My Co-Worker Convinced Me To Watch Beast Games Even Though I Barely Knew Who Mr. Beast Was, And... Wow

Before you scoff at the very idea that someone might not know who Mr. Beast is, to be clear, I’ve heard of him. I know his YouTube channel is very popular with younger people, but I tend to use the platform for book-related content, the occasional podcast, and instructional videos on things like how to clean my coffee-maker (to use an actual recent example). I’m a woman in her 40s who probably isn’t within Mr. Beast’s target demo, and yet, I agreed to watch three episodes of the series with my Prime subscription as my part of a deal I made with fellow CinemaBlend writer, Mick Joest.

No major spoilers from Beast Games ahead! I describe the series a bit with some examples, but I don’t name specific contestants or the outcomes of specific competitions. (The series debuted in December and has been releasing new episodes throughout the start of the 2025 TV schedule.)

First, Let Me Explain The Deal

I’ve been recommending The Traitors to Mick since last season. He and I are both Big Brother fans (he regularly writes about the reality competition series each summer), which is why I want him to watch The Traitors. Not just because it features some Big Brother contestants each season, but also because there’s a social element to the game that’s similar to the CBS hit. I know Mick watches quite a few series already, so his time is limited, but I’m convinced he’ll like The Traitors if he gives it a chance.

Meanwhile, I hadn’t originally considered Beast Games as something I might want to watch. But Mick isn’t the only CinemaBlend writer who’s spoken highly about it since it premiered, and when he brought it up to me as a fan, I got even more curious, so we made a deal — I’d watch three episodes of Beast Games, and he’d watch three episodes of Season 1 of The Traitors. Jury’s still out on whether or not he’ll be a Traitors fan, but I've watched more than three episodes of Beast Games, and while I'm not totally caught up on Season 1, I am ready to report in about Beast Games, because wow…

Edge. Of. My. Seat. Seriously, From The Start

For those who haven’t watched, Beast Games was created and is hosted by Jimmy Donaldson (a.k.a. Mr. Beast, the mega-popular YouTuber), and is a competition all about eliminating people each round to get closer to a grand prize of $5 million. That in itself doesn’t sound all that exciting to me, as it sounds like a typical game show on paper, but the way that eliminations happen is what had me on the edge my seat from the first five minutes of the show and on.

Season 1 begins with a thousand hopeful contestants, and immediately starts the elimination process by giving people choices. I won’t get into specifics because watching how each plays out is really part of the fun, but some examples include offering a bribe to self-eliminate, or incentivizing people to self-eliminate in order to save the other members of their group. In another scenario, accepting a bribe means eliminating your whole group along with you. So the bribe-taker gets a prize for essentially ending the game for themselves and all of their group members.

As I’m watching, my attention is divided between trying to guess what people are going to do and also questioning what I might do in any given scenario. And just like The Traitors, which — when at its best — has no shortage of jaw-dropping moments, the Beast Games players’ choices aren’t always easy to predict.

There’s Definitely A Social Element To This Game

One of the things I love about Big Brother is that getting to the end usually isn’t just about winning competitions. That’s an element, for sure, but since the houseguests eliminate each other, putting yourself in a position where people want to keep you around is key to survival each week. Beast Games seems really similar in that respect.

Obviously, the episodes are cut down to focus on the competitions, so we don't get to see all of the socializing going on, but it’s clear as the game goes on that the contestants are bonding and forming friendships. And in some cases, people are taking a dislike to other people. These elements factor into some of the competitions in key ways. In fact, Beast Games seems intent on using the various connections and rivalries to add additional tension and emotion to the games.

Imagine growing close with another player only to be put in a situation where it's you vs. them in terms of who's eliminated or advancing. That’s honestly a vague and pretty mild way of describing some of the scenarios we see play out, because some of the situations seem downright impossible.

Meanwhile, there are people who find themselves targeting another specific player for one reason or another. But, whether or not they get the opportunity to take a shot is entirely dependent on the next round and what the rules are. The games and rules keep changing throughout, so you don't always know what you're up against until it's happening.

People Are Playing This Game With Differing Objectives And Values

I’m not here to judge. This is not to say that I haven’t been overflowing with personal opinions (not all of them positive) about how some of the competitions have played out. What I'm getting at here is, I don't think that playing honestly or as a "good person" is necessarily better than playing a sneaky game in Beast Games.

It's a competition series and winning is the goal. The thing about it is, it doesn't seem to be set up to cater toward one type of player over the other. Everyone is presumably there to try to win the money, but when push comes to shove, are they willing to betray friendships (or even simply other players they barely know) for their own gain? And if so, what’s their price? If they accept that price, does it work out for them or come back to bite them soon after?

There doesn't seem to be one answer for any of those questions as far as what we've seen, and I like that. Even if people behave predictably, the competition rarely does. Whether you’re being selfless or selfish, there’s no guarantee it’s going to work out in your favor.

I’m Rooting For Some Specific Players Over Others, But Who Wins Isn’t The Only Thing I Care About

Yes, I have my favorites. I won’t get into spoilers here, but I’ve been overjoyed by some of the wins I’ve seen people have on this show, and saddened by some of the losses, but there's more than just the grand prize being handed out. Players have opportunities to win money and prizes (and not always at the cost of staying in the game).

So, we’re seeing people offered money and other things throughout the series, and while a lot of contestants leave empty-handed, quite a few don't. That's particularly satisfying and lessens the disappointment when a favorite player is eliminated, but with some kind of prize in their pocket.

Of course I’m curious to see who wins, especially as the numbers dwindle even further, but I really just want to see how the rest of this season plays out. What other scenarios are they going to be put in? Are the people who’ve proven to be trustworthy going to remain trustworthy? What other twists and turns does this series have in store? What other prizes are going to be put on the table to tempt people?

In short, I’m not just interested in knowing who wins, I’m excited to watch more of what happens between where I left off and the finale, which streams tomorrow.

I have no doubt I’ll be caught up by the time it does. Yes, I barely knew what Beast Games was before I agreed to watch it, and I doubt it'll be for everything but at this point, I’m all in.