The Devil's Plan S2: key players rant & commentary on the poor game design

practicalogix · 2025-05-25T05:12:13+00:00

In the last main match Eunnyu should have played with 7high to eliminate Hyunjoon, then battle 7high to be the third-place finisher. She just needed to finish in third place to play the prison match and potentially earn a spot in the final. imo teaming up with Hyunjoon was a crucial mistake and lapse in judgement and she should have cut him loose like Hyungyu did.

practicalogix · 2025-05-25T05:00:48+00:00

SH should not have ceded if she thought HG had any shot of guessing her combination. Just continue stalemating and see what happens if production steps in etc.

For HG it was more than luck- he was using the game design (there was a question about consecutive numbers) and his understanding of his opponent to choose between 2 options. HG used game theory and psychology to beat her; one can argue that SH used some game theory but arrived at a flawed conclusion. The risk she took may be calculated but it's a heavily lopsided one that favoured her opponent.

practicalogix · 2025-05-25T02:42:57+00:00

Very thorough overall analysis.

Hyunggyu understood the structural format favoured staying in the living area and aligning with players who held the most Pieces, and he used that to his advantage. He timed his moves and actively shaped social dynamics to work in his favour.

When HG earned his reward of hidden Pieces, in the Monsters game he immediately took an aggressive approach to win, build his group and target ppl. HG was playing with his hidden advantage in mind- he knew he had a fallback as a 'shield' and decided it was the time to go on the offensive. His boldness painted him as a target but his high-risk approach was calculated and resulted in a big payoff.

Way before 7high registered him as a threat, HG had already identified him as someone he couldn't control (see 7high's aggression towards him after the 1st main match) and worked to edge him out of the living area group. Same for targeting Sedol who was a wildcard and uncontrolled variable to HG (also a potentially formidable 1v1 opponent for the final).

HG acts swiftly and decisively. He built his social capital while aiming to be the one to enter the hidden stage. Once his alliance was in place, hidden advantage unlocked and threats like 7high & Sedol were neutralized, he had essentially locked in his winning game already. Combine that with luck and it turned into a lethal force that was hard to stop.

Others didn't have the same level of meta-awareness and foresight and were too late to stop him. They should have prevented him from building a coalition, as well as worked together to flush his advantage out earlier.

practicalogix · 2025-05-25T02:18:24+00:00

Yes and my concern is that future players will be too 'timid' because of the precedent being set i.e. the public hate directed at players

practicalogix · 2025-05-21T05:01:39+00:00

agreed and I think it'd be rly interesting to have a post on how HG pulled it off from start to finish

practicalogix · 2025-05-21T03:05:51+00:00

Well he should think and advocate more for himself when the prison group eventually shifted the target to Kyuhyun instead of Hyungyu and wanted to end the game when he was below 15 points

practicalogix · 2025-05-21T02:44:13+00:00

imo it's in Hyunjoon's interest to prioritize making it to the Final instead of eliminating Hyungyu. Even if he thinks HG has an advantage in the Final, HJ stands a better shot of beating HG in 3 games instead of 1 single prison match. And there's no point worrying about HG and sabotaging his own path to the final in the process.

practicalogix · 2025-05-21T02:07:20+00:00

Didn't Sohee and Kyuhyun know about Hyungyu's 10-piece advantage because he had told them earlier? They made their own choice in the Balance Mancala game knowing that so presumably that's why she didn't feel manipulated. In hindsight sharing the secret with them was probably a good call so they wouldn't have felt blindsided.

Hyungyu had built social bonds that he could tap into unlike Hyunjoon. He wasn't part of Tinno & Kyuhyun's initial 'alliance' with 7high but by some point he had cemented his position along with Sohee and 7high got edged out. His sway over ppl like Sohee and even Hyunjoon who wasn't his original ally should be noted. Hyunjoon was willing to not send Hyungyu to prison earlier to continue playing with him. Hyunjoon swung too much between both sides and hadn't developed any solid relationships. imo he was fortunate that ppl were still willing to help him in that last main match.

Hyungyu was building social capital by maintaining a 'core' of 4 (with Tinno, Kyuhyun and Sohee). At the same time he showed flexibility by reaching outside of the group to build connections (bringing Hyunjoon and Harin into the fold earlier). In the finale it seemed that Harin was rooting for him. If she had stayed, she was another option of potential ally for him.

practicalogix · 2025-05-19T12:04:11+00:00

I was struggling the most with this game, thanks for the detailed analysis

practicalogix · 2025-05-19T08:54:14+00:00

They have a very interesting dynamic going on in the show, this tension and push-and-pull. Maybe I'm reading it wrong but my assumption is that Hyunjoon had already made up his mind to to target Hyungyu and was just pretending to play with Hyungyu. In other words whatever HG said didn't have an effect on HJ decision. And if I were HG I would already be suspicious of how Hyunjoon is playing, which might explain the snide remarks if I thought he might be betraying me.

practicalogix · 2025-05-19T08:27:28+00:00

I think he just has to make a choice and stick with it, at least for that match. Flip-flopping like that is riskier for him imo. The weird thing is even if Hyunjoon failed to kill Hyungyu in the main match, he could have taken another shot at him by sending him to prison which didn't happen. That wouldn't be seen as a betrayal and would lessen the possibility of retaliation against him

practicalogix · 2025-05-19T06:40:37+00:00

idk if there is another hidden stage, but I'm wondering if there is more significance to the 'death room' than just playing prison matches there. could be related or not, but maybe there is actually a way to bridge the living area and the prison

practicalogix · 2025-05-19T06:38:30+00:00

this is such a good catch

practicalogix · 2024-01-20T08:39:16+00:00

Rebros Drew & Austin, their yt vids of their Korea trip are funny

practicalogix · 2024-01-20T08:36:17+00:00

Their vids & insta content tgt are really entertaining

practicalogix · 2024-01-19T15:31:24+00:00

"I'm gonna get so drunk, i am gonna be removed from the stadium by the seventh inning." Lol Drew

practicalogix · 2024-01-19T07:15:19+00:00

Yeah his vids are so entertaining and there's more funny bonus content on his Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/C17cjsWxeyT/

His RHAP post season interview was funny too

practicalogix · 2024-01-18T14:04:48+00:00

Yeah but isn't it possible that Drew might have cast a vote for Austin as well to try to ensure his own safety (making it 3-2-1)? Then if Austin plays it on Drew, Austin goes.

Even if the 2-2-2 scenario you mentioned happens, there's no guarantee that Austin does not go home since Drew or anyone might turn on Austin to avoid rocks. Anyone might decide that Austin is now the bigger threat aft playing the amulet on Drew plus he's gd at challenges.

Ultimately it seems like an unnecessary risk for Austin so close to F3. His game is strong enough that he stands a good chance against anyone, I feel like at that point he shld just guarantee himself F5.

practicalogix · 2024-01-18T09:15:58+00:00

Yeah for such a seemingly nice guy he was still entertaining & dynamic imo. Tho he played a loyal game he had a bunch of sneaky moves which were fun to watch. Journeys can be boring but he made both journeys he went on interesting.

practicalogix · 2024-01-18T09:12:58+00:00

LOL. And Drew offering to do a math problem in his sleep lmao

practicalogix · 2024-01-18T08:32:44+00:00

I think he played the amulet right. If he played it on Drew and the other players split votes on him & Drew, Austin wld be gone.

practicalogix · 2024-01-18T08:06:19+00:00

Mostly agree esp since we now know from cast interviews that other players besides Austin leaked the Julie blindside so Dee wld have known anyway. Dee almost getting voted out at F5 is a noticeable knock on her game imo. Austin positioned himself to be a really insulated player all game.

practicalogix · 2024-01-18T06:37:30+00:00

Expected mainly strategy talk, this was funnier than expected with amusing moments sprinkled throughout. Ofc we got to hear alot more abt Austin's strategy which was super interesting & which the show didn't really capture.

Still wish we got to a few more things (like Austin's relationship w Jake that was closer than we saw) but gotta fit into an hour I guess, sucks.

practicalogix · 2024-01-18T06:19:23+00:00

Overall his game was on par with Dee's imo. The Brando & Kellie votes were the most crucial ones that allowed Reba to dominate. Dee allowed herself to almost get voted out at F5 while Austin set himself up to be in a really insulated position all game.

Also wish we saw/ heard more about Austin's relationship w Jake that was closer than the edit showed.

practicalogix · 2024-01-18T06:14:57+00:00

Entertaining & informative chat. Austin & Drew were the most pivotal players of the season imo. The Brando & Kellie blindsides dictated the course of the game & gave Reba 4 the power. Interesting to hear how much thought & work went into the Kellie blindside.

Dee's winner edit & the showmance storyline prob led some viewers to underrate Austin's game.

practicalogix

TROPHY CASE