The 8 show explained: How do the rules work?

Netflix’s The 8 Show K-drama follows eight contestants as they take part in a secretive reality series with complex rules — this is how it all works.

The overall rules of The 8 Show are rudimentary. All the contestants are in financial trouble in their daily lives and are looking for a way out of it. After receiving one thousand won, they’re told to get in a car but receive no details of where they’re going… until they reach a secluded location.

They’re informed they have the chance to win a grand prize — but The 8 Show isn’t that simple, as there’s a possible risk of death.

If they choose to take part in The 8 Show, they pick a numbered card and enter through the curtians. If not, they take a cab fare and leave. So, for those who picked a card and took part in The 8 Show, what are the rules? Warning: Spoilers ahead!

The general rules of The 8 Show

At the start of The 8 Show, each player is given a book of rules they absolutely must follow. To start, all the players have a designated room based on the numbered card they picked. Within an elevator system in their room, they find their uniform and a rule book.

The first rule is that food and shelter will be provided for free. They have an intercom to order anything else they need. They don’t have access to a bathroom or other necessities. However, everything they buy is 10 times more expensive than in real life — and those costs are deducted from what they earn during the competition.

Whatever they purchase within the rooms must stay there. Anything to use outside their rooms can be purchased in the square, but that means they’ll spend less time in the game, meaning less money.

They also must remain in their rooms from midnight to 8am. They can’t cover any of the cameras. Anyone who breaks these rules will lose half of their prize money. If someone dies during the game, the timer strikes zero and the game is over. Another small rule is that 8F is the one to receive all the food and water for the other floors through the elevator.

In short, the more time players spend in the game, the more money they earn; minutes become wealth.

How each player earns money in The 8 Show

This is where the K-drama gets a bit tricky to navigate. Once you have a general understanding, it’s not too hard to follow.

When the players picked their initial numbers, they had no idea they were also picking their rankings and the rate of how much they would earn. The 8 Show follows a system of hierarchy. How much each person earns per time spent is based on what floor they are on.

For example, 1F has the smallest room and earns only 10 thousand won a minute. 2F earns 20 thousand won a minute, with 3F earning 30 thousand a minute. The pattern is that the prior two floors’ earnings a minute are added together for the next floor. By the end, 8F makes 340 thousand won a minute. It’s the Fibonacci sequence at play.

It creates a social hierarchy as the top floors have more money to spend on what they want compared to the lower floors. The more time the players spend in the game, the more money they receive.

The 8 Show rules: How to add more time

The 8 Show has a dark and twisted rule about how the players can get more time: it’s all about entertainment.

Just as the timer is about to end, 8F realizes that going up and down the stairs as much as possible adds more time to the clock.

You have to remember, someone is watching and they need to be entertained. As the K-drama progresses, the stairs trick stops working, so the players realize they need to do something else to get more time.

They come up with a talent show where each of them will perform. It works, with each player’s act adding time to the board — but it also depends on how well they performed. For example, 8F decided to have sex with 6F in her room. Since each room has cameras, it’s considered quite the show, leading to 69 more hours.

But the K-drama gets even darker and more brutal. Soon a talent show isn’t enough and the players resort to more dangerous and violent forms of entertainment. The top floors take control, which leads to the lower floors getting tasered, beaten, and physically bloodied.

The 8 Show is available on Netflix, and you can catch more of Netflix’s upcoming K-dramas, and the most anticipated K-dramas of 2024.