Runaway Train (Netflix)

The "Runaway Train" (暴走でんしゃ, Bōsō Densha) is a game featured in Episode 3-4 (Season 3) of Alice in Borderland.

Players have to go through eight carriages and stop the train.

Overview

Set-Up

Location:
Underground Subway Station
Player Limit:
None
Time Limit:
30 seconds in each car to put on the gas mask
Starting Items:
A gas mask and five canisters of neutralizing agent for the poison gas.

Rules

The train is operated without a driver. Players need to move from the first car to the lead car and stop the train.
When players move to the next car, the doors automatically lock, and either oxygen or poison gas is released. Four out of eight carriages are guaranteed to contain poison gas.
A player is given a gas mask and five canisters of neutralizing agent for the poison gas.
After entering the next car, players have 30 seconds to decide whether to put on their masks.
Players cannot use other participants' canisters.
Players cannot return to previous cars.
It is GAME CLEAR if the player successfully moves from the starting car to the lead car and stops the train after hearing a siren.
It is GAME OVER if the player enters a carriage filled with poison gas without the neutralizing agent.

Details

There is a birdcage in each car. The canary inside serves as a warning: if it dies, there is poison gas in the car. After the round is over, the doors open and the inside is ventilated. Additionally, since the trains run on the subway as intended in the real world, some of the paths overlap, allowing players to jump between trains.

Solution

The carriages containing the poison are #2, #4, #7, #8.

Strategy

Players are allowed to make one mistake due to having five canisters with the neutralizing agent and four poisoned train cars. However, making more than one mistake will render the game impossible to clear without changing trains.
Jumping onto another train proves to be an effective solution in case more than one canister is wasted.
Some of the train cars used during the game do not have a pantograph on the roof, allowing the space to be filled with gas tanks. Determining the type of car allows players to know beforehand whether gas could be released.
Canary birds are known to detect toxic fumes by showing signs of distress even before the gases reach lethal levels. Therefore, by observing the canary for any signs of distress, players might be able to determine which train cars could be poisoned and which ones might be safe.

Game Result

Usagi's Team

Usagi	GAME CLEAR Jumped onto another train	Ryuji	GAME CLEAR Jumped onto another train
Taro	GAME CLEAR Jumped onto another train	Himari	GAME CLEAR Jumped onto another train
Itsuki	GAME CLEAR Jumped onto another train	Yuna	GAME CLEAR Jumped onto another train
Juri	GAME OVER Remained on the train with no way of clearing the game	Unnamed Player 1	GAME OVER Died of gas poisoning
Unnamed Player 2	GAME OVER Died of gas poisoning	Unnamed Player 3	GAME OVER Died of gas poisoning
Kosuke	GAME OVER Died of gas poisoning	Unnamed Player 4	GAME OVER Died of gas poisoning
Unnamed Player 5	GAME OVER Got hit by a pillar while jumping	Unnamed Player 6	GAME OVER Got hit by a pillar while jumping
Unnamed Player 7		GAME OVER Remained on the train with no way of clearing the game

Arisu's Team

Arisu	GAME CLEAR Stopped the train	Sachiko	GAME CLEAR Players stopped the train
Rei	GAME CLEAR Players stopped the train	Nobu	GAME CLEAR Players stopped the train
Tetsu	GAME CLEAR Players stopped the train	Kazuya	GAME CLEAR Players stopped the train
Shion	GAME CLEAR Players stopped the train	Natsu	GAME CLEAR Players stopped the train

Unnamed Team

Multiple Unnamed Players	GAME OVER Died of gas poisoning

Gallery

Trivia

The manga version of the game, Two of Hearts, is smaller in scale, and a few details are different:
- in the manga, there is only one train, which consists of four carriages, and one carriage contains poisoned gas; while in the Netflix adaptation there are eight carriages, and four of them are filled with poisoned gas upon entry;
- each carriage in the manga contains a pot of flowers, and the wilted ones indicate that the air is filled with poison; while in the Netflix adaptation, there is a cage with a canary bird inside, which serves the same purpose;
- there is no directive to stop the train in the manga.
While the game is not seen in Season 1, it is briefly mentioned by Shibuki in Episode 2 without any details on the type or difficulty of it.
In the OVA, Shibuki clears this game alone.