Genius Game

Genius Game
Genre	Reality competition
Presented by	David Tennant
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	8
Production
Running time	60 minutes
Production company	Remarkable Television
Original release
Network	ITV
Release	30 April 2025 (2025-04-30) – present
Related
The Genius (TV series)

Genius Game is a British reality game show. The first series premiered on 30 April 2025 on ITV, The show is based on South Korean TV show The Genius and is hosted by David Tennant.

The show pits eleven contestants against each other as they compete in various challenges, known as matches, which test their strategic thinking and social skills. Contestants are eliminated in head-to-head matches until only one remains and is awarded the title of "the Genius" and a cash prize.

Production

Format

A group of contestants compete in a series of mental challenges and games in order to win a large grand prize. In most episodes, the players will compete in a Main Match or a Death Match.

• Main Match: In each episode, all players will compete in the Main Match. The format and win conditions will vary from each game, and occasionally between each player, in games where different roles are assigned. Generally, the winners will receive a Token of Life, granting them Immunity from the episode's Death Match. In the event that there is only a single winner, the winner will receive an additional Token of Life to give to another player. The loser of the Main Match will compete in the Death Match. If multiple players lost the Main Match, the winner(s) of the Main Match select the elimination candidate from among the losers.

• Death Match: The Death Match is a one-on-one game in which the Main Match loser nominates a player without Immunity to compete against to stay in the game. The winner remains in the game, and the loser is eliminated. The winner also takes the Garnets of the losing player.

• Garnets: Garnets function as the show's in-game currency, and can be used to purchase advantages during certain matches or given to other players to persuade them to make certain decisions. Every player begins the season with one garnet each, and can earn more garnets by winning Main Matches or Death Matches, in which they take the Garnets of the Death Match loser. Garnets are worth £1,000 and form the Prize Fund awarded to the winner.

Contestants

The contestants for the first series were revealed on 14 April 2025.^[1]

Name	Age	Occupation	Residence	Result
Ken Cheng	35	Comedian and Poker player	London	Participating
Charlotte Yeung	23	Student	London
Kishan Bodalia	29	DJ and Doctor	Birmingham	Eliminated (Episode 7)
Benjamin Everly	36	Associate professor	Brighton
Bex Kellett	37	Managing director	Huddersfield
Alison Bruce	57	Author	East of England	Eliminated (Episode 6)
India "Indie" Loader	21	Student	Salisbury	Eliminated (Episode 5)
Amanfi Aggrey	23	Business graduate	London	Eliminated (Episode 4)
Bhasha Mukherjee	28	Doctor	London	Eliminated (Episode 3)
Scott Sweeney	30	Forensic scientist	Tanworth	Eliminated (Episode 2)
Paul Linton	58	Sales director	Newcastle	Eliminated (Episode 1)

Game summary

Episode				Winner(s)	Awarded Immunity	Death Match Players		Death Match
No.	Airdate	Main Match				MM Loser	Challenged	Game	Winner	Eliminated
1	30 April 2025	Gold Heist		Charlotte	Scott	Paul	Bhasha	Same or Different	Bhasha	Paul
2	1 May 2025	Zombie Game		Benjamin, Bex, Bhasha, Indie	-	Scott	Alison	Hidden Noughts & Crosses	Alison	Scott
3	7 May 2025	Code Breakers		Benjamin	Bodalia	Ken	Bhasha	Poker Face	Ken	Bhasha
4	14 May 2025	Lights Off		Indie	Bex	Bodalia	Amanfi	Tactical Rock Paper Scissors	Bodalia	Amanfi
5	21 May 2025	Safari Race		Bodalia	Bex	Indie	Alison	Black and White	Alison	Indie
6	28 May 2025	Diamond Dilemma		Bex	Bodalia	Benjamin	Alison	Picture Hunt	Benjamin	Alison
7	4 June 2025	Media Moguls		—						Bex
				Ken		Benjamin, Bodalia, Charlotte		Dice Deception	Charlotte	Benjamin
										Bodalia
8	11 June 2025

Elimination Chart

Ranking	Contestants	Episode								MM WIN	DM IMM	DM WIN
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	Charlotte	WIN	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	DM		1	0	1
	Ken	IN	IN	DM	IN	IN	IN	WIN		1	0	1
3	Benjamin	IN	WIN	WIN	IN	IN	DM	ELIM		2	0	1
3	Bodalia	IN	IN	IMM	DM	WIN	IMM	ELIM		1	2	1
5	Bex	IN	WIN	IN	IMM	IMM	WIN	ELIM		2	2	0
6	Alison	IN	DM	IN	IN	DM	ELIM			0	0	2
7	Indie	IN	WIN	IN	WIN	ELIM				2	0	0
8	Amanfi	IN	IN	IN	ELIM					0	0	0
9	Bhasha	DM	WIN	ELIM						1	0	1
10	Scott	IMM	ELIM							0	1	0
11	Paul	ELIM								0	0	0
Garnets		15	15	21	24	32	34	39		—

Key:

  The contestant won the main match.

  The contestant was selected by the winner of the main match for immunity.

  The contestant won the death match.

  The contestant lost the death match and was eliminated.

  The finalist which the returning eliminated players chose to give the items.

Gameplay

Main Matches

Episode 1: Gold Heist (11 contestants)

There are three vaults. One contains five bags worth one million pound each, one contains three gold bars worth three million pounds each and one contains a crown worth 10 million pounds. There are four rounds. The contestants can take one item out of any of the vaults or abstain. The contestants all have one tip off where they name another contestant and which vault they plan on breaking into. If the tip-off was successful, the other contestant will spend one round in jail. If too many contestants try to take the same item, everyone who tried to take the item goes to jail. Whoever has the most money after four rounds wins, and whoever has the least amount of money after four rounds is the Death Match candidate.

Episode 2: Zombie Game (10 contestants)

Two contestants are randomly selected as zombies to begin the game. The zombies know their own status, but not the status of the other players (including the other zombie).

The game is played over three 20-minute rounds. In each round, players must "touch" each other by placing their hand on a light together. If two humans touch, they each score a point. If a zombie touches a human, the human becomes a zombie. (Nothing happens if two zombies touch). Two players cannot touch each other more than once each round, and a player must touch someone else during the round or else they automatically become a zombie at the end of the round. Once each round is over, the number of humans and zombies is shown to the players. Each player is also given an antidote at the start of the game; if taken within 10 minutes of being touched by a zombie, the human is cured. (Antidotes have no effect on the two original zombies.) Antidotes can also be purchased for 1 garnet. The zombies win the game, a Token of Life, and three garnets each, if they manage to turn everyone else into zombies, and select the Death Match candidate. If any humans survive the game, the one with the most points wins and earns one garnet for each point scored; and the one with the fewest points loses and becomes the Death Match candidate. If all surviving humans have the same number of points, they are declared joint winners and select a Death Match candidate among the zombies.

Episode 3: Codebreakers (9 contestants)

This are four rounds. There is a ten letter word. Eight of the contestants are codebreakers, while one of the players is randomly picked to be an undercover agent. The undercover agent wins if none of the other players solves the code. If one or more codebreakers solves the code the undercover agent goes into the death match. If the undercover agent wins the codebreaker who scored the fewest points becomes the Death Match candidate. Players guess three letters and positions in the first three rounds but in the fourth round the players guess ten letters and guess the word. A player gets one point for a correct letter in the wrong place and two points for a correct letter in the correct place. The eight codebreakers each get one clue at the start of the game but the undercover agent gets all eight clues. There are three more clues that can be purchased for garnets in the dealer room.

Episode 4: Lights Off (8 contestants)

There are eight briefcases with six cubes in them. To win the game the players have to have six of the same colour and lock in. There are eight reds, greens, blues, purples and yellows. If a player wins with those colours they get three garnets. There are also seven whites and one black. If a player wins with whites they get five garnets. Whoever has the black cube when the game ends becomes the Death Match candidate. Players can't swap with the same player more than once per round. Each player has one padlock but can only use it once in the game. If a player is padlocked they miss one round.

Episode 5: Safari Race (7 contestants)

Play takes place on a 6 lane track, 13 spaces long and each lane containing an animal. Each animal will move along the track depending on the players' actions. Before play starts, players are handed tokens with each animal on them. They will then place all but the animal tokens they wish to support into a box, which players draw on throughout the game. The tokens they do not place in the box are removed from the game.

Each turn, players are randomly placed in the order they play the game. Only one player per round may forfeit their turn, in exchange for going last in their next turn. Players draw four animal tokens, and place them into boxes labeled from 1 to 3. The animal with the highest unique count of an animal moves the amount of spaces corresponding to that box's label. Once any animal reaches the end of the track, the game is over.

Once the game ends, the animal that crosses the finish line is worth 3 points, while the two next closest animals are worth 2 and 1 points. Players are awarded the points corresponding to the animals they chose to support at the beginning of the game. If both of their animals are in the top three, they win an extra point. The player with the highest score wins, while the player with the lowest score is the Death Match candidate.

Episode 6: Diamond Race (6 contestants)

Players are randomly assigned to two teams, and allocated ten diamonds for use throughout the game. Teams gain a point by, in total, using more diamonds than the opposing team. Players do not know how many diamonds are in each player's possession. When a round concludes, only the amount of diamonds used by the losing team is revealed. Once a team has won three rounds, they win the match. The player with the most diamonds is crowned the winner, with multiple winners declared in the event of a tie. The player on the losing team with the least diamonds at the end of the game becomes the Death Match candidate.

Diamonds, at the end of the game, are converted into garnets in a 1:1 ratio. The losing team receive no garnets, irrespective of their diamonds.

Episode 7: Media Moguls (5 contestants)

Players are given £100,000 to invest between four companies over four rounds. In each round, players allocate their money to each company, vieing to allocate the most. The player that allocates the most money to a company receives one point, and two points per additional company they allocate the most money to. The player that allocates the least money to each company is barred from allocating money to that company for the rest of the game. Furthermore, should a player attempt to allocate an amount of money such that their cash would drop below £1, their allocated total for that company is £0. The player with the most points at the end of the four rounds is the winner. Last place in this match is eliminated immediately, while the remaining players enter the Death Match.

Death Match

Episode 1 (Final): Same or Different

This game was played over the course of 10 rounds. In each round, the players are shown a series of 9 cards. Each card has three features: shape (circle, square, triangle), shape color (red, yellow, blue), and background color (black, white, gray).

Players take turns identifying sets of three cards in which the three features are either all the same or all different. (For example: Circle-Red-Black, Square-Red-White, Triangle-Red-Gray.) If they see a set, the player says "Set!", and identifies the three cards. If the set is valid, the player scores a point. If the set is invalid, or has already been called, the player loses a point. If 10 seconds pass without a "Set!" call, play passes to the other player.

If all of the sets have been identified, the player may call "Complete!" If "Complete!" was called correctly and there are no more sets left, the player scores 3 points and the round ends. If "Complete!" is called when there are still sets to identify, however, the player loses 1 point. If 6 turns pass without a player successfully, the rounds ends. The player with the most points after 5 rounds wins the game.

Note: The game is based on Gyul! Hap! from the Korean version.

Episode 2 (Final): Hidden Noughts and Crosses

This game is played on a six-by-six grid featuring discs marked with noughts or crosses, all colored in white or gold. Before the game, the players are given 90 seconds to memorize the position of the discs before they are all overturned and the Death Match candidate will select whether they wish to play noughts or crosses. The players take turns to create a line of three of their chosen shape in the same color, either horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Before each turn, a player is given the option to either reveal a disc, or swap two of them around. They can then choose to lock in a line or pass play on to their opponent.

If a player successfully reveals a match, they earn three points and the discs they overturned are locked for the remainder of the game, being unable to be used for any other line. If the line is not a match, either by the wrong shape or color, they lose a point and the discs are turned back over. The first player to earn ten points wins the game.

Episodes

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Original release date	UK viewers (millions)
1	1	"Episode 1"	30 April 2025 (2025-04-30)	N/A
2	2	"Episode 2"	1 May 2025 (2025-05-01)	N/A
3	3	"Episode 3"	7 May 2025 (2025-05-07)	N/A
4	4	"Episode 4"	14 May 2025 (2025-05-14)	TBD
5	5	"Episode 5"	21 May 2025 (2025-05-21)	TBD
6	6	"Episode 6"	28 May 2025 (2025-05-28)	TBD
7	7	"Episode 7"	4 June 2025 (2025-06-04)	TBD
8	8	"Episode 8: Grand Final"	11 June 2025 (2025-06-11)	TBD

Notes

References

1. "Genius Game: Meet the Players Taking on ITV's New Reality Competition With David Tennant". TV Zone. April 14, 2025. Retrieved April 29, 2024.

External links

• Genius Game at IMDb
• Genius Game at UKGameshows.com