History DeadlyGame / Literature

* "Literature/Playground", A perverted socialite forces 8 kids to take park in deadly games that are based on playground equipment.

* Literature/Playground, A perverted socialite forces 8 kids to take park in deadly games that are based on playground equipment.

* The UrExample is probably ''Literature/TheMostDangerousGame'' (1924), a short story by Richard Connell subsequently adapted as an eponymous film. It is the {{Trope Namer|s}} of HuntingTheMostDangerousGame.

* In the Creator/AnthonyHorowitz short story "Bet Your Life", there is a reality quiz show where contestants have to answer trivia questions. If they get one wrong, they are killed in a rather gruesome way. [[spoiler:The "winner" is ultimately killed at the end by contestants on another show whose task is to steal a million pounds -- so they just shoot him and take his prize money.]]
* Creator/KimNewman has an EpistolaryNovel-styled short story called ''Going To Series''. The backstage memos of a company gearing up to produce a show called ''It's A Madhouse!'' are laid out in such a way that you can tell that a Deadly Game is ''exactly'' what the organizers are hoping will happen, and see the lengths they are prepared to go to to ensure killer ratings. It was written and published before ''Series/BigBrother'' or ''Series/{{Survivor}}'' first aired. Newman later consulted for a few days on a Creator/{{Channel 4}} show called ''Regency House Party'' and showed the story to the production team; he claims "they endorsed its surprising accuracy".

* Creator/RobertSheckley was probably a TropeCodifier. "The Prize of Peril" was one of the earliest examples, inspiring many later versions. The short story posits that shows where people literally risk their lives have become extremely popular, and one of the most popular involves the contestant being hunted by criminals who have been given permission to kill. Viewers can call in to offer advice and help to the contestant—or to his hunters!
** Even earlier is his short story "The Seventh Victim", adapted into film as "The Tenth Victim" (and subsequently novelized as such by the same author).

* More or less the point of the book ''Literature/BattleRoyale'' and the film and manga based on it, in which randomly selected junior-high-school classes were singled out by TheGovernment, brought to an isolated island, and forced to fight each other to the death. Although this is less of a game than a government procedure.

* ''Literature/FoodOfTheGods'' by Cassandra Khaw: Rupert Wong occasionally enters {{Cooking Duel}}s hosted by [[OurGhoulsAreCreepier ghouls]] where the loser gets butchered for the next meal.
* ''[[Franchise/FridayThe13th Friday The 13th The Jason Strain]]'', which has several {{Condemned Contestant}}s put on a Southern island, with the winner getting a reduced sentence and transfer to a cushy minimum security facility. Along with Jason (a "special guest") the roster includes the framed main character, a mass murderer, a white supremacist, two serial killers, an Angel of Death nurse, a black widow, a serial rapist, a mob boss, and three street gang members.
** Though the ''Extreme Elimination 2'' plotline is later [[HalfwayPlotSwitch randomly dumped]] in favor of [[ZombieApocalypse a zombie-centric one]].
* In the ''Literature/GeronimoStilton'' book "Watch Your Whiskers, Geronimo!" the main character goes on a late-night game show called The Mousetrap, where contestants are strapped to a large mouse trap that snaps shut whenever they give a wrong answer. Since this is a children's series, the worst that will happen is Geronimo might lose his tail, which is still a pretty bad outcome, as far as Geronimo's concerned.
* ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'' has one of the most bizarre examples ever: ''The Beast From the East'', in which human children play a twisted game of "tag" against giant alien bear monsters, where the loser gets eaten. Rules include (but are not limited to):

* In ''Literature/TheHungerGames'', as can be inferred by the title, this is the main plot. 24 teenagers aged 12 to 18 are drafted to compete in a televised fight to the death. The titular Games started out as a government intimidation tactic by the hand of the wealthy Capitol, to repress the rebellion efforts of the outlying Districts. The Capitol spun this as a form of entertainment for the Capitol, and it eventually evolved into a game, complete with interviews, spotlights and publicity.
** The basic plot is more or less similar to ''Literature/BattleRoyale'' (but it's a coincidence, as the author only learned of the Japanese one as she delivered it to the publisher). And the Games are televised and popularized and seen as big entertainment by the public, whereas in ''Literature/BattleRoyale'' it's a secretive program to suppress the nation's youth.

* ''Literature/MagicalGirlRaisingProject'' starts off as a MagicalGirl-themed phone game where some players are secretly given the power to transform into their avatars. Then the MentorMascot informs them that [[BlatantLies there isn't enough magic to go around]], so from now on they'll collect "magical candies" by doing good deeds, and the player with the lowest total at the end of each week will be eliminated. Naturally, elimination turns out to mean death. What's more, the players soon realize that [[FromBadToWorse even if you have the lowest points, you can escape elimination if another player dies first]]. This really only applies to the first two arcs, however, later arcs focus on events that aren’t killing games- but this still doesn’t stop a lot of people from dying, though.

* The short science fiction story ''Survivor'', by Walter F. Moudy, is set during the 2050 Olympic War Games between the US and Russia. The games are designed to make clear the horrors of war to the public, and are therefore televised. 100 soldiers on each side, with rifles, machine guns and mortars, are placed in a large camera-laced arena with battlefield terrain such as forests, hills and a lake, and must fight it out until all of one side is killed. The titular survivors are hailed as heroes, and the loser pays restitution to the winner. The broadcasters use color commentary, closeups, and special tech, much like sports. "Here's Private John Smith of Columbus, Ohio, a graduate of Johnson High School, running towards base -- ooh, he just got shot! Let's watch on slow-motion -- yes, you can see the bullet going into his throat, and our super-microphone confirms that his heart is no longer beating. Any comments, Jim?" "Well, it's obvious the Russians have slipped a sniper team in on the left flank, Bob, and that could be bad for Squad Two..."
** The creepy part is what happens to the "Survivor". His reward is to be not bound by any of the laws of his country, but he's still protected by them. The story ends with one of the viewers hearing his daughter will be another casualty of war.
* ''{{Literature/Tadgifauna}}'' has a variant. The titular creatures are genetically engineered and raised to fight to the death in the Tadgifauna Tournament once every two years. Each Tadgifaun is assigned a teenage trainer to raise them in preparation for this, and give them orders during the fight. The trainers' lives aren't on the line, but the Tadgifauana's lives certain are, as fights are to the death.
* Government-sanctioned ones on Neshi's homeworld in ''Literature/TheWandering'', usually consisting of a convict and a very heavily-armed robot. It is during Neshi attending one of the matches that he meets up with someone who passes along some important information leading to the mysterious Jerusalemites.
* ''War No. 81-Q'', written in 1928 by Cordwainer Smith (pen name of Paul Linebarger) has a pair of countries rent a battlefield and a fleet of airships each and have them fight to the death instead of having a real war. There are lots of spectators on the ground, and a radio play-by-play, making this one of the oldest examples of the trope.
* Deconstructed in ''[[Literature/GarrettPI Wicked Bronze Ambition]]'' with the Tournament of Swords, a secret competition in which hidden Operators compel twelve young members of the sorcerous Hill families to fight to the death. Even Garrett can see how ridiculous it is; none of the six previous Tournaments came off as intended, as the contestants' families ''always'' united to subvert the process and hunt down the Operators instead of risking their children's lives on a one-in-twelve shot at victory.

* In the Creator/AnthonyHorowitz short story "Bet Your Life", there was a reality quiz show where contestants had to answer trivia questions. If you got one wrong, you were killed in a rather gruesome way. [[spoiler:The "winner" is ultimately killed at the end by contestants on another show whose task is to steal a million pounds - so they just shoot him and take his prize money.]]

* ''Arena'', a short story by Fredric Brown (the basis for the Star Trek TOS episode of the same name), has advanced aliens take representatives of two warring species and pit them one on one to decide the outcome of the war. The ending of the story is quite different from the Star Trek version.
* More or less the point of the book ''Literature/BattleRoyale'' and the film and manga based on it, in which randomly-selected junior-high-school classes were singled out by TheGovernment, brought to an isolated island, and forced to fight each other to the death. Although this is less of a game than a government procedure.

* The UrExample is probably ''Literature/TheMostDangerousGame'' (1924), a short story by Richard Connell subsequently adapted as an eponymous film. It is the TropeNamer of HuntingTheMostDangerousGame.

* ''Literature/ThePendragonAdventure'' does this with its eighth book, the Quillan Games, in which Bobby has to participate in the titular games. If he doesn't win, he dies.

* In an Creator/AnthonyHorowitz short story, there was a reality quiz show where contestants had to answer trivia questions. If you got one wrong, you were killed in a rather gruesome way. [[spoiler:The "winner" is ultimately killed at the end by contestants on another show whose task is to steal a million pounds - so they just shoot him and take his prize money.]]

* The UrExample is probably ''Literature/TheMostDangerousGame'' (1924), a short story by Richard Connell subsequently adapted as an eponymous film. It is the TropeNamer of HuntingTheMostDangerousGame.

* ''{{Literature/Tadgifauna}}'' has a variant. The titular creatures are genetically engineered and raised to fight to the death in the Tadgifauna Tournament once every two years. Each Tadgifaun is assigned a teenage trainer to raise them in preparation for this, and give them orders during the fight. The trainers' lives aren't on the line, but the Tadgifauana's lives certain are, as fights are to the death.
* The short science fiction story ''Survivor,'' by Walter F. Moudy, is set during the 2050 Olympic War Games between the US and Russia. The games are designed to make clear the horrors of war to the public, and are therefore televised. 100 soldiers on each side, with rifles, machine guns and mortars, are placed in a large camera-laced arena with battlefield terrain such as forests, hills and a lake, and must fight it out until all of one side is killed. The titular survivors are hailed as heroes, and the loser pays restitution to the winner. The broadcasters use color commentary, closeups, and special tech, much like sports. "Here's Private John Smith of Columbus, Ohio, a graduate of Johnson High School, running towards base -- ooh, he just got shot! Let's watch on slow-motion -- yes, you can see the bullet going into his throat, and our super-microphone confirms that his heart is no longer beating. Any comments, Jim?" "Well, it's obvious the Russians have slipped a sniper team in on the left flank, Bob, and that could be bad for Squad Two..."
** The creepy part is what happens to the "Survivor". His reward is to be not bound by any of the laws of his country, but he's still protected by them. The story ends with one of the viewers hearing his daughter will be another casualty of war.

* Richard Bachman (a pen name for Creator/StephenKing) has a couple of examples:
** Both the book and [[TheFilmOfTheBook the movie]] ''Literature/TheRunningMan'' are centered on a deadly game, though the game itself is very, very different between the two. (The book presages the RealityTV form of the trope; the film version is ''Series/AmericanGladiators'' with death.)
** The earlier ''Literature/TheLongWalk'' has an example with less one-on-one confrontation, where a despotic government has one hundred boys chosen to endure a [[DeathMarch grueling walking contest]], where whoever breaks the rules (thrice in the case of things like losing speed, just once for those who leave the road) [[DeadlyEuphemism "buys a ticket"]] out.

* ''Literature/ThePendragonAdventure'' does this with its eighth book, the Quillan Games, in which Bobby has to participate in the titular games. If he doesn't win, he dies.
* In ''Literature/TheHungerGames'', as can be inferred by the title, this is the main plot. 24 teenagers aged 12 to 18 are drafted to compete in a televised fight to the death. The titular Games started out as a government intimidation tactic by the hand of the wealthy Capitol, to repress the rebellion efforts of the outlying Districts. The Capitol spun this as a form of entertainment for the Capitol, and it eventually evolved into a game, complete with interviews, spotlights and publicity.
** The basic plot is more or less similar to ''Literature/BattleRoyale'' (but it's a coincidence, as the author only learned of the Japanese one as she delivered it to the publisher). And the Games are televised and popularized and seen as big entertainment by the public, whereas in ''Literature/BattleRoyale'' it's a secretive program to suppress the nation's youth.

* ''[[Franchise/FridayThe13th Friday The 13th The Jason Strain]]'', which has several {{Condemned Contestant}}s put on a Southern island, with the winner getting a reduced sentence and transfer to a cushy minimum security facility. Along with Jason (a "special guest") the roster includes the framed main character, a mass murderer, a white supremacist, two serial killers, an Angel of Death nurse, a black widow, a serial rapist, a mob boss, and three street gang members.
** Though the ''Extreme Elimination 2'' plotline is later [[HalfwayPlotSwitch randomly dumped]] in favor of [[ZombieApocalypse a zombie-centric one]].
* In an Creator/AnthonyHorowitz short story, there was a reality quiz show where contestants had to answer trivia questions. If you got one wrong, you were killed in a rather gruesome way. [[spoiler: The "winner" is ultimately killed at the end by contestants on another show whose task is to steal a million pounds - so they just shoot him and take his prize money.]]
* ''The Big Question'', a book written by Creator/ChuckBarris, is about a game show where a group of people are asked questions about their chosen area of expertise, and when it comes down to one contestant, they're asked the titular Big Question; if they get it wrong, they are killed via lethal injection. [[spoiler:The premiere is heavily rigged, because nobody's going to watch it if they don't immediately prove they'll actually kill someone. The questions are favored towards a little old lady named Vera Bundle, and after missing the final question (an unanswerable open-ended one about the length of the Great Wall of China), she's killed. The show [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome sparks widespread outrage and is canceled two weeks later.]]]]
* Creator/KimNewman has an EpistolaryNovel-styled short story called ''Going To Series''. The backstage memos of a company gearing up to produce a show called ''It's A Madhouse!'' are laid out in such a way that you can tell that a Deadly Game is ''exactly'' what the organizers are hoping will happen, and see the lengths they are prepared to go to to ensure killer ratings. It was written and published before ''Series/BigBrother'' or ''Series/{{Survivor}}'' first aired. Newman later consulted for a few days on a Creator/{{Channel 4}} show called ''Regency House Party'' and showed the story to the production team; he claims "they endorsed its surprising accuracy".
* In "A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts" by Charles Birkin, Nazi officers running a concentration camp challenge some of the Jewish prisoners to a "game". The prisoners have to score points by throwing steel balls at dummies representing the enemies of Nazi Germany, and the winner will be given a job in the kitchens where they will be able to steal scraps to give to their families. However, [[spoiler:the dummies turn out to be the severed and papered-over heads of the prisoners' loved ones, now horribly disfigured from the steel balls. One prisoner tries to attack the guards and is shot in the crotch and left to die in agony since they refuse to "waste" a bullet by putting him out of his misery. The others are just taken outside and shot so they can't talk.]]

* Deconstructed in ''[[Literature/GarrettPI Wicked Bronze Ambition]]'' with the Tournament of Swords, a secret competition in which hidden Operators compel twelve young members of the sorcerous Hill families to fight to the death. Even Garrett can see how ridiculous it is; none of the six previous Tournaments came off as intended, as the contestants' families ''always'' united to subvert the process and hunt down the Operators instead of risking their children's lives on a one-in-twelve shot at victory.

* War No. 81-Q, written in 1928 by Cordwainer Smith (pen name of Paul Linebarger) has a pair of countries rent a battlefield and a fleet of airships each and have them fight to the death instead of having a real war. There are lots of spectators on the ground, and a radio play-by-play, making this one of the oldest examples of the trope.
* Arena, a short story by Fredric Brown, (the basis for the Star Trek TOS episode of the same name), has advanced aliens take representatives of two warring species and pit them one on one to decide the outcome of the war. The ending of the story is quite different from the Star Trek version.
* ''Literature/FoodOfTheGods'' by Cassandra Khaw: Rupert Wong occasionally enters {{Cooking Duel}}s hosted by [[OurGhoulsAreCreepier ghouls]] where the loser gets butchered for the next meal.

* ''Literature/MagicalGirlRaisingProject'' starts off as a MagicalGirl-themed phone game where some players are secretly given the power to transform into their avatars. Then the MentorMascot informs them that [[BlatantLies there isn't enough magic to go around]], so from now on they'll collect "magical candies" by doing good deeds, and the player with the lowest total at the end of each week will be eliminated. Naturally, elimination turns out to mean death. What's more, the players soon realize that [[FromBadToWorse even if you have the lowest points, you can escape elimination if another player dies first]].