Seven of Hearts (Netflix)

Manga
OVA
Netflix
Netflix S1
Netflix S3

The Seven of Hearts (ハートの７, Hāto no Nana), also known as Hide and Seek (かくれんぼ, Kakurenbo), is a game featured in Episode 3 of Alice in Borderland.

One of the participants is chosen to be the wolf while the other three are lambs, and the wolf is the only winner at the end of the game.

Overview[]

Set-Up[]

Location:
Shinjuku Natural Botanical Garden
Player Limit:
4
Time Limit:
15 minutes
Starting Condition:
Players have to wear a helmet. Each helmet consists of a microphone to communicate with each other, goggles with an advanced eye-tracking system, and an explosive collar.
Additional Conditions:
Tools such as hatchets, scissors, and hammers are also provided, and players can use them as they wish.

Rules[]

One player is the wolf, and the other three are lambs.
If the wolf and one of the lambs lock eyes, the wolf role will be transferred to the lamb.
Lambs need to hide from the wolf.
It is GAME CLEAR for the player who is the wolf when the time limit reaches zero.
It is GAME OVER for the players who are lambs when the time limit reaches zero.

Details[]

A white table with axes, screw drivers, machetes, scissors, and so on — Tools on the table before the "Hide and Seek" begins

The venue is a massive indoor botanical garden, filled with plants, trees, and lakes, which proves to be full of good hiding spots. The goggles allow to identify other players' ID, and the headset is equipped with a microphone, which enables communication in the game arena. The game rules do not explicitly mention what happens if the helmet is damaged or if the wire, that leads to the explosive collar, is cut. However, Arisu does not wish to risk finding out, as it might potentially lead to the collar exploding even for the wolf.

Solution[]

No effective solution or strategy has been used to guarantee the survival of all players. The only way to survive is to follow the rules and end up with the wolf role at the end of the game. If at least one player survives, it allows for the game to be cleared, which subsequently provides the chance to clear the First Stage.

Strategy[]

Shibuki gets the other players' attention in order to steal the wolf role before running off in an attempt to hide.
- An alternative approach would be to climb a tree.
Karube uses an attack-heavy strategy with a machete to pursue Shibuki after she runs off with the wolf role.
Players can discuss who should survive, however, some players are likely to act selfishly and rebel, which would prevent the plan from succeeding.

Game Result[]

Arisu	GAME CLEAR Was the wolf at the end of the game	Karube	GAME OVER Killed by collar explosion
Chota	GAME OVER Killed by collar explosion	Shibuki	GAME OVER Killed by collar explosion

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

The Netflix adaptation of the Seven of Hearts game has a lot of game and plot differences compared to its manga version:
- Karube uses a machete in comparison to the manga where he uses a hatchet;
- the time limit is changed from ten minutes to fifteen minutes;
- as the helmet recognizes someone, their name is listed on the right with their ID;
- the helmet's recognized name says "Chota Segawa" instead of the Japanese naming order tradition, which would be "Segawa Chota";
- as Arisu stops Chota from taking off the helmet in the game, the name says "Ryohei Alice" instead of "Ryohei Arisu";
  - since Arisu/Alice in the titular protagonist of the series, this detail prematurely gives away the winner of the game, who certainly cannot die in the beginning of the story;
- the helmet's design is different from in the manga, where players wear an eyepiece connected by wires to the collar instead of goggles connected by a metal spine to the collar;
- Arisu brings multiple screwdrivers and tries to disarm the explosive collar, searching for a solution to save all the players, while in the manga Arisu immediately runs away to save himself;
- Chota only has the wolf role once during the game, while in the manga he has it twice;
- Shibuki has to be restrained by Chota at one point, which does not happen in the manga;
- Arisu witnesses Karube's death;
- there is no mutton prize in the live-action;
- Arisu does not burn the botanical garden in the live-action.
Some viewers have noticed that, while others theorize about a potential solution with no deaths, Mira, who designed the game specifically for Arisu and his friends and then used it to mock Arisu into killing her during the Queen of Hearts (which would make that game unclearable), would have definitely told Arisu about a potential solution to the Seven of Hearts game if there was one, as it would be very easy to enrage Arisu by telling him that he could have saved his friends and failed. Since Mira's goal was to make Arisu hate her, and yet she did not mention any way to survive the Seven of Hearts, it might mean that there was no intended solution apart from the given one.