The following contains spoilers for Alice in Borderland.Alice in Borderland on Netflix has been having its moment since the release of the second season. This Japanese show with a slow-burning mystery and plenty of thrills along the way has captivated audiences and made for incredibly compelling TV. The show follows Arisu, a normal (if fairly unmotivated) young man who winds up in an alternate version of Tokyo where people are forced to play deadly games in order to survive. Arisu and his friends must find ways to continuously outsmart these games while also trying to figure out how they got there and how to get back home.
The games are one of the most interesting aspects of the show, and one of the most important parts of these games is the card suits that represent each one. Each game corresponds to a different number (which denotes the difficulty level of the game) and a different suit that corresponds to the classic playing card suits (clubs, hearts, diamonds, and spades), which informs the player what type of game they will be playing. This is important because it gives the players a slight clue about what they might be in for should they choose to participate in that particular game. But what exactly does each card suit mean?
What Do Clubs Represent?
Games that are classified under the suit of clubs are ones that require teamwork from the players involved. These games force the participants to foster trust and cooperation between themselves in order to win. This is, of course, difficult to do with strangers in this environment where everyone is constantly fighting for their own survival, but it's something the players must do if they want to survive. These games require a bit of strategy, as the players need to come up with a plan together to make it to the end. Arisu tends to do well at these types of games as he has a strategic mind and works well with other people.
The venues for the club games tend to be some of the biggest, as they often take place in massive buildings or outdoors somewhere. Some of the club games seen in the series include the Three of Clubs ("Dead or Alive"), which is the first game seen in the show, and the King of Clubs ("Scoring Points"), where Arisu and his crew must compete against the King's team and win points by tagging members of the opposite team.
What Do Hearts Represent?
The heart games are some of the hardest in the show, as they are meant to be emotional and psychological tests on the players that break down the very trust they built with others in past games. They often seem to require players to betray their friends or teammates in order to survive. The Seven of Hearts game, "Hide and Seek", marks a turning point in the series for Arisu, as it's when he loses his friends and the grim reality of the world he's trapped in finally sets in. Some of the other big games in the show are also hearts games, including the Ten of Hearts, "Witch Hunt", in which the players must identify and burn a "witch" that resides amongst them and results in a huge amount of carnage and the collapse of the Beach organization, as well as the final Queen of Hearts challenge that Arisu and Usagi encounter.
What Do Diamonds Represent?
The diamond suit cards represent games that prioritize logic and intelligence. Players participating in these games must use critical thinking, analytical skills, and sound strategy to survive. Arisu, Chishiya, and Ann all excel at these types of games because they're all highly intelligent players. These games are often in small venues and don't require much physical effort to complete, as they're all about mental capabilities. The Four of Diamonds game, "Light Bulb", places players in a room that slowly fills with water and gets closer to dangling electrical wires while players decide which switch will turn on a light behind a door. The King of Diamonds game that Chishiya participates in is another logic puzzle that requires a knowledge of math and analytical strategy.
What Do Spades Represent?
On the flip side of things, spades games are more physical and test a player's strength and stamina. The games can include all types of physical activity, including running, fighting, and climbing. Combat-based games often allow the use of weapons, which isn't as common in other game types. Usagi tends to do well at these games with her athletic skills as a climber, as well as Kuina, who is trained in martial arts.
The games range from an intensified game of tag, like the Five of Spades game in the show, to challenges that are much more harrowing, such as the Seven of Spades game ("Boiling Death"), where a geyser erupts and destroys the stadium the players are in, and they must escape from it and the boiling water it's producing in order to win the game and survive. There is also, of course, the King of Spades game that presents a huge obstacle in Season 2, as the King, a deadly mercenary, starts hunting players and is only finally taken down (after a long and difficult battle) in the penultimate episode.