Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2 team reveals what really happens when contestants face the chaos of Mingle

When contestants of Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2 faced the game Mingle, they encountered a high-pressure environment that demanded immediate strategic decisions.

According to series director Diccon Ramsay of Tudum by Netflix, the game was adapted from Season 2 of the scripted series and “looked terrifying to have to try and recreate.”

The game required players to gather in exact group numbers and pass through doors on a rotating platform. As Ramsay notes,

“Everybody had a plan until a number is called, and then you slip into survival mode,” highlighting the abrupt shift from strategy to immediate action.

The chaos of Mingle: Inside Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2

The setup of Mingle

Mingle took place on a circular platform with color-coded doors, where contestants had to quickly group according to the announced number.

Series producer Abi Lambrinos explained that actions as ordinary as opening and closing a door became a significant "risk" when contestants had to act under high-pressure conditions.

To ensure safety, the production team developed a specialized door system, adding guards over hinges and dampeners to control how the doors closed.

Lambrinos described testing prototype doors in the workshop, with a health and safety consultant repeatedly opening, closing, and slamming them hundreds of times to ensure they met safety standards.

The scale of Mingle required extensive filming coordination. Ramsay noted that the setup included a total of 90 "cameras," distributed across multiple galleries and involving nearly the entire editorial team.

Executive games producer Anna Kidd noted the difficulty of capturing the game in real time:

“In a reality show, you have to be poised to find the drama and ready to follow it wherever it unfolds. We had 90 cameras ready to film whatever happened, whenever it happened.”

Contestant experience

Contestants initially entered with alliances and plans, but these quickly shifted under the pressures of the game. Kidd said,

“Everybody had a plan until a number was called, and then suddenly you slip into survival mode.”

Players reported intense emotional responses during Mingle. Zoe, Player 369, described the game as unexpectedly physically demanding and noted that the B-roll footage could serve as a study of human behavior, calling the overall experience "crazy."

August, Player 111, explained that the chaos onscreen did not fully capture the intense and overwhelming emotions that the game produced, highlighting the extreme pressure contestants experienced.

Other contestants emphasized strategic calculations during the rounds. Claire, Player 409, explained that she had to stay calm, make herself useful to any group, and carefully track eliminations to anticipate potential numbers, describing this approach as a "numbers game."

Melissa, Player 110, reported being very prepared for Mingle, moving between alliances beforehand and responding enthusiastically to the strobe-lit environment on the carousel, summarizing her reaction as "thrilling."

Player revolt and production response

As rounds progressed, the cumulative pressure led contestants to collectively stop the game. Karim, Player 437, described feeling completely "gassed" mentally, physically, and emotionally.

The decision prompted the Front Man to introduce the next game, Marbles. Executive producer Tim Harcourt noted that the outcome was expected, as the team observed the players’ growing frustration with the game and the difficult decisions they faced.

John Hay added that the production always aimed to capture responses that reveal character, and this moment represented a particularly heightened form of that.

The production team adapted to capture both gameplay and human reactions. Ramsay explained that they had to put a series of processes in place to record conversations, both in the arena and in the surrounding rooms.

He emphasized the individual decision-making aspect:

“In this game, the alliances you think you have might not necessarily help you. You have to play as an individual. If you need to jettison your friends to make sure you survive, then that decision has to be made at the spur of the moment.”

Stay tuned for more updates.