:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72821667/The_Devil_s_Plan_n_S1_E9_00_48_13_22.0.png "Netflix’s The Devil’s Plan is the best new competition show to watch")
Win gold coins to survive
I’ve always loved competition-based reality TV shows, especially any series that involves alliances and backstabbing – think shows like Survivor, The amazing raceAnd Big brother, although the list goes on. I’ve finally found a new successor to the genre, a Korean show called Satan’s plan. String Satan’s plan, which was highlighted on Netflix, has players competing in brain games to win gold coins. Players who lose all their pieces are eliminated, until there is only one winner left.
The show repeats the best parts of Survivor: Excellent selection, social strategizing, and competitive challenges. but Satan’s plan It also modernizes the genre with its focus on collaboration. Unlike the shows I watched growing up, every single one of them Satan’s plan The match requires players to cooperate with each other in some way. Alliances are constantly being formed and broken both in the shared living space and during the course of puzzle-based matches. It’s so tense that people cry over math calculations or board game moves, or worry about being targeted or betrayed by others. It makes for very interesting television.
Image: Netflix
Satan’s planThe premise, like its games, is complex, but satisfying. A group of 12 brainiacs and actors (basically, people who would crush them in puzzles or trickery) live in one house. Although the players have diverse backgrounds, they all excel in their fields — there’s a professional Go player, an experienced broadcast journalist, a hugely popular science YouTuber, and even a K-Pop star. They play two games daily: one “competitive” which always requires tactical teamwork, and one that is explicitly “cooperative”. During these matches, players win or lose gold coins. Players can also give pieces to each other between matches, as a sign of trust.
while Survivor‘s social gameplay is a big draw of the series, it’s unwoven inside Games that survivors play. Games in Survivor They tend to highlight feats of endurance, athleticism, and intelligence — and then players return to camp and devise social strategies based on who won immunity or who has a protective idol. String Satan’s planmatches We are Social games – this is what makes them so attractive to watch. The first competitive match, for example, is a modified mafia game, and pieces are awarded based on how players perform on each specific turn. It forces people who have just met to evaluate how much they trust each other, knowing that finding a way to work together is the only way to success.
These matches are also fun to watch and try to solve as a viewer. In another competitive game, players play a simple game of dice rolling, but with a twist. Each player can set a secret “personal rule,” such as “When another player gets this item, I get it too.” Allied players have an advantage here: they can plan rules that combine to favor their group. As a viewer at home, I was confused about what rule I would have followed and who I would have aligned myself with, had I been there, which is one of the most fun parts of watching any competition show.
Image: Netflix
After a bit of downtime, players immediately head from the day’s competitive match to the cooperative match. The hit is so intense, you go from secretly strategizing to working as a group. Players weigh “Should I try to win a piece by solving the puzzle myself?” vs. “Do I let the person who masters this skill benefit the entire group, adding money to the prize pool?” They know that if they seem too selfish, others may not want to work with them in future matches. But if you lose the set, it could all be for nothing.
As the series progresses, the first contestants emerge. A lawyer answers every question in a collaborative memory puzzle correctly, based on the strength of her memory alone. The actress feels intense remorse toward people outside her alliance, who she knows don’t trust her. Where other shows may choose to increase the drama and conflict, Satan’s plan He emphasizes the fact that competitors get along well during their downtime, forming strong friendships even in the few days they spend together. Although there is only one person left standing at the end, each player has a special set of skills that make them worth rooting for and fun to watch. I can’t wait for next season.
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