James Stephen Donaldson, better known by his internet alias MrBeast, has made a career on YouTube performing large-scale stunts and challenges. Recently, he launched his biggest initiative yet with Amazon’s Beast Games (2024).
With over 1,000 contestants and a $5 million cash prize, Beast Games is the largest game show with the biggest cash prize in history. Viewers looking for more large-scale game shows with high stakes and unique physical and mental challenges can use our guide to find 10 more great shows like Beast Games on platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and more!
Cheat (2023)
Cheat is a Netflix game show with a unique twist on the trivia format. In each episode, four contestants answer trivia questions and are encouraged to “cheat” if they don’t know the question by discreetly pressing a button. The contestant who is best at detecting when their fellow competitors cheat can win $50,000.
Like Beast Games, Cheat is an unconventional and refreshing game show. It has something different to offer than the typical, straightforward trivia show, which elevates the stakes and keeps viewers on their toes as they try to determine who the best cheat hunter is. Cheat is an excellent show for fans seeking something as unique as Beast Games but more focused on mental rather than physical challenges.
Legends of the Hidden Temple (1993-1995)
Legends of the Hidden Temple is a Nickelodeon game show in which six teams of two children navigate challenges on a Mayan-inspired set. The teams complete three rounds of physical challenges and trivia questions to determine which team is worthy of entering the temple.
This fun, family-friendly alternative to Beast Games offers unique challenges, obstacles, courses, and prizes. If you’re a ‘90s kid, Legends of the Hidden Temple was peak Nickelodeon and likely resulted in treasured memories of yelling at the TV screen and rooting for your favorite team. Today, the show remains a nostalgic treat for adults and children alike. It’s essentially Beast Games for kids, with wildly creative challenge concepts and designs.
Physical: 100 (2023-Present)
Viewers who enjoy the high number of competitors and elimination format in Beast Games will be interested in Physical: 100. The South Korean reality TV series starts each season with 100 contestants, who compete in various grueling and creative physical challenges to avoid elimination and win $240,000.
Large in scale and intensity, Physical: 100 parallels Beast Games in more ways than one. The intensity and suspense of the series is off the charts with mass eliminations and brutal challenges, such as hanging onto a bar suspended over water for as long as possible. Meanwhile, the show always boasts a colorful, athletic array of contestants who keep things lively with their prominent personalities. It’s the kind of game show that’s so good you’re almost too scared to watch because of the high stakes and painful likelihood of contestants you’ve grown to love going home.
Siren: Survive the Island (2023)
Siren: Survive the Island’s contestants consist of 24 female police officers, firefighters, bodyguards, soldiers, athletes, and stuntwomen. The women are divided into six teams of four and placed on a remote island, competing in challenges until one team remains standing.
Not only are the intensity, stakes, and drama on par with Beast Games, but the show also puts a spotlight on the bravest and toughest female professionals. It offers a different type of drama than Beast Games, though. These women are in it to win and can be far more brutal and serious than the typical game show competitor. You won’t have the sometimes tiresome and petty infighting among competitors, but you will see some astounding strategic and intellectual skills. Siren: Survive the Island cuts the fluff and keeps the pace fast and intense, making it impossible for viewers to look away.
Squid Game: The Challenge (2023-Present)
Squid Game: The Challenge is the closest a game show has come to matching Beast Games' scale. Inspired by the dystopian thriller series Squid Game (2021), the show features 456 contestants competing for a whopping cash prize of $4.56 million.
In addition to boasting large-scale, high-stakes, juicy drama, and betrayal, Squid Game: The Challenge is unique in that it challenges its contestants with tasks inspired by children’s games. You’ll never be bored watching Squid Game: The Challenge’s rendition of all the deadliest, most suspenseful Squid Game challenges. Like Beast Games, the large scale also adds to the high entertainment as contestants form alliances and commit shocking betrayals. Besides Beast Games, the stakes don’t get much higher than Squid Game: The Challenge.
Survivor (2000-Present)
Survivor is one of the most popular reality competition shows of all time. Each season, 16 or more contestants are placed on a remote island where they must survive and provide their own food, shelter, and fire. The winner is dubbed “Sole Survivor” and gets $1 million.
Like Beast Games, Survivor is often filled with surprising twists, betrayals, alliances, and drastic actions motivated by the enormous prize. However, it’s a lot more brutal than the typical game show as it deposits contestants on an isolated island rather than a structured game show arena, and essentially leaves them to fend for themselves. It raises the stakes and suspense as you get the feeling that these people really are fighting for survival. The idea to leave elimination in the contestants' hands also adds to the drama and shock factor.
The Devil’s Plan (2023-Present)
The Devil’s Plan is the perfect choice for anyone looking for a South Korean game show, but who want something the complete opposite of Physical 100. Instead of grueling physical challenges, The Devil’s Plan embraces strategy and mental skill. It features 12 contestants participating in a seven-day competition where they compete in complex cognitive and strategic challenges and can land in “jail” for performing poorly.
Very few game shows are as unique or have as intricate set designs as The Devil’s Plan and Beast Games. The Devil’s Plan will especially appeal to viewers who value creativity over simplicity. It’s a challenge both for viewers and contestants to wade through the tangled web of rules and stipulations within the games. Interestingly, the game pits influencers and TV personalities against professionals in the STEM field, demonstrating that intelligence and knowledge don’t always equate to strategic skill. Ultimately, The Devil’s Plan gets you thinking and surpasses most game shows in complexity and depth.
The Mole (2001-2008)
Viewers intrigued by the betrayals and drama of Beast Games will love The Mole. Each season follows seven or more contestants who work together through physical and mental challenges and have to figure out which of them is secretly a “mole” selected by producers to sabotage the money-raising efforts.
Like Beast Games, The Mole’s unique format effectively elevates the stakes and drama. Alliances are more complex to form once the seed of suspicion is planted. No one trusts anyone, and the trickster capitalizes on manipulation to keep contestants guessing. The element of sabotage makes The Mole perhaps even more addictive than Beast Games.
The Zone: Survival Mission (2022-2024)
One of the most intriguing aspects of Beast Games is how it seemingly transports contestants and viewers into another realm with the $14 million city MrBeast developed for it. The Zone: Survival Mission also has the transportation effect through a disaster-simulated virtual space, which sees five South Korean celebrities attempt to survive eight disaster simulations, such as a zombie apocalypse.
The Zone: Survival Mission is unique, takes advantage of virtual simulations, and allows viewers to see contestants in a variety of environments and situations. It’s unlike other game shows in that it doesn’t pit contestants against each other, but instead explores their teamwork and survival skills in unusual environments. The result is a surprisingly funny game show, given the banter between contestants and the wild ideas and comments that surface under stress. If you love visually dazzling game shows that emphasize humor, The Zone: Survival Mission is the perfect show.
Wipeout (2008-2025)
Like Beast Games, Wipeout features a large number of contestants and extreme challenges. Every season, 24 contestants attempt to successfully complete four rounds of increasingly difficult and complex obstacle courses, trying not to “wipeout,” as each course includes the possibility of falls and collisions.
Wipeout is wildly entertaining and funny with its outrageous courses and desire to capture the worst wipeouts. It’s a true classic with enough popularity and success to help pave the way for ambitious and wild game shows like Beast Games, pushing its successors to be bigger and more outrageous. The show is pure fun and entertainment, filled with physical comedy, exciting challenges, and top-notch hosting. Similar to Beast Games, Wipeout is the kind of game show you turn on when looking for a high-quality game show binge.
