List of Challenges in Takeshi's Castle - S

S

• Samurai Back: A obstacle-course special game only broadcast by Humor Amarillo. In it, two contestants starts a race: runs over balance beams with samurai throusers, picks a basket and catches a ball fired from a mortar with it, climbs up a wall, eat three pieces of food without use the hands, picks a mask, put it and run backyards to the finish line.

• Sand Flee: A large obstacle race with a lot of contestants playing. First, they must grab a bun in their mouth, then crawl under a net, then find a silver ball hidden in the sand. When they have one, they run to the end of the course and open the ball for a piece of paper. If it has a red circle on it, they are through, but if it has a black cross they must run back and find another ball. Song heard playing in the background of this game is the William Tell Overture, a/k/a the Theme from The Lone Ranger.

• Sandscript: Played after Drop in the Ocean. The colored balls the contestants collected represent what teams the players are in. Each team is drawn out of a box by General Tani and given a Japanese letter. They must then run onto a white piece of paper in the sand and arrange the team in the shape of that letter. Made harder as it looks right from a bird's-eye view so the teams have to think a lot. The team that finished last was out.

• Shoot 'N Loot: Only broadcast by Humor Amarillo, it was the last game played at on show. A contestant uses a ball-shooting machine to fire against various boxes passing in front, as in a shooting gallery. Each box marks a prize. The contestant wins the prizes from the boxes that he manages to hit with the balls.

• Show of Hands: People are dressed as giant hands. A math question is asked, and contestants have to find the answer (many numbers are written on cards on the floor) and fall face first on the correct one. Originally known as Swift Hand Cards and was later known as Study the Cards, and on MXC the game was called Hand Job, and these questions are made-up trivia questions with numerical answers played for laughs, such as "How many decades will a California Death Row inmate stay on Death Row before actually being put to death?" (Answer: Nine). In Spain, the game is called Guantes matemáticos (mathematic gloves).

• Single Roller: One large cylinder is placed on a metal track. Contestants must stand on top of the cylinder and move it forward to the other side. If this wasn't hard enough, near the end of the track, the track slopes downward (frequently called the "slope of no hope" on MXC, which calls this game Runaway Stump), thus accelerating the cylinder out of the player's control.

• Skittles: Originally called Star Bowling in the Japanese version, this game had players picking oversized playing cards designating their position in a ten-pin bowling layout (the Ace of Spades representing one, and so on). Contestants would stand in this formation wearing giant bowling pin suits, and would have a giant bowling ball rolled at them. Those who did not stand after the roll were eliminated. In the Spanish version it's called ¡Que no soy un bolo, que soy una persona! (I'm not a bowl, I'm a person). Called Spare Me! and Pinheads on MXC which skips the card picking.

• Skipping Stones: Originally called Lake of the Dragon God in the original Japanese version, this game, which is played in almost every edition of the show, and called by UK voiceover Craig Charles as "The ultimate shin shredder" or "Japanese hopscotch", is a deceptively simple challenge involving stepping stones, some of which are deliberately not secured and give way under foot. In early episodes this game was played alongside with Knock Knock but with one or two walls making it a double challenge. Again, contestants must make their way to the other side and choose the right door(s) without falling into the water and/or painfully bouncing off the wrong door. On MXC, this game is called Sinkers and Floaters or in a political themed special Rock The Moat. This event, like High Rollers (or Log Drop on MXC), was responsible for many #1 Painful Eliminations on the American version. In Tele 5's and Cuatro's Spanish versions of "Humor Amarillo", this event has been known as Las zamburguesas (the Splashburgers or the Plungeburgers), a mix of the word "Zambullida" and a reference to the hamburger-beef shape of the stones. In Brazil, it was known as Pedra maldita (damn stone). The music heard playing in the background of the pilot is from the Namco video game Libble Rabble, and from episode two and beyond is "Escape from Torture" from the movie Rambo: First Blood Part II.

• Sling Swing Fling: Contestants are strapped into bungee cords attached to guy wires. As they slide down the guy wire, they must pull a rope that releases the bungee cord, allowing them to dive down towards a ball in the basket several feet before them. They must grab the ball and toss it into another basket at the end of the wire. Of course, there is also mud underneath them, and Masanori Okada was waiting to dip them — and blacken their face — if they fail. Timing, of course, is critical. Seen on MXC as Jerk and Release and, in a politically themed episode, as Porking The Barrel. The song heard playing in the background of this game is the Dancing Pompokolin.

• Slipped Disks: Usually played after the Great or Slippery Wall or any other starting game but sometimes played as a stand-alone one. Players must climb up a fort with a paper ring on their heads. The guards have water guns and must try and squirt the paper rings of the contestants. If the ring gets torn then the contestant is out, but they do get water guns to try to squirt the guards back. Played on MXC as "Sprayed and Neutered", and has been seen in other episodes as a prison riot, a bunch of hot college girls getting cooled off, a simulated terrorist attack as well as cleaning up dirty contestants from a previous game. In the original Japanese, this event is usually accompanied by the theme music from the TV show Thunderbirds.

• Slippery Wall: Similar to The Great Wall, but a steep, slippery slope is placed on both sides for the contestants to get over. Called Slippery Slope of Slanted Death on MXC.

• Slip Way: Contestants, on a board, push themselves forward on a wheeled track. The objective is to stop after the arrow on the track, but before they fall face first into the water. If they fall short, they get pushed off into the water after being surprised by Masanori Okada. Known as Little Man in the Boat on MXC. The song heard playing in the background of this game is the arranged version of the Colonel Bogey March from the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai.

• Snow Lane: An obstacle course in the snow including a snow crawl, some deep holes to pass, a walk up a hill in a fox suit, and a slide down a hill on an inflatable ring, as in Toboggoff. The song heard playing in this game is from the anime Ranma 1/2.

• Space Invaders: Players enter a cable car at the top of a slope. The car slowly travels down the wire, past Emerald Guards. Both player and Guards have laser gun game equipment. If the player manages to land a successful shot on a Guard's sensor on the way down the hill, (s)he wins. If a Guard shoots the player's sensor, (s)he is out. Seen on MXC as Character Assassination and Battlefelch Earth. Never seen in the UK version. The song heard playing in the background of this game is the theme from Star Wars.

• Square Maze: Earlier version of the Honeycomb Maze, and also the first version of The Devil's Domain in the original show. The rules were the same, but the rooms were square instead of hexagonal. The music heard in this game is the theme from Enter the Dragon.

• Square Maze (Blindfolded) A one-off variant of the Square Maze. Format is the same except the contestant and the guard are both blindfolded. Only one guard is used in this version. Due to the blindfold element, the general pace of this game was far slower than that of the usual version of the game.

• Stock Pot Racing: Played by a lot of contestants at once. They must run up a slippery hill, and crawl under a net, then find a vegetable and run inside a giant pot. On MXC, this game is called Take A Leek. The song heard playing in this game is from the anime Ranma 1/2.

• Streets Ahead: This game was shown in the last hour-long special. Contestants went two at a time and had to wear teletubby style costumes, jump over hurdles, get out of their costumes, climb up a wall and down a ladder, pick up an inflatable big bag, eat their school lunch and cross the finish line before the other contestant.

• Stuff Diving: Just like Show of Hands, but played with numbers on waterproof mats in a pool. Contestants must try to dive in to the pool and get the number saying the answer to the question first. (once in a hot tub in the Winter Special). Called Wet Spot on MXC.

• Sumo Rings: Simply shortened to Sumo on the original Japanese version, contestants draw a ball, face a corresponding sumo wrestler, and try to beat him in a sumo match (Either by pin or ring out). The different sumo wrestlers (among others) ranged from a pathetic red wrestler to a large, tough purple one (commonly known as "Porker" in the British version), a member of the Defence Troops in a giant Konishiki Yasokichi costume (better known as "Spud" in the British version who is the easiest to beat), or even Animal. In a college girls episode it was played over water and both the challenger and the opponent tried to bump one another off a small platform with their butts. Called among other things Circle Jerkers and Rump Bumpers on MXC. In Cuatro's Spanish version called Humor Amarillo this challenge was known as con sumo gusto.