Please watch the Korean game show "Genius" with me

S3 was probably my favorite too. This show was one of the best things I never would have heard of without this website *wipes tear*

season 3 is good but season 4 is even better - there's more competition and certainly some shocking twists. season 1 is probably still the best and has a certain charm the others never quite manage to have, but also in some ways doesn't quite reach the same levels of complexity in games or schemes as the best moments in 3 and 4. one of my favourite tv shows ever

i def got to the ep in S2 that everyone was down on, and shit honestly i would've been even more of a jerk to the bully-ee, if that makes sense. (i would've never admitted to grabbing the id, and prob planted it somewhere that made it look like someone else used it)

i mean sucks for ihm but then i realize why he's fmaous (hacked a university website to steal a picture of an actress graduating or something?) and i'm like i hope you got double-crossed 42 more times on the way out the door tbrr

Ha, I didn't know any of that.

I'm actually unclear on why stealing the ID wasn't a violation of the rules. I thought they said "no stealing" somewhere upfront.

Though I seem to remember instances of people swiping garnets from each other now and then as well.

I guess it's that if you leave a thing out in the open, then finders keepers applies.

I'm watching the rules again and paying particular attention to the phrasing:
- Two players who wish to trade cards will do so by approaching the dealer's table together
- When ID is presented to the dealer, the dealer will give you the cards
- Both players will reveal their cards and begin trading
- Card trades must be for the same number of cards
- When the trade is complete, the cards will be stored again and the IDs will be returned

They take care (or at least, the subtitler does) to never even say "your" ID. Even at the beginning I thought "there's definitely an opportunity here to give someone your ID or trade with someone to ensure you're working together"

pic.twitter.com/ln5A9lDN0c

— Bumdidlyumptious (@Bumdidlyump) March 13, 2020

loooool. might have to rewatch these as plague viewing.

haaaa

Plague rewatch in place, about 8 into S1 and this is just as incredible as I remember it. Even from a purely televisual point of view, the editing is amazing - the music cues are perfect to drive the drama along and the use of flash forward and back wrongfoots you as a viewer all the time.

great show

I mean I liked Squid Game and everything but it just made me want to rewatch THE GENIUS, so here I go.

ha me too, i rewatched the first ep after watching the first SG ep. Still great.

I rewatched last year, Sangmin in S2 is still some kind of pinnacle of television.

I'm happy I've forgotten all the craziness and can appreciate again.

spoiler ep 1 that Garnet switch is still wow!

also rewatching this. it is the best.

all the old links still work? can someone post them again pls

I had to download the files from a reddit thread

Links also pinned by @Bumdidlyump on Twitter.
But is there a torrent? I hate these fkin download sites.

i couldn't find a torrent when i looked and went to one of the fkn download sites.

Well the foreign remake has finally turned up and one episode down it just reminds me of how much I love this show. Helps that the first game is Eat or Be Eaten, which is one of the best.

Genius Netherlands, all episodes subbed in English on YouTube

Having gone all the way through, it scratches an itch but it's not as well made. There's only one flash forward/back for example and it's kind of throwaway. The immortality ring is absolutely wasted - ok, I'm comparing it to S2 which it was never going to compete with, but such a wasted opportunity.

It's fine, and I'll watch later seasons if there are any, but don't drop everything to watch it.

finally! thanks for the heads up

update for the uk too

https://tbivision.com/2022/12/08/banijay-brings-korean-format-the-genius-game-to-uk-denmark-norway/

the devil's plan is on netflix US, directed by jung jong-yeon who did the genius. i'm an episode and a half in and it seems like its picking up where the genius left off. ridiculously complex but well-balanced rules, flashbacks, a retired starcraft pro, expressionless dealers, its got it all

It feels much more padded, though. What should be one episode takes two.

ooh thanks for the heads up. from the sound of things it seems to be very much genius s5

the uk version is taking contestant applications right now too: https://thegeniusgameuk.com/ i hope it ends up living up to the original

In the second ep of Devil's Plan and it's absolutely Genius S5, even uses the same graphics style while explaining rules. Agree to a point about how stretches out it feels but much like Genius it uses editing remarkably well to create tension and drama where there would normally be none. Not sure I completely understand what the prison mechanic is for.

Yes, there is an application form for the UK one. < wink >

Ha, this thread made me dream last night that I was mining for Garnets in minecraft.

ok, while the devil's plan was not as good as the genius it was still the best new show on a streaming service since idk when.

things it was missing:

-supers that comment on what the players are thinking when they are being cheeky, dumb, sly, etc
-a song that always plays when someone does something badass and shocking that also breaks someone else's heart (yes i miss "extreme ways" by moby)
-better casting. not everyone can be an evil mastermind but we were seriously lacking a dongmin or a sangmin

things it did well [spoilers ahead]:
-living together. it allows more room for a metagame to develop and it deepens relationships
-prison. a comeback mechanic involving sequestering the losers in a dungeon is exactly what you should do with netflix money
-secret out-of-game advantages. si-won and seok-jin figuring out the code in the pieces and what to do with it was absolutely thrilling

watched a few episodes and the games have been a fair bit more complex than the early genius games were right from the start, which has made them compelling even . the prize matches are interesting as an alternative to the elimination matches from the genius, most of which weren't that great, but i think those were still a more interesting way to deal with eliminations since they gave the opportunity for a comeback. on the other hand, not eliminating anyone immediately is also a positive here

oh i forgot to finish a sentence. *compelling even when there aren't dramatic betrayals happening

I'm about 2/3 through and you're right on what it's missing. Extreme Ways (or an equivalent) would improve things massively, although the editing is a dream.

The bullying has been pretty shocking though and two things stand out: the second (? the one with dice and prison and personal and group rules) was pretty horrific, the pile on pushing specific players back continually - and on no stronger reasoning than they played the roles assigned to them in the previous game. The aftermath next game (the one with the numbers) was also terrible with Dong-joo using weirdly domestic violence defensive language - "it's her fault for choosing to trust him so she deserves everything that's coming to her".

So yeah, still great but the changes from Genius make it lesser.

i'm not sure if the incidents you're referring to stood out to me, but there's almost always some bullying-ish stuff that goes on in these shows that i find disturbing. or at least extremely hierarchical behavior based on seniority. but that's part of what makes the shows interesting, the tension between traditional hierarchical SK social structure and the alternate world of the game that incentivizes breaking those rules. however there was something weirder going on in the devil's plan b/c of orbit's whole MO of creating a big alliance but calling it "saving everyone" instead of a "majority alliance." i think it ironically made their behavior towards those on the outside of the alliance look a lot crueler than it otherwise would've if they'd just called it what it was.

anyway, we get a season two!

https://www.soompi.com/article/1624800wpp/netflixs-the-devils-plan-confirms-production-of-season-2

Thanks for the revival of this thread because I would never have known otherwise now that I don't use twitter where I would faithfully along with Bumdidlyump's subs alerts. I look forward to binging some eps the next few weeks!

Ok, most apparent difference for me was a technological one. Whereas previously I had a dodgy 720p rip with Bumdi's subs overlayed as she was releasing in real time, to seeing this is in outrageous 60fps 4K... so much lip tint, concealer & 성괴 scars... and that's just the men!

Lowkey loved that pro-Go player Yeon-Woo was pretty useless even in her element (the land grab/tetris game)...

...but even moreso that ORBIT only really excelled in the game with the least science/strategy (Hi/Lo which has a huge luck factor in the dealt cards). Probably his edit, but he came off as a tiresome blowhard trying to gamesplain at every opportunity, rarely to any success. Joon-Bin had the sickest burn: "Perhaps keeping your cool is also a science."

Loved the prison (kettle and can wash-up anyone?) but the bonus quest was amazing, tho I wish it had gone to a true underdog at that point.

The living quarters being part of the game gave me flashbacks to Society Game (shout-out to the OGs on this thread).

But yes, more of this, I would love to rewatch The Genius again esp in HD and legit subs.

i try not to think of society game, still scarred by MJ's loss

equation hi/lo required maths skills which is why orbit was able to succeed there. a lot of the other players were just not very good at coming up with optimal equations from their cards.

rewatching S2 before looking at the devil’s plan and it’s a lot of fun obv and also sangmin is obv GOAT but nothing will be the slow burn of discovering the mechanics and possibilities with that group of people in S1.

genuinely one of the best things i’ve watched.

what a great watch - think i prefer this format even if the end was slightly rushed

was also nice to see an - albeit fairly loose - adaptation of Patchwork - probably my favourite board game

i had no idea David Holmes featured so highly in the music selection! but yeah this is a wild mix for triggering show memories.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuHoal-SrkIKNnqjENuBJ0nSTDPDbgHo8

filming done for s2 of devil's game

from a recent nme article, "Jung also addressed criticism over the first season’s lack of variety in games, sharing that they formed a dedicated game development team for season two, which included ex-colleagues from one of his previous projects, The Genius."

exciting!

DGS2 cast:

Celebrities/Broadcasters

Kang Jiyoung - TV Personality, Former JTBC Announcer, Glasses Goddess, Fluent In English & Chinese, Kelley School Of Business At Indiana University (Passed The CPA Exam), Previously Participated In Code: Secret Room S2, Previously Guested On You Quiz On The Block

(Cho) Kyuhyun - Idol (SUPER JUNIOR), Balladeer, TV Personality, 조정뱅이, Math Lover, Kyung Hee University, Previously Guested On The Genius & Problematic Men

Yoon Sohee - Actress (Let's Eat; Marriage, Not Dating; The Emperor: Owner Of The Mask), KAIST (Bachelor's), Catholic University Of Korea (Master's), Previously Guested On Problematic Men

Justin Min - American Actor (The Umbrella Academy; After Yang; Beef), Photographer, Cornell University

Chuu - Singer, TV/Internet Personality, Former Idol (Loona)

Influencers

Lee Seunghyun - Influencer, Miss Korea 2022/Miss Seoul 2022 Jin (Winner), Department Of Economics At Korea University, Previously Appeared On My Friends Are Smarter Than I

Jeong Hyungyu - Influencer, MENSA Member, Seoul National University Student (Department Of Physical Education), Previously Appeared On Transit Love 2

Choi Hyunjoon - Model, Achieved Top 0.2% In Baccalauréat (French College Entrance Exam), KAIST Student, Previously Guested On Problematic Men & You Quiz On The Block

Specialists/Experts

7high - Pro Poker Player, Music Producer/DJ, Son Of SNU Sociology Professor Emeritus/Current Superintendent Of Seoul Metropolitan Office Of Education, Fluent In English (Based In U.S.), Previously Participated In War Of The Poker Gods S3

Lee Sedol - Board Game Developer (Wizstone Series), Author, Former Pro Go Player (9th Dan, 14-Time World Tournament Champion), Handed AlphaGo Its One Loss Ever (In 74 Matches), Previously Guested On You Quiz On The Block

Members Of The General Public Who Passed The Open Casting Call Auditions

Kim Harin - Plastic Surgeon

Park Sangyeon - Yonsei University Medical Student, 51st International Physics Olympiad Gold Medalist (11th Place), Pianist/Piano Club Member

Son Eunyu - Lawyer Specializing In Mergers & Acquisitions

Tinno - Main Host Of Board Game Youtube Channel Universe TV

stoked

any news on dates yet

just saw an advert for the uk one on itv? this review doesn't sound good
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/apr/26/genius-game-david-tennants-brainiac-gameshow-is-even-duller-than-doing-gcse-maths

(may 6th is the date for s2 of devil's game btw)

They were both main matches in the original I think so the problem with those may be with the reviewer.

I'm worried about having an actual host rather than bandageman and think it'll just get in the way, and that our edition might play with 'teams' in the sort of way that makes the US Traitors a chore, or that ruined Million Dollar Hotel in the US version.

This was really pretty good all told and the game theory shone through. Definitely a reviewer problem.

Editing could be tighter and no obvious musical cues as yet but there's time. Tennant involvement level pretty much bang on. Also not much sign of the teaming the reviewer mentioned although a revenge mechanic might develop.

Looking forward to Zombie/Human tomorrow.

hello hap gyul my old friend <3