This. The only disappointment this show had for me was the lack of 3-d thinking. For example, for the fat guy 1 man wall the pose of a guy bent at a 90 degree angle with a leg up behing him. Of course, the leg behind hole was too short, and putting the leg behind threw him off balance. He didn’t realize that there was no reason to put the back leg up, as he could just put his back leg directly behind the front leg. Also, the three fat guys through the little hole would have been easier if one or two guys went forward instead of just making a pile.
Also, I think the abstract shapes are easier than the cutouts of a person, because the contestants seem to think they are obligated to match the pose of the person. I was impressed by the guy making it through the [ hole.
Anyway, I thought the show was great campy fun. Some of the commentary was great. “After coming in third at an arm-wrestling competition, Jimmy now spends 7 days a week working on his abs. Must be a fulfilling life.” It’s amazing how naturally those guys mounted each other."
Exactly. This game actually has a thinking component. The holes are cut to suggest a particular stance. But the suggestion is completely misleading! Players need to think about how to get through, not how to perform the naive position.
I was forced to watch this show, but I liked it better than I expected. It rewards fast thinking as much as raw physicality. And the progression of challenges keeps the losing team in the running for a win without trivializing the results of the first rounds. Overall, it’s a simple, but well-designed, game.
And the expressions as they slip and tumble into the pool is hilarious.
Except there have to be some rules about it. The platform where they stood had a rectangle just in front of the pool labeled “playing area” or some such. Otherwise, you could just run forward to meet the wall and buy yourself some time to wriggle your way through. And when those three guys had to fit through one hole, why not just lie end-to-end?
For that matter, you could fit through almost any wall by just lying on your stomach or side and presenting the smallest possible profile.
My eyes were watering in sympathy when they plucked the one guy’s nose hair–but I couldn’t stop laughing, either!!
You ought to watch this–somehow I don’t see this catching on in the US!!
Well, that one doesn’t resonate as much with me - I hear people struggling with English all the time, just as I struggle with French. I have trouble not laughing at the punishments, though.
I only saw a minute of the US version, and unfortunately I don’t speak Japanese, either, so I have a question about the rules… take this video of the Japanese orginial: about 18 seconds in they show a sort of child-cartoon shape. Do players have to attempt to conform to the shape? Because I think I could probably get through the head shape of that one without worrying about the rest of the shape.
In that clip, and on the show, they show a diagram of the “intended” body position solution. In that case, the tiny cut-out arms and legs were useless.
I’d like to see (other than simply more walls per show) a comedian as a co-host, doing nothing but relentlessly and mercilessly ridiculing the show itself. Something like what MST3K does to movies, but actually during the show.
