Last September, Squid Game fever was all around the world with 1.65 billion hours of viewing in 28 days according to Netflix. Beside the hype of the story line, many Korean Traditional games that were featured in the series became well known by the people worldwide. As a Korean that is currently living in Indonesia, it’s interesting to know there are some Indonesian traditional games similar to the games in the series. What are the games it would be if Squid Game were based on Indonesian traditional games? Here’s some list you don’t want to miss if you’re a fan of this series!
- Patung-patungan

As you remember in Squid Game, the game “Red Light, Green Light” (in Korean: 무궁화 꽃 이 피었 습니다 / Mugunghwa kkoci pieot seumnida), was the first game that set the bar of the series. Many viewers agree that they were interested to continue watching the series after seeing how intense the first game was. In Indonesia, there is a game called Patung-Patungan that is similar to Red Light, Green Light. The difference is in “Red Light, Green Light” there’s only one guardian in the front watching the players, while in “Patung-Patungan”, players take turn being the guardian. Can you imagine how chaotic it would be to have this game in Squid Game?
2. Tarik Tambang
I noticed, this game is probably one of the most famous traditional game all around the world. This game requires strength, team work and most importantly, strategy. Just like in the series when the team was paying huge attention to their strategy in order to win this game, “Tug of War” or in Indonesia it’s called “Tarik Tambang”, has a very unique and common strategy to be played here in Indonesia. Each person in this game usually digs a hole to help them defense the team by pushing their legs at the edge of the holes. Sadly in Squid Game, there’s no way they can use this strategy.
3. Kelereng

In the series, the scene of this game is probably the most heart-wrenching. But we’re not going to talk about who cries during this scene, ok? Either in South Korea or in Indonesia, there are a lot of ways how to play this game. I heard Kelereng is the most popular game to be played by 90’s kids in Indonesia. I wonder if there’s any Marbles game featured in the movie that is familiar also in Indonesia.
4. Gobak Sodor

Lastly, the most intense game, just like Squid Game (in Korean: 오징어 게임 / Ojingeo Game), Gobak Sodor has a lot of physical movement like the catching and running between two groups. Although the details between Ojingeo Game and Gobak Sodor is not alike, but both of the games is probably the hardest among kids traditional games. This is definitely the perfect final game.
So, do you dare to play those games if 45.6 billion won is at the stake? Which game are you confident in playing and which game will be the death of you?