The Genius

Synopsis

A reality series pitting people identified with "genius traits" against one another in social games of strategy, logic, and negotiation skills. Each episode consists of a main match and a death match. The main match decides the winner and elimination candidate for the day. The winner receives a token of life, which grants immunity from the death match, and potentially garnets, a game currency worth ₩1,000,000 each. Garnets can be used to improve a player's chances of winning a game, as well as be traded with other players to gain favor. The elimination candidate chooses a player without a token of life to take part in a 1v1 game called the death match. The player who loses the death match is eliminated, and the winner of the death match gains their garnets. The last remaining player is the champion, and the total garnets held by the champion will be the final prize.

First Air Date: 2013-04-26

Last Air Date: 2015-09-12

Number of Seasons: 4

Number of Episodes: 48

Created By: Jeong Jong-yeon

Networks: tvN

View Technical Specifications on IMDb

Top Cast

Hong Jin-ho as Self
Lee Sang-min as Self
Kim Kyung-ran as Self
Jang Dong-min as Self
Yoo Jung-hyun as Self
Lim Yun-seon as Self
Choi Jung-moon as Self
Lee Jun-seok as Self
Lim Yo-hwan as Self
Nam Hwi-jong as Self

Seasons

Rules of the Game (2013) - (12 Episodes)

Rule Breaker (2013) - (12 Episodes)

Black Garnet (2014) - (12 Episodes)

Grand Final (2015) - (12 Episodes)

Rules of the Game (2013)

No overview available for this season.

Episodes:

Ep. 1: 1.2.3 Game (2013-04-26)

Each player has nine cards: three each of "1", "2", and "3", which they must play against each other to win points. Any player with cards left over at the end loses.
Ep. 2: Election Game (2013-05-03)

Some players stand as election candidates, and whomever gets the most votes wins. The player with the least votes will be the elimination candidate and gets to pick from the voters who will be their opponent in the deathmatch.
Ep. 3: Abundance & Famine (2013-05-10)

Players must choose to travel to 'Abundance Land' or 'Famine Land' and will then split the land's available bread to accumulate points.
Ep. 4: Zombie Game (2013-05-17)

Players draw lots to become two zombies, with the others remaining as humans. Players must touch another player every round while trying to avoid becoming a zombie.
Ep. 5: Scamming Horse Race (2013-05-24)

The contestants bet on a horse race that has a predetermined outcome. They each will receive a different clue for the outcome of the race. Contestants combining clues will be crucial to figuring out which horse to bet on.
Ep. 6: Catch the Burglar (2013-05-31)

One player is the thief who will steal gold from whichever village in which he resides. In order to keep their gold, the other players must vote to banish a player from their village they think is the thief.
Ep. 7: Open, Pass (2013-06-07)

Open, Pass is a game where players use the number and symbol cards to create an expression to obtain the largest value.
Ep. 8: Kong's Dilemma (2013-06-14)

Teams of three play a game of five rounds. The team who wagers the most beans each round wins, but players cannot see how much anyone else bet.
Ep. 9: Expression Auction (2013-06-21)

Number and sign tiles are auctioned off and the first player to use these tiles to complete an expression that equals 10 is the winner.
Ep. 10: Confined Scamming Horse Race (2013-06-28)

This version of Scamming Horse Race makes the player's guests do the betting and collaborating, as players cannot leave their rooms.
Ep. 11: 5:5 Game (2013-07-05)

Players are given one hour to gather information from 10 guests which will be used to score points if 5 answer 'Yes' and 5 answer 'No.'
Ep. 12: Final Match (2013-07-12)

Whichever contestant wins 2 of 3 games will be the winner of The Genius.