Beast Games season 1 was one of the most controversial reality TV competitions on record, but the series brought a batch of challenges within each episode that ranged were intense and overwhelming. With a premise that echoes Netflix’s Squid Game and the reality TV competition version of the drama, Squid Game: The Challenge, the series brought together a group of players who were eliminated from competition to competition to whittle the group down to just one final winner. Throughout the season MrBeast, better known as YouTube sensation Jimmy Donaldson, made it clear that he was looking to reward exceptional performances.

Throughout Beast Games season 1, which broke dozens of world records and established some new ones at the same time, the cast was asked to move through some intense challenges. Some were geared more toward physical strength while others were based on mental fortitude, but the majority fo the challenges tested contestants in a way that combined the physical, mental, and emotional layers they had to give. Throughout Beast Games season 1, the competitors understood that to take home the biggest prize in reality TV history, they had to work hard and ensure they were giving all they had.

MrBeast’s YouTube channel has become one of the most popular in the world, amassing millions of followers on the platform and affording him a lifestyle that’s proven him to be one of the most interesting people in the world. With money not being an object for the creator, MrBeast was open to giving away millions of dollars on Beast Games without much thought. Sharing that he was open to ensuring contestants had opportunities to leave the game for different sums of money, challengers were often offered bribes or pushed to convince each other to walk away from Beast Games.

With the creator-turned-host presenting different options to the contestants throughout the season, Beast Games season 1 had an interesting layout that could stand to be a bit more organized. If the show is to continue into future seasons, focusing on the structure of the competitions and the way they integrate into each other could prove more fruitful for the narrative of the season. Even so, the challenges on Beast Games season 1 were fascinating to watch, and the majority of the episodes had an interesting structure that allowed the challenges to shine.

Beast Games Episode 4 Challenges

"The Golden Ticket"

Within Beast Games season 1 episode 4, “The Golden Ticket”, there were eight separate challenges that competitors competed in, which made the episode somewhat difficult to follow. The challenges within the episode, which included a blindfolded timer challenge that asked players to hold a ball for their estimation of ten minutes before dropping it and seeing who was the closest, were more team-based than individual, which sometimes made them lower stakes.

Within the episode after the ball challenge, competitors were asked to try and convince each other to give each other gold coins that would help them later in the competition. They were then divided into teams for a physical challenge that tested their balance with a glass ball, a climbing challenge that was physically taxing, a game of chance involving briefcases with monetary value, and an elaborate game of hide and seek. While the challenges were interesting, it felt like there was too much going on to remain attentive to any one challenge.

Beast Games Episode 2 Challenges

"500 People Trapped In My City"

During the second episode of Beast Games, viewers were brought into a new part of the game where the competitors were brought into a main competition area, Beast City. MrBeast shared that throughout the city, competitors would be competing in challenges with tokens they’d received from the host. The competitors were allowed to trade tokens, each of which contained hints about the games they could be competing in throughout the constructed city. After competing in a challenge where the competitors were in teams trying to catch a free-falling ball, they moved to different activities.

The next challenge consisted of teams trying to convince to choose self-elimination to save everyone else. who sacrificed themselves would be doing so for the rest of their team , who would carry on in the competition. Next, the remaining competitors' teams moved through a game of oversized beer pong with a ten-foot-tall plastic red cup, before finding themselves in a trivia challenge. Finally, the episode ended with the teams electing captains who were given increasing bribes to eliminate them. As Beast Games season 1 episode 1 was more individual, seeing the teams was confusing but refreshing.

Beast Games Episode 8 Challenges

"Betray Your Friend for $1,000,000"

One of the later episodes of Beast Games involved some major challenges that pushed the limits of trust the players had formed with one another. Beast Games season 1 episode 8 only featured two challenges, which made it more difficult and intense for the players as they moved through them. First, players returned to Beast City after an extended stint in another game space and found that they each had houses they’d be staying in. Within their houses, the players were faced with $1 million in cash in front of them.

They were allowed to take as much money as they wanted until it was gone but didn’t know how much the other players were taking. Revealing in order how much they’d taken, the stakes grew as some players took a fair share, while others took far more than they should’ve. In the second challenge of the episode, the players had to negotiate with one another to decide who would be continuing in the game, using their share of the funds as leverage. The players had to cut 10 down to six, which made the episode high-stakes overall.

Beast Games Episode 3 Challenges

"The Solitary Experiment"

Beast Games season 1 episode 3 featured a trio of challenges, with players moving through three separate game experiences. During the first challenge, a potato sack race, players were confused by the lack of eliminations and made it clear that they weren’t trusting of MrBeast, assuming he had something up his sleeve. After the potato sack race, the competitors were faced with another team challenge with negotiation surrounding elimination. Each team had to choose one player to eliminate within a given amount of time. If they couldn’t decide, everyone on the team would be eliminated.

The second challenge was difficult as the teams had become accustomed to working together, but it wasn’t certain who they’d all be able to decide on to take the fall and keep the rest of them in the game. Ultimately, the players made some tough decisions and then moved into the third challenge, where the competitors searched for a singular golden ticket to Beast Island. While the competitions in the episode were interesting, it was a slower episode of Beast Games because of how intense the second challenge was.

Beast Games Episode 6 Challenges

"Physical, Mental, Chance...Your Choice"

Throughout the sixth episode of Beast Games, four challenges came into play, but not everyone participated in all of the challenges. Early in the episode, contestants had to choose between three different challenges. The contestants who chose the mental challenge were faced with a trivia game, and those who chose the chance challenge were assigned to different trap doors and randomly fell through them for elimination. Those who chose the physical game were split into teams, and then given a few different tasks to complete with their team.

The two teams in the physical challenge went through a trio of tasks of their own, the first a truck pull, the second a series of sprints, and the final task a dead hang completed by one chosen team member. While those who chose physical tasks were hopeful they’d be able to bring themselves through the challenge on their own, having to rely on their teams was a surprise. Beast Games season 1 episode 6 had higher stakes, which made it interesting, but it ultimately did make things too dependent on the teams.

Beast Games Episode 9 Challenges

"Bribe Your Way to the Finale"

In the penultimate episode of Beast Games, the players were faced with another negotiation challenge that was higher stakes than any had been in the game before. Frequently on Beast Games, MrBeast will offer a certain amount of money that the players have to work with in order to barter for their chances in the game. While it’s an interesting convention, it definitely became tiring after the first few episodes. By the final episodes, it lost a bit of its excitement.

Throughout the episode, players had to negotiate with each other to narrow down the competition once again, and then put their chances at winning into a game of chance. When MrBeast offered to increase the final prize pot from $5 million to $10 million, but only on the condition that one player would get the result he wanted in a coin flip. After having to convince one player to perform the flip, the result was affirmative and the prize pot went to $10 million. The episode was exciting, and featuring two isolated challenges was an attention-grabber.

Beast Games Episode 5 Challenges

"Fight to Win a Private Island"

Although Beast Games season 1 episode 5 was the midpoint of the series, it was one of the busiest episodes of the season. With six challenges in the mix, Beast Games featured the contestants discovering a new location and moving into a different mode of the competition. Pushing the competitors harder, Beast Games knew things were getting more intense during the fifth episode.

With the contestants on Beast Island, they competed through a series of challenges that started out with a group vote and then moved into a game of chance to potentially win extra money. The challengers were then split into teams and placed on ships to blast cannons at one another, but the challenge came to an early end when someone took a bribe to end the game. Finally, moving into another challenge of chance, one contestant took home the deed to the island. With a lot going on, this fast-paced episode had some interesting challenges.

Beast Games Episode 1 Challenges

"1,000 People Fight for $5,000,000"

The premiere of Beast Games was one of the most well-formatted and organized episodes of the show, allowing viewers to understand the chaotic premise quickly. The first challenge of the game pushed challengers to think quickly, as they were all stationed above trap doors and had to organize eliminations to keep themselves safe but get rid of someone from their team. Once the first challenge finished, the players were met with a second competition right away.

The second challenge of the game made it clear that viewers were going to see players pushed physically and mentally within the game. The challengers were asked to construct a tower of blocks on an unstable base without anything falling down, which proved more difficult than expected. Finally, players were met with their first bribe of the season. While the episode didn’t move as quickly as others, it established Beast Games well.

Beast Games Episode 10 Challenges

"$10,000,000 Coin Flip"

Although the final episode of Beast Games echoed the first episode, it was clear that the stakes were at their highest during the finale episode. With just a few players left, Beast Games dramatic finale saw the grand prize go from $5 million to $10 million, and the player pool trimmed down to just six players as the final challenges commenced. While there were several people left, only two could go head-to-head at the end of the episode.

The challenges included a game of chance involving balls in tubes, a game of endurance where a few people were eliminated after removing their fingers from buttons they were told to hold down, and a final bait challenge that trimmed the pool down to two players. The final two competed in a coin flip that allowed the winner to choose a briefcase, leading to his win. The challenges in the final episode were a great amalgamation of the game itself and led to an exciting win.

Beast Games Episode 7 Challenges

"The Elimination Train"

Although Beast Games season 1 episode 7, “The Elimination Train”, was a mashup of several different games into one large game, it was the most interesting of the season. The entire episode was based on the Trolley Problem thought experiment, a philosophical idea wherein someone must choose whether to kill one person to save five or kill five people to save one. Within the episode, the idea of the problem is shifted to put the decision on a selected team captain, who has to choose between two difficulties.

Throughout the challenge, different players are pushed to choose between eliminating players they’ve become friends with and earning prizes, saving players they’re close with at the expense of mystery eliminations, and sacrificing themselves unexpectedly when choosing to save others. The episode is high-stakes throughout, and the challenge features some of the most interesting decision-making shown on Beast Games. While the thought experiment does deviate from some of the rest of the show, it shows off the high points of MrBeast’s show and ensures viewers can make sense of the competition.

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