I was a contestant on 'Squid Game: The Challenge' — here are 5 things viewers didn't see on the show

• Purna Biswa was Player 031 on Netflix's "Squid Game: The Challenge."
• The computer engineer was part of the Gganbu Gang and narrowly missed out on making the final 10.
• This is Purna's story, as told to Business Insider journalist Ayomikun Adekaiyero.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Purna Biswa about his experience on Netflix's "Squid Game: The Challenge." The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I anxiously waited all year for "Squid Game: The Challenge" to premiere on Netflix.

Earlier this year, I was one of 456 contestants who competed in games and social tests for a chance to win $4.56 million.

My wife, sister, and I woke up at 2 a.m. to watch the show as soon as it premiered in November.

I missed my friends and dorm life, so I have rewatched it several times to relive the experience.

As a viewer, I enjoyed watching the show, but as someone in the dorms, I was surprised that a few events were not included.

'Red Light, Green Light' was much more chaotic to film

For months, I told my sister and wife that "Red Light, Green Light" was my most difficult game.

Each game took a whole day to film, but "Red Light, Green Light" was the only time we played a single game for several hours.

We had to cross a large field to pass, but we could only move when a particular song played.

It took more than seven hours to film, and we had to stay still for more than 20 minutes at a time — I saw a contestant fall from exhaustion.

Some contestants were eliminated after they crossed the finish line and started celebrating. The organizers consulted the video footage and realized that the song had ended before this group of contestants had crossed the finish line. So they were cruelly eliminated minutes after being convinced they made it through to the next round.

It was such a hard game to complete, so imagine my surprise when it lasted less than 20 minutes of the first episode. They didn't even show 10% of the actual chaos.

Other contestants picked up the phone in the dormitory

For our second social test, a phone was brought into the dorm and rang four times.

Player 198, Husnain, picked up the phone the first time and received a McDonald's meal.

The phone was then picked up by two other contestants, who received a pizza and donuts.

Husnain was actually eliminated when the phone was picked up the fourth time. However, the episode only showed him interacting with the phone.

The formation of the Gganbu Gang was very different from what you saw on the show

Episode two briefly shows the formation of the Gganbu Gang, one of the most prominent alliances in the game, and the only group with an official name.

At this point, the games were following the order of the original "Squid Game" drama, so several contestants formed alliances ahead of the third game because we thought it would be "Tug of War."

I befriended Marcus (Player 209) since he was nice. Through him, I was introduced to other members, such as Dan (Player 204), Rick (Player 232), and Stephen (Player 243).

I was the one who introduced them to the term "gganbu," which is the title of episode six of the original "Squid Game." In Korean, the word means "close friend," and Oh Il-nam (O Yeong-su) uses it in the episode when he sacrifices himself for Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae).

After this discussion, either Dan or I suggested it as our alliance name, and the Gganbu Gang was formed.

Coincidentally, I was trying to find contestants who matched the characters from the original show because I thought we would get more screen time. With Rick as Il-nam, Stephen as Gi-hun, and me as Ali (Anupam Tripathi), I found those special contestants. I've noticed that fans of the show have also picked up on this similarity.

However, I have since realized that the most visible players were often the ones who were targeted and did not make it to the final rounds. Gganbu Gang became too visible, and we were eventually targeted during the jack-in-the-box social test.

I was heartbroken when Rick and Stephen were eliminated. I was still shocked to watch the elimination in episode five, despite knowing what would happen. They did not deserve that. That was one of my least favorite moments to rewatch.

Most players were unaware of the 'Glass Bridge' drama until much later

One of the season's biggest viewer debates revolves around the "Glass Bridge" game in episode eight.

The final 20 contestants had to cross a 20-foot-high glass bridge in the challenge. However, if we stepped on the wrong tile, we would be eliminated and fall into the abyss. However, in reality, we were told if we stepped on the wrong tile, a stunt double would take our place to fall onto an inflatable mattress below.

We agreed as a group to only jump forward by one tile, and then the person behind us would step forward to take the next jump.

However, with Trey (Player 301) and Ashley (Player 278), there was some miscommunication as Trey went forward more than one tile. He was eventually eliminated.

Everyone has their own perspective on that situation, but the other contestants didn't call Ashley out because what happened wasn't very clear from our point of view.

Only when I watched it back did I fully understand what had happened and was impressed that Mai (Player 287) had noticed from the other side of the room. Mai then called Ashley out during the next social test.

Mai had the quality of a victor, which is why I was pleased to see that she won the final game.

A moment left out of the "Glass Bridge" game worth noting is that Mai constantly offered to step forward and take part in the challenge despite being chosen to be at the back of the line. She could have stayed at the back and walked to her victory, but she repeatedly asked to take another contestant's turn and help us all make it across.

I almost avoided my elimination in the 'Die test'

In another social test, the remaining 12 contestants were forced to cull three players in episode eight. We rolled a die, and if it landed on a six, we would have to eliminate ourselves or another player.

Throughout filming, I joked that I could lose only if I eliminated myself or God eliminated me. This was inspired by my designated number, 031, which is a prime number.

When we got to this challenge, I thought this was where the joke would backfire on me.

Apart from Mai and Ashley, the whole group decided not to be competitive and roll to eliminate ourselves.

I rolled a two the first time, but the game organizers said it was a foul throw and made me retake my turn. That was left out of the final edit.

I rolled a six on the second go and was eliminated. I often think about that moment and wonder what I did wrong in the first roll.

I wouldn't have changed how I played, and I think the show portrayed my character accurately.

At the end of the day, I am just happy I got to show my moonwalk dancing skills in episode eight before I was eliminated.