Squid game is coming back for a second season – whether it needs one or not. And as with many of its high-profile series, Netflix is already promoting the next installment ahead of its December 26th release date. It appears the streamer tapped Google for one of these promotions to get a “hidden” Squid game on the search engine. And it’s actually pretty fun.
Here’s how to play Google’s “hidden” Squid Game
“Hidden” is in quotes here because the game really isn’t difficult to find. If you have even a passing interest in Netflix’s hit series, you could easily come across it yourself. To trigger the game, all you need to do is search for “Squid Game” on Google. If you do this, you’ll get the usual results for Squid Game, including the cast, season two release date, and an endless selection of articles and coverage.
However, in addition to these standard results, you will notice the following: Squid game A glyph appears at the bottom of the screen containing the show’s three iconic shapes: circle, triangle and square. Click on this glyph and you will start the Red Light, Green Light game, which will appear above your search results.
Whether you’ve seen the show or not, the rules are simple: you control a small group of six players, all of whom must reach the giant robot puppet at the top of the page. When the doll isn’t looking, you walk toward it; When the doll turns around, you stop moving. If you move while the doll is looking at you, you “lose.” However, unlike the series, your character will simply walk away with a worried expression and not be brutally shot. (At least not on screen.)
There is a green button that advances your characters and a red button that stops them. The doll will “sing“Same, short song and turns around as soon as it finishes singing, but sings at different intervals so it can be difficult to judge. I actually found it easier to mute the doll and just pay attention to its movement instead.
Photo credit: Jake Peterson
The funny thing is that even when you “win,” your characters turn around with the same worried expression they do when they lose. These games, man. They are not for the weak.
This is far from the first time Google has done this introduced a hidden game or feature in its search engine or web browser. The most famous, of course, is the “Dinosaur Game,” which appears in Chrome when you don’t have an internet connection. But they exist Tons of games and experiences built into Google. (Go ahead and search for “do a barrel roll.”)
