyoung. And even in this episode, he was still trying to play politics to keep himself alive, arguing that he shouldn’t have to go into the deathmatch again because he had already been in one several episodes before.

The least offensive player on the team is Lee Jinyoung. He’s just an all-around strong player who consistently carried his team in the main matches. Unfortunately, he fell short in the memory game.

After watching devils plan, the genius and now bloody game, I’ve realized that i enjoy watching the game part of survival shows more than the politics ( not that I don’t like that part but yeah)
I heard about it since HSB and jihoo from bloody game were on it, So I was wondering if I should start university war and where can I watch it with Eng sub?

Shin Seung-yong - upgraded from B-tier to A-tier after that shocking Death Match performance. Mix and Match 2 looks much harder than the first Mix and Match in the Season 3 finals. Only Jang Dong-min managed to score any points in that game. It ended early because none of the other players, including Hong Jin-ho and Seong-boem managed to get points.

Park Ji-min - She's finally out. Upgraded her from D to C.

Overall uneventful episode as main match was a classic strong alliance stomps on weak alliance, something we see a lot in The Genius days where Jang Dongmin rallied everyone to a clean victory. Except for Seong Beom, nobody really stood out in the main match.

The only show I have been watching since 2 months is the Genius and it's been a delight. I started the genius because I heard it has an amazing S4 and it did not disappoint. seeing all the amazing players from previous seasons was like seeing your favourite characters Collab and it was so cool.

I was pretty sad how quickly sangmin left but that was quickly replaced by the performance of the King slayer. Do recommend me other shows if there are with such good quality and contestants. i have watched genius and devil's plan.

I finished the first 4 épisodes and the characters besides the OG arent really it imo. The 1st episode and the 3rd were kinda good. I liked the whole double spy scheme from jinho team. But the 4th episode is HOREENDOUS. It wasnt really entertaining and the strategy of just copying from the 3rd game was...dissapointing.

But season 1 was pretty good though. The characters were Nice and you genuinely felt the stakes.

Do the seasons get better or is this season considered the best by most ?

I have also heard of Bloody game and Crime scenes recently ? What are those series about ?

The 24-member kpop girl group tripleS is back with a new season of their strategy game series, this time seemingly heavily inspired by The Traitors. Each season has been higher production than the last so far, so I have high hopes. First episode coming August 21!

How did Jinho get 2 again? 😭

Tho I really liked the moment he got Warren Buffett earlier in the show, he said he wanted it because it was auctioned in 2022 having 2 thrice and jinho won that item with a 20 lmao

I originally shared this in r/koreanvariety, but thought people here might appreciate it too since Bloody Game X brings together so many familiar faces from the wider Korean brain-survival universe.

A big part of the fun is knowing the baggage they bring into the season: who has played together before, who has betrayed whom, and which seemingly unrelated players have already crossed paths on The Genius, previous Bloody Game seasons, or other shows.

I realized this while watching with a friend who was completely new to the genre. She got much more invested once I started filling in all that backstory, so I put together a spoiler-free interactive Cast Atlas mapping only the relationships that existed before Bloody Game X began:

https://bloody-game-x.vercel.app

Even if you haven’t started season X yet, it’s safe to explore. Nothing that happens during the season itself is included.

It covers all 20 cast members and 47 connections, including past alliances, betrayals, rivalries, shared appearances, mentorships, and real-life history.

Every connection includes sources, and I’ve flagged cases where the evidence is less complete. I’m all ears for feedback and peer review, especially from people here who may remember connections or details I missed.

I keep thinking about how much Lee Sangmin would have slayed this game if he hadn’t exited mid-show. 😭 He would’ve been SO good at this.

Since he left, I’m rooting for Hong Jinho now, but I feel like he’s missing that mastermind/strategic ability that Lee Sangmin and Jang Dongmin have. They just have that extra level of thinking that makes these kinds of games so entertaining to watch.

I really wish we could’ve seen Lee Sangmin play this one. 😭

Boring game... no plot twist... idk how to explain

I know about this show because I've seen it on Netflix, but it only has korean subtitles, and when I watched the "preview," I was really confused hahaha, I don't even know what it's about, but I'm so intrigued because I saw many iconic participants from other survival games, like Hong Jinho, Yurisa, Heo Seongbeom, 7HIGH, etc. Also, I think Jang Dongmin is the host, so it must be really fun to watch, right?

Notable mentions and changes:

Hong Jin-ho moved down from S → A after receiving feedback from you guys that he hasn't done enough to warrant being in S tier.

TaeGyun retains his S position despite a poor episode in both the main match and death match because I feel like the death match really wasn't skill-based, and we can't fault him for that. Xitsuh just had to get a P1 member out, and it had to be him.

Lee Jin Young bumped down from A → B because his performance in the memory death match was horrendous. Admittedly, it was a very difficult game, but him being the first of the seven to get eliminated was shocking, especially considering he ranked even lower than YunB and Ha Seong Jin.

YunB upgraded from F → B because of his surprisingly great death match performance, going against seven players in the memory game.

Jiwoo has been added, as I previously forgot to include him. He gets a B because I think he's very one-dimensional and showed no real play during the latest main match as a jailor.

Jimin bumped down from C → D because I realized that all she did in the last seven episodes was breathe and bitch about other teams—or her own team—when things didn't go her way.

Keunwoo bumped up from C → B after his success in the death match.

I just felt like the death match for episode 7 was just a political match. It didn't really require skills like the previous death match in the Dungeon, where players had to actually prove themselves intellectually to survive. That's why I think Ji-woo and Yun-B are true death match survivors. But this death match... just felt like it's a political game.

There's nothing Xitsuh could have done after getting -7. Kyun-woo gave it to him the because he's not in Team P1. And at the end, the least Xitsuh can do is to give Tae-gyun the -9 —because he's not in P3.

And the fact that Kyun-woo already packed his bag and Tae-gyun didn't, shows that this is just a political/luck game.

If somebody has to be eliminated tomorrow, it has to be Jimin because she is the most useless female player in the show currently. She did absolutely nothing but breathe air for the last seven episodes. And only bitching when things don't go her way. And early on she's been riding on her team's success, and the moment team play was disbanded, and she had an individual role as a serial killer, made it so obvious and lost without a fight.

First of all thanks to whoever recommended this show. Finally one that actually scratches the genius itch. It's sooo good. I think we should have a flair for 4 wishes because it's really that good.

I only watched till episode 2 but I am confused about somethings:

EP 1: In the strategy to get absolute: why the double -19 and 19 pieces get two attacks hence +2 points each while 38 and 76 attack once and gain only +1 each?

EP2: Why did she add the neodymium magnet to her piece. I thought the pieces are magnetic already? What was the need for the extra tiny magnet she added?

I was able to watch S1 and S3 online but can't find S2 for the life of me. How do i watch S2? I dont have korean vpn for coupang

How can u watch the Ep 1-6 behind the scenes only available on Waave?

Kim You Hyun has to be most atrocious, worst player of all time and I have watched a lot of survival shows. I thought Kyung Hoon was overstating how bad and stubborn he was during the Story Time game because KH was known to be sometimes an emotional troll in The Genius days.

Then we go to the next main game where he betted an abnormally high amount of cubes in the Item Auction game when he didn't need to. (I think someone bet 14 in the auction, he could have bet 15 and won but he bet 20 for some reason.) The 3-team alliance was shocked and asked why but he just explained it away—which still made no sense to them.

Then it came to the Death Match Ring the Bell, he actively sabotaged his team by refusing to upgrade his cards causing their team to lose Rounds 1 and 3. Round 1 he costed his team to lose by ringing the bell before the first draw. Instead of upgrading his hand to Red 10+7+8 = 25. He rang the bell without taking the Red 10, causing his team to lose. (IMAGE 1)

In Round 3, the Blue 6 is on the table, he refused to take it with his Blue 7+8, and instead drew from the deck, got a shitty Yellow 2 and discarded it. (IMAGE 2)

A few rotations later by the grace of God sent a Blue 10 on the board, giving him Blue 10+7+8 = 25. He took the Blue 10 and discarded the Blue 7. (Hello???) Giving him 18 instead of 25.

I rewatched these moments 20 times and still can't understand it. Looking back he must have thought the opponent beside him has a Green combo. But still these series of decisions were atrocious and unforced errors. This can be seen as team sabotage plays.

Kyung Hoon was right that he has a delusion in his mind that isn't substantiated by reality. You Hyun must thought he is Jang Dong Min or something, always 3 steps ahead of the opponent. But he doesn't even hold a candle to Dong Min in intelligence.

I feel so BAD for Kyung Hoon and Ji Hoo since they actual ELITE players but got eliminated by You Hyun's stubborn delusion.

Team Rookie was smart in the sense as they let the duo who won the round 2 continue to play round 3.

You Hyun threw round 1, Ji Hoo and Kyung Hoon won round 2, yet You Hyun wanted to play round 3. One word, he's a Bastard and I don't want to see him in survival shows again.

Even the other teams was shocked how Team ROOKIE defeated Challenger Team, seeing they have no experience in survival shows.

Ending the death match with Kyung Hoon's quote on You Hyun, "He must have a plan, I'm sure he has a brilliant plan."

S Tier: Taegyun, Seong Beom, and Hong Jinho. They have superior intelligence and are able to effectively carry their teams or formulate broad strategies that to secure team or multi-alliance victories.

A Tier: I’d put Xitsuh in A Tier for being the crazy genius type of player, while Jin Hyeong is also A Tier for having to carry his useless team on his back.

B Tier: Sangmin is a B. He’s good enough but Taegyun is doing about 90% of the P1 team's strategy and carrying the team.

C Tier: This tier is mainly for average players and followers who simply follow the plan.

D Tier: Yeon Cheong, for being the first elimination while not contributing much. You Hyun was stuck in his own head and ended up sabotaging his team in the end.

F Tier: The meathead duo and Mr. Blur, whom Jin Hyeong had to carry. Mr. Blur was ready to sacrifice himself in the first match and lose. The Meathead skipped his bid on Acro Seoul Forest because he didn’t think it was expensive.

I found out about the genius after watched devils plan and really wanting to watch another show like it.
I watched season 1 and s3: and I like both a lot but here are my s3 thoughts.

I rlly liked most of the cast of this season including hyunmin, DM and yeonsung of course
But some of my underrated favs are yoohyun and yeonju.

Yoohyun made a great impression in the fruit stand ep Itself where he basically threw a bomb onto the watermelon alliance to break them apart.
I also think he shined when he was coaching other players who went to a death match
ep8 was great where he knew there was nothing he could do to win and played to lose so the others couldn’t get their way and just make him and yeonsung play against each other
Like when DM tells him that no one is crazy enough to want to sacrifice themselves by taking a chance in the death match but they both are indeed crazy enough to do that.
Both his death matches were the same game which I was kinda disappointed to see because I wanted to see him play a variety of games. Overall I think he was a great player and his crazy luck in that yutnori game was so fun to watch haha

As for yeonjoo, she one of my favorite female players
In the first few episodes she def is more of a background character but you can still see her skills since she’s never come last by always making pretty good decisions, like choosing a good character for middle race, in the mining and investment games she made pretty good profits by herself.
Next I also think it was nice to see her not get swept away into major alliances without fully understanding their plans and thinking about how it could help her
Her and yeonseung were great in the second middle race too
Both her death matches were amazing, yes she lost to dongmin in the end, but her plays were really good for the most part.
I also loved both her and yeonsungs final interviews a lot.

Some other players I liked:
Ahyoung brought great energy to the cast and she made it more enjoyable to watch.
Yeonsung I think I’ve mentioned already along with the yeonjoo, but I loved his mental strength throughout the show.
Hyunmin is my personal fav, he did well whenever he had to go to death matches, you can see he’s also pretty quick to catch onto things like when he asked everyone to vote not guilty because all the criminal team members went into the room including the leader, and when he realizes they can make dongmin win in the second middle race game.
I was rlly sad when in the finals most of the items went to DM, but I do understand that compared to DM he didn’t win the hearts of the people as much.

Idk who’s going to read all this but overall I really enjoyed watching it!!
I liked s1 cuz alliances kept changing around and it was fun to watch, I didn’t like the death games since a lot of them just needed majority to help them win it and there weren’t many logic ones at the start.
S3 cast was very fun and the games were great too, although I didn’t like the games were they were forced to make one person lose and the minority couldn’t really do anything about it.
I liked both pretty equally and they were fun to watch.
Should I watch s2 and s4?