What is Squid Game's IQ Score?

Squid Game has an IQ Score of 124/200 on TV Intelligentsia's Intelligence Quotient framework, placing it in the Competent tier. The score breaks down to 37/50 Cognitive Stimulation, 23/50 Educational Value, and 33/50 Craft & Quality.

Is Squid Game educational?

Squid Game is low on educational value, 23/50 on TVI's rubric. Watch for entertainment, not for learning.

How does TV Intelligentsia calculate IQ Score?

TV Intelligentsia's current published formula is round((Cognitive Stimulation × 0.4 + Educational Value × 0.35 + Craft & Quality × 0.25) × 4), scoring titles from 0 to 200 across five tiers. TVI publishes a three-dimension breakdown only when those values reproduce the displayed composite. The framework is published at tvintelligentsia.com/methodology/.

Squid Game IQ Score 124/200

Squid Game has an IQ Score of 124/200 on TV Intelligentsia's Intelligence Quotient rubric, placing it in the Competent tier.

By Jordan Robinson, MD, MPH·Updated 2026-08-19·Methodology

thrillerdrama

124/ 200

Competent

Engages without demanding much, watchable and reasonably crafted

Score Breakdown

Cognitive Stimulation/50

Educational Value/50

Craft & Quality/50

IQ = round((Cognitive × 0.4 + Educational × 0.35 + Craft × 0.25) × 4) · How we score →

What these dimensions mean

Cognitive Stimulation: observable narrative complexity, conceptual density, ambiguity, inference, and sustained intellectual demands in the work.
Educational Value: the density and integration of substantive academic, historical, scientific, cultural, ethical, or practical information in the work.
Craft & Quality: production excellence in service of the work, its direction, writing, performance, and aesthetic intent.

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Why you should trust this score

Scored under Jordan Robinson, MD, MPH

Physician and founding editor. Maintains the adult catalog against the published rubric and reviews the rubric application.

Methodology

Published rubric, v1.3.1

Formula

round((C × 0.40 + E × 0.35 + Q × 0.25) × 4)

Database scale

2,605 titles, version-controlled

How we stay independent. Editorial scores are not for sale. TVI may take on paid advisory or research work, but no commercial relationship buys coverage, advance access to scores, favorable treatment, or a change to a published finding. We pay for our own streaming subscriptions, and no reviewer sees sponsor data or affiliate revenue tied to a score. More about how we work →

The TVI Take

Deadly-games competition demands viewers track strategy, alliance-formation, and psychological manipulation across diverse contestant backgrounds. Socioeconomic commentary embeds within game mechanics.

People & Production Hwang Dong-hyeok · Siren Pictures · Netflix 19 connections

Direction & creation

Director

Creator

Writer

Producer

On screen & sound

Selected cast

Lee Jung-jae Park Hae-soo Jung Ho-yeon Oh Yeong-su Anupam Tripathi Kim Joo-ryoungSelected in source order; not represented as billing order.

Composer

Jung Jae-il

Production & release

Production company

Original broadcaster

Distributor

Country of origin

Original language

Credits and relationships: Wikidata, CC0. TVI preserves production, broadcasting, and distribution as separate roles.

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165

Also originally on NetflixDark S2-3Masterclass

143

Also features Kim Joo-ryoungSky CastleStimulating

139

Also features Jung Ho-yeonDisclaimerStimulating

112

Also features Lee Jung-jaeThe AcolyteCompetent

The Trailer

Official trailer, embedded from YouTube.

Characters Scored Here

People search for these characters by name. TVI doesn't invent fictional-character IQ numbers, but Squid Game's score is the honest answer to how seriously the work treats each mind.

Seong Gi-hunIQ →

Where to Watch

Stream