The Culling Game is one of the wildest, most high-stakes arcs in Jujutsu Kaisen, think battle royale meets cursed energy deathmatch, orchestrated by one of the biggest villains in the series.
If you're new to it or just want a clear breakdown without getting lost in 50+ chapters of chaos, here's the explainer in plain English.
What even is the Culling Game?
It's a massive, deadly competition created by KENJAKU
the ancient brain-hopping sorcerer who's been pulling strings for centuries, often wearing Geto's body.
After the events of the Shibuya Incident and the aftermath, Kenjaku unleashes this game across Japan to force humanity (and especially sorcerers) to evolve rapidly through extreme pressure, constant fighting, and massive cursed energy output. The endgame ties into something called "the merger" with Tengen, but the Culling Game itself is the bloody spectacle designed to prepare for that.
Japan gets divided into about 10 barrier-enclosed zones called COLONIES (named after cities/regions like Tokyo No. 1, Sendai, etc.). These colonies are isolated battlegrounds where the rules of the game are enforced by Kenjaku's barriers.
Who plays? And how do people get dragged in?
•Awakened sorcerers "people who suddenly gained cursed techniques after Tengen's barriers changed" have 19 days to enter a colony and officially participate.
•If they don't → they die "Rule 2 is brutal: non-participation after the deadline = instant death penalty".
l(Regular non-sorcerers or non-awakened people who accidentally "or intentionally" cross into a colony barrier automatically become players too. No opt-out. You're in now.
•Ancient sorcerers from the past "reincarnated via Kenjaku's earlier schemes" are also thrown into the mix—many of them are absolute monsters.
So basically: once you're inside a colony, you're fighting for your life whether you like it or not.
The core gameplay loop "how points work"
It's a kill-based point system:
•Kill another player and you get 5 points "base value, can vary slightly depending on circumstances".
•You need 100 points to be able to add or change a new rule to the game
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•Points are tracked by the barriers themselves. No cheating the system.
The game is pure Darwinism: strongest survive, weakest get culled. Players hunt each other across the colonies, form uneasy alliances, betray each other, etc. RECOMMENDED ANIME: DARWIN'S GAME
The infamous Rule additions
This is what makes the Culling Game feel so unpredictable and scary.
Once a player reaches 100 points, they can propose and add one new rule to the entire game "which applies everywhere, all colonies".
Some rules added during the arc include things like:
•Transferring points between players
•Removing time limits or penalties
•Forcing mandatory combat in certain ways
•Even wild stuff like changing who can enter/exit or altering death conditions
Because multiple people can hit 100 points, the rules keep evolving mid-game, making strategies obsolete overnight. It's controlled chaos.
Why do Yuji, Megumi, and the gang enter?
They're not there to win or rack up points for fun.
•Megumi wants to save his sister Tsumiki, who got awakened and is now forced into the game and she's in danger of being killed or worse
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•Yuji and others join to help Megumi, gather strong allies, disrupt Kenjaku's plan, and eventually stop the whole thing.
•Along the way they meet new powerhouses like Hakari, Kashimo, Higuruma, Yorozu, and reincarnated heavies like Ryu Ishigori, Takako Uro, etc.
Each colony basically becomes its own mini-arc with insane fights, domain expansions galore, and crazy cursed techniques.
In short: the vibe
•Battle royale + Hunger Games + Jujutsu sorcery
•No safe zones, no timeouts
•Constant escalation via rule changes
•Kenjaku sits back and watches the cursed energy skyrocket while humanity is "culled" and forced to adapt or die
It's the arc where Gege Akutami really lets loose with power-scaling, new characters, and "what if this rule breaks everything?" moments.
If you're anime-only right now, the Culling Game is likely what Season 3 (or beyond) will cover in full. Buckle up, it's long, it's brutal, and it's peak JJK madness. 😈