The Society Game () is a South Korean reality TV series, and it was marketed as one of tvN's 10th Anniversary Special Global Project shows. Society Game is a mock society game show in a controlled village environment. 22 contestants compete against each other by staying in the village for a period of 14 days. If the contestants successfully complete the challenges given to them and survive until the end, the reward of a 150 million won (approximately US$111,000) would be given to them.
The Society Game is produced in collaboration with Endemol Shine Group, creators of Big Brother and MasterChef.
Broadcasting time
Broadcast NetworkEpisodeBroadcasting DatesBroadcasting Time tvNEp 1October 16, 2016Sun 9:00 – 11:20 PM (KST).Ep 2 – 12October 23, 2016 – January 1, 2017Every Sun 9:15 – 11:00 PM (KST).
Contestants Name Age Background Chae Ji-won 21 Choi Seol-hwa 24 Hong Sa-hyuk 30 Hwang In-sun 30 Hyun Kyung-ryul 32 Jang Han-byul 27 Jung In-jik 26 Kim Hee-jun 30 Kwon A-sol 31 Lee Byung-kwan / Steven Lee 29 Lee Hae-sung 25 Lim Dong-hwan 30 MJ Kim 26 Oliver Jang 26 Park Ha-el 24 Park Seo-hyun 22 Yonsei University music composition student Pharoh 32 Shin Jae-hyuk 23 Yang Ji-an 29 Yang Sang-guk 34 Yoon Macho 30 Yoon Tae-jin 30
Rules Society Game is a game show in which 22 contestants live in a custom-built "house" (an outdoor set) under constant video surveillance for 14 days. While in the house, the contestants are isolated from the outside world. Before the game begins, the contestants are first divided equally into two societies: Nop-dong (Green Team) and Ma-dong (Red Team). The two societies then live apart in two different areas in the house and are isolated from each other at all times besides the Team Challenge and Eviction Ceremony.
The "house" is circular in shape and is divided into three equal sections: Nop-Dong, Ma-Dong, and Neutral Zone. Neutral Zone is the connecting space between the two societies and the main entrance. This is also where Team Challenges and Eviction Ceremonies are held. The two living spaces for both teams are almost identical. Both have a Leader's bedroom, Storage, Cooking Area, Jail, and Bedroom. The Leader's Bedroom is the only air-conditioned room and the air-condition will be deactivated if anyone other the Leader enters the room. The only difference in both spaces is that in Ma-dong, there is a "Rebellion Room" and in Nop-dong, there is a "Voting Room". The "Rebellion Room" contains a gong in which a rebellion can be started and the "Voting Room" is where the contestants conduct a private vote.
Each day, the two societies compete against each other in the Team Challenge. The winning team will be awarded 10,000,000 won (approximately US$10,000) along with other rewards while the losing team will eliminate one member from their team and from the game during the Eviction Ceremony. At Eviction Ceremony, the winning team's Leader has the power to name a Blacklist Candidate. If one member's name is written twice, they are automatically evicted from the game.
At the end of two weeks, only three members from each society will remain and they will compete in the Final Challenge. If only 3 members remain in a society before the end of two weeks, there will be no more evictions from the team even if they lose the Team Challenge. However, if 4 or more members remain in a society by the end of two weeks, the final Leader will have to choose 2 members to join him/her to the Final Challenge while the unselected members will be evicted. The 3 members on the winning team of the Final Challenge will be crowned the winners.
Each society will also choose a Leader. The Leaders will enjoy luxuries including a personal air-conditioned bedroom and access to a personal safe. They also have the power to evict and the power to distribute monetary awards (i.e. prize money won in team challenges).
In Nop-dong (Green Team), the society is modeled as a democracy with all members having the right to vote and the right to be elected. At the beginning of each day, the members will elect a Leader through a secret ballot and the person with the most votes will become the Leader for the day. A maximum of three members can run for candidacy each election and the sitting Leader will automatically become a candidate for the next election. In the case of a tie in the votes, the sitting Leader will break the tie.
In Ma-dong (Red Team), the society is modeled as a totalitarian state with the Leader reigning indefinitely until he/she is "overthrown" in a "rebellion". The initial Leader is chosen through a challenge. However, subsequent Leaders are chosen after a successful "rebellion". At the beginning of their tenures as Leader, the Ma-dong leader must hand out 2 "Keys of Rebellion" to 2 members. Only the keyholders have the power to initiate a rebellion by sounding the gong in the Rebellion Room. If a majority of the members hits the gong within 30 minutes of the initial gong, the "rebellion" is successful. The current Leader will then be "overthrown" and replaced by the person who initiated the "rebellion".
Rule Changes in Season 2 The following rule changes were made in season 2.
Nop-dong Evictions would now be determined by a vote among all members of Nop-dong. In the event of a tie, the leader would cast a tie-breaker vote. The leader will have immunity from eviction. In the event of an unsuccessful rebellion in Ma-dong, the initiator will be blacklisted. This means that if their name has already been put on the blacklist, they will be evicted.
Team Challenges
Episode One - Human Janggi (Human Chess)
Team Prize: 10,000,000 Korean won + additional 5 kg of personal belongings for team
Human Janggi (or Human Chess) is played on an 8-by-6 board which is divided into three levels. Each team has a set of 11 chess pieces numbered from 1 to 11. Each team then assigns a member who is in charge of moving their team's pieces. The remaining 10 members will each be assigned a number corresponding to their numbered chess pieces. The final, unchosen number will become the King. Each piece's identity is concealed at the beginning of the game. The first team that gets their King to opposite side of the board or reveals the opponent's King will win the Challenge.
On each team's turn, they can select one piece and move the piece for: 1) one or two spaces on the same floor, or 2) one space when moving up or down a floor. When a piece moves up to an opponent's piece, the two pieces and their corresponding members are revealed. The two members then engage in a mini-game with the loser's piece eliminated from the board. The King has no defense ability, and once revealed, the King is eliminated. However, a piece cannot attack an opponent piece on a different floor.
There are three mini-games available: Physical, Mental, and Dexterity. The Physical Game (Statue Dropping) is where two players wrestle each other while tied to a mini-statue. The first to knock off their opponent's statue wins. The Mental Game is where two players solving a puzzle using the provided hints. The Dexterity Game is where two players face-off in a Ring Toss game.
The mini-game played is determined by combining the corresponding number of the two members facing off. If the sum of the numbers are: 10 or below = Mental Game 11 to 13 = Dexterity Game 14 or above = Physical Game
– Match Winner Bolded - Attacking Team Match No. Nop-dong Representative (No.) Match Type (combined No.)Ma-dong Representative (No.) 1 Hong Sa-hyuk (2) Dexterity (13) Kwon A-sol (11) 2 Hong Sa-hyuk (2) Mental (7) Yang Ji-An (5) 3 Hong Sa-hyuk (2) Mental (6) Lee Hae-sung (4) 4 Lim Dong-hwan (1) Mental (2) Park Seo-hyun (1) 5 Pharoh (10) Physical (20) Lee Byung-kwan (10) 6 Yoon Macho (3) Dexterity (13) Lee Byung-kwan (10) 7 Oliver Jang (6) Mental (10) Lee Hae-sung (4) 8 Kim Hee-jun (5) Physical (14) Jang In-jik (9) 9 Hwang In-sun (8) Physical (17) Jang In-jik (9) 10 Shin Jae-hyuk (9) Physical (15) Han-byul (6) 11 MJ Kim (7) Physical (16) Jang In-jik (9) 12 King (11) Game Ended Han-byul (6) Final Results LOSE WIN
Mini-Game
A representative from each society competes in a trial run of the Team Challenge. The winning team will be awarded a chest containing a special prize.
Special Prize: Ice and Watermelon
Winning Team: Ma-dong
Episode Two - Round Table of Suffering
Team Prize: 10,000,000 Korean won + Ice Cream
Round Table of Suffering is a game that requires both physical and mental capabilities. Each team will designate three members on their team as the "table lifters" and their role is to lift up and hold an 80 kg platform with eggs placed beneath the platform. The remaining members will be participating in a mental math challenge; table lifters will not participate in the challenge.
In the mental math challenge portion, each member will be provided a 6-sided die with numbers 1 to 6 labeled on each face. In each round, an arithmetic equation (i.e. 1 + 1) with a final solution of either 1,2,3,4,5 or 6 will be shown on the screen. A 3-second countdown will ensue in which all participating members will answer the equation by showing the correct face on the dice away from them. If a member answers incorrectly, or if a member fails to lock in an answer in time, it will be deemed as an incorrect answer.
For every incorrect answer by a member in the mental math challenge, a 5 kg bag will be placed on the platform of their corresponding team and increase the total weight carried by the table lifters. The first team to drop their platform and crush the eggs beneath will lose.
Round No. Question Answer Members with Incorrect Answer Nop-dong Platform Weight (after round) Ma-dong Platform Weight (after round) 1 2 + 2 4 (none) 80 kg (base platform weight) 2 2 + 4 6 Yoon Macho (OT) 85 kg 80 kg 3 6 – 1 5 Yoon Macho (OT) 90 kg 80 kg 4 4 – 2 2 Yoon Macho (OT) 95 kg 80 kg 5 11 – 8 3 Yoon Macho (WA) 100 kg 80 kg 6 12 – 6 6 Yoon Macho (WA) 105 kg 80 kg 7 14 – 8 6 Yoon Macho (WA) 110 kg 80 kg 8 19 – 15 4 Yoon Macho (OT), Shin Jae-hyuk (OT) 120 kg 80 kg 9 10 ÷ 2 5 Yoon Macho (OT) 125 kg 80 kg 10 4 ÷ 4 1 Hwang In-sun (OT) 130 kg 80 kg 11 5 – 1 4 (none) 130 kg 80 kg 12 11 – 7 4 Kim Hee-jun (OT) 135 kg 80 kg 13 36 ÷ 6 6 Yoon Macho (OT) 140 kg 80 kg 14 48 ÷ 8 6 Oliver Jang (WA) 145 kg 80 kg 15 13 – 7 6 Yoon Macho (OT), Choi Seol-hwa (WA) 150 kg 85 kg 16 54 ÷ 9 6 Yoon Macho (WA), Park Seo-hyun (WA) 155 kg 90 kg 17 28 ÷ 7 4 Shin Jae-hyuk (WA) 160 kg 90 kg 18 54 ÷ 9 6 Yoon Macho (OT), Shin Jae-hyuk (WA) 170 kg 90 kg Final Results LOSE WIN
OT = Answered over time limit WA = Presented wrong answer
Players Yoon Macho Shin Jae-hyuk Hwang In-sun Kim Hee-jun Oliver Jang Choi Seol-hwa Park Seo-hyun No. of errors 12 (60 kg) 3 (15 kg) 1 (5 kg) 1 (5 kg) 1 (5 kg) 1 (5 kg) 1 (5 kg)
Mini-Game
A representative from each society competes in a sudden death match of mental challenge portion of the Team Challenge. The winning team will be awarded a chest containing a special prize.
Special Prize: Cooking Oil
Winning Team: Ma-dong
Episode Three - Five-Legged Race
Team Prize: 10,000,000 Korean won + Fresh Fruits (Peaches and Grapes)
Each team will send out 4 members, each assigned a number from 1 to 4, every round to compete head-to-head in a relay. 4 straps will be used to strap the left leg of one member to the right leg of another runner. There are also two stations, one located on each end of a 10 m path. On one end, the station is a ring toss challenge and on the other end, the station is a Tangram challenge.