Genius Game

Pick a stereotype then find the blandest personality of it and give them a puzzle box, make sure they talk a big game with lots of #iamverysmart claims of why their so cerebral and then put them together and watch them fight over some cheap resin blocks all for entertainment.

From the first round it's clear who thinks their better than the rest and who hasn't got a clue whats going on.

The problem with this opener is a lot of time is spent with back and forth mansplaining everything, yes the men take the lead in most of the conversations, and the women mostly just nod or agree.

The set is fancy and filled with knick naks but still feels ' cheap' like they tried to copy the crystal maze / doctor who's tardis theme with a big 'g' all over.

Similar shows - crystal maze / fort boyard, the cube, golden balls.

Probs keep watching out of morbid curio cos tv is lacking currently :D.

This is a dumbed-down version of the Devils plan but cheesier and a larger social element.

Big personalities take over and create blocks of allies that gang up on people on the edges.

A lot of the games are designed to accommodate this so often most players don't even play the games they just hang around waiting for the chosen patsy to get booted.

Then there was one death match which wasn't a game at all - it was a literal populality test.

This seemed very unfair and goes against the spirit of the game.

For the most part the games don't matter, as there is no advantage to going against the crowd and it gets quite tedious.

The last few episodes I used a bit of zoom as it was just lame chatter and tactics talk that really didn't matter.

I'm a huge fan of the Korean version of this game. A even bigger fan of The Devils Plan. There is a number of issues with the English version. 1. The casting is awful. You have chosen what you think western media wants which is drama, however its more bickering and zero strategizing. I feel like I'm watching some low quality Kardashian bs instead a game show about intelligence, social/political skills, problem solving/math and memory. Having a face to the host as well pulls the viewer out of the tension. 2. The show does an awful job of explaining the rules or creating a game thats actually challenging. The producers obviously thought this was a cash grab but have just shown that white people (I'm white) really are the most basic spiceless people. There's zero intrigue or reason to feel invested in the personalities and they are by no mean geniuses in their own right.

If it was just the games, like a modern day Krypton Factor, the game show would be better. As it is they have shoehorned in backstabbing and it thinks it is the traitors - it isn't. It feels drawn out and doesn't move forward, if they just cut that out what made it about how well they outsmart each other in the challenges, it would be an 8 out of 10 instead of 6.

Perhaps the contestants just aren't very likeable, I couldn't relate to their goals and why they formed cliques and turned on each other except the obvious: to win. Perhaps I'm weird for expecting and wanting more.

The production value of the show is good, it just feels like it's half filler.

Yes, it's all very clever and I can keep up with the various strategies (where there were any) but what's the point of a TV show - to entertain! And, unfortunately, Genius Game falls way too short of that goal. It's too complicated for casual watching and I'm not convinced, by their actions, that many of the players had ANY kind of plan so trying to follow what they're up to is, therefore, impossible.

And, if you're after a show such as The Traitors where the social interaction, actions and the convincing lying is, indeed, entertaining then this isn't it. It could have been but I got half way through episode 1 of Genius Game and thought of watching paint dry instead.