Jet Lag: The Game

Jet Lag: The Game is an American travel competition web series produced for the streaming platform Nebula and also released on YouTube. Created in May 2022 by Sam Denby, Adam Chase, and Ben Doyle, each season features a contest that sends players to achieve a geographical objective in different parts of the world, some of which are inspired by board games. The show recently concluded its tenth season.

As of March 2024, the show has been streamed for over one million hours on Nebula. It has also amassed 674,000 subscribers on YouTube and received over 61.3 million views on the platform.

Background


Jet Lag was created by Sam Denby, the founder of Wendover Productions and chief content officer of streaming platform Nebula, with writers Adam Chase and Ben Doyle, all of whom compete each season. The first season was released on May 25, 2022.

Jet Lag format was partially developed during a previous Wendover show, Half as Interesting's Crime Spree, which had Chase and Doyle pursuing Denby as he attempted to break obscure state laws across the United States. Denby has also cited The Amazing Race as "a point of inspiration" and the British panel show Taskmaster as inspiration for some of the show's various challenges.

The show is created primarily for streaming on Nebula, whose paying subscribers support its relatively expensive per-video budget. Episodes are released first on Nebula and a week later on YouTube.

Format
Each season features a game structure unique to the geographic area and transportation modalities available there. The first official season required teams to travel to U.S. states to claim a Connect Four–style row or column. Later seasons had the contestants circumnavigate the globe via air travel, play tag across western Europe, drive the vertical length of New Zealand, compete in a game of capture the flag across increasingly large portions of Japan, race from the northernmost to southernmost towns in continental America, compete in a game of hide-and-seek in Switzerland, and a travel gambling game in Australia.

Players must complete challenges to earn coins or currency, which provide the ability to continue traveling as well as, in later seasons, purchase power-ups. Most of the seasons have involved challenges that result in players, usually Doyle, becoming drunk. Players may also be subject to curses, which restrict the player's travels (e.g. only being permitted to take transportation leaving on odd minutes of the hour) or adds an undesirable element to the game (e.g. requiring the player to listen to Tom Lehrer's "The Elements" on repeat until they reach the next city).



Beginning in season five, Chase and Doyle introduced a recurring segment, "The Snack Zone", in which they offer short reviews of food items unique to their location. The following season, Denby and his guest, Strange Parts creator Scotty Allen, spun off a competing snack-based segment, "Choo Choo Chew".

Team format changes across seasons. In the Tag Across Europe and Switzerland (Hide + Seek) series, two of the trio form a team, while the other member is on their own, rotating out when the objective has been met. In other seasons the trio are often joined by another internet personality, often other Nebula educational content creators; Chase and Doyle compete as their own team while Denby allies with the guest. The series has featured YouTubers Brian McManus, Joseph Pisenti, Toby Hendy, Scotty Allen, and Michelle Khare as guests.

Production
Filming locations are chosen based on the availability of "strong, frequent, reliable, or semi-reliable, public transportation", according to Denby; while seasons have taken place partially or completely using cars, the team felt they lacked the strategic intrigue of public transit.

Jet Lag is filmed using iPhone 13 Pros and Røde lavalier microphones, a configuration that Denby says allows the competitors to focus on creating content rather than cinematography.

To address the climate impacts of the show's use of air travel, Wendover purchases Gold Standard carbon offsets worth ten times the show's estimated emissions. "We knew from the get go that we would get some criticism for what is clearly somewhat frivolous travel", Denby told The Globe and Mail.

Aside from the series itself, the Jet Lag crew also produces additional series-related content exclusively available to Nebula subscribers. Two companion videos titled The Layover were released after seasons 3 and 4; these later gave way to a companion podcast, likewise named The Layover, which started concurrently with season 5 of the series. The companion videos and podcast both serve to discuss game design and production details from a behind-the-scenes perspective. Videos containing outtakes have started being released on Nebula since season 8.

Countries and locales visited
As of season 10, Jet Lag has visited 14 countries across four continents.



Reception
The show was nominated in the editing category of the 13th Streamy Awards. As of October 2023, the show has been streamed for more than 1 million hours on Nebula and has accumulated 674,000 YouTube subscribers, and over 61.3 million views.

Seasons
Jet Lag: The Game has released ten seasons.

Season 1: Connect 4
The first season premiered on May 25, 2022. Starting at Chicago O'Hare Airport, Denby and Brian McManus (host of the YouTube channel Real Engineering) compete against Chase and Doyle to claim U.S. states from the 22 west of the Mississippi River in a game of geographical Connect 4, the goal is to claim 4 states in a row on a direct east–west or north–south line. Teams must travel to their target state's capitol building, draw a challenge card at random, then successfully complete it within the state to claim it for their team.

By the end of the game, Chase and Doyle had claimed Colorado, Oregon, Arizona, Utah, and Wyoming, whereas Denby and McManus had claimed California, Nevada, and Idaho. Both teams ultimately converged at Helena, Montana to complete their line of four states, with Denby and McManus drawing a card that allowed them to claim the state immediately, thereby connecting four states and winning the game.

Season 2: Circumnavigation
The second season premiered on June 29, 2022. Starting and finishing at Denver Union Station in Denver, Colorado, Denby and Joseph Pisenti (host of the YouTube channel RealLifeLore) compete against Chase and Doyle to be the first to circumnavigate the world. To count as a circumnavigation, each team must travel at least 22859 mi and cross all meridians. Teams started with a $1,000 travel budget and could earn more by completing challenges selected from a deck of cards. Once a team completed a challenge, the same challenge cannot be completed by the opposing team. To encourage onward travel, the second challenge completed within a 300 mi radius is worth half the stated value, and any subsequent challenge is worth one quarter of its stated value.

During the game, though the two teams took different routes across the world (Denby and Pisenti via Cancún and Amsterdam; Chase and Doyle via New York City and Milan), they both reached Singapore on the same day. Here, both teams aimed to complete some of the same challenges, with Chase and Doyle succeeding in completing several of them before Denby and Pisenti were able to do so. Denby and Pisenti were stranded in Singapore due to an inadequate budget to travel on, while Chase and Doyle were able to finish the journey back to Denver via Sydney, Nadi, and Los Angeles to win the game.

Season 3: Tag EUR It
The third season premiered on September 7, 2022. Starting at the Place Ducale in Charleville-Mézières, France, Denby, Chase and Doyle play a game of tag. Taking turns being "it", the runner must attempt to reach their destination: Zermatt, Switzerland for Denby; Jersey for Chase; and Borkum, Germany for Doyle. After 45 minutes the other two players begin to pursue the runner with the goal of tagging them. The chasers can track the runner using GPS tracking. The runner must complete challenges drawn randomly from a deck of cards to earn coins, which are then used to purchase transport, with the cost based on time and mode. The runner can veto any challenge (i.e. refuse to complete it) at the cost of a 30-minute penalty, during which they may only move on foot and cannot draw new challenges. They can also purchase power-ups, such as doubling the coin value (and the veto penalty) of the next challenge drawn. A player wins instantly once they reach their destination. In the event that no player has reached their destination at the end of the third day, the winner is determined by whoever's destination is closest to the current runner.

Towards the end of the game, Chase, the runner at the time, made his way to the Champagne-Ardenne TGV station in Bezannes, France, a meager 3 mi into his win area. Chase, knowing that time in the game was running out, immediately ventured out into the surrounding countryside to make it difficult for the chasers to reach him. Denby and Doyle, taking a taxi, managed to catch Chase and tag him, but Doyle as the new runner could not escape Chase's win area in time, and the game ended with a victory for Chase.

Season 4: Battle 4 America
The fourth season premiered on December 7, 2022. Starting in Times Square, New York City, Denby and Brian McManus, returning as a guest for the first time since Season 1, compete against Chase and Doyle to claim the most U.S. states (plus the District of Columbia) in four days. Both teams have a travel budget of $3,000, with an extra $1,000 added at the beginning of each day. Both teams draw a hand of seven cards, each containing a challenge. To claim a state, they must complete the challenge on one of their cards while in the state; once completed, the card is discarded and a new card is drawn to replace it. Each completed challenge also awards a number of tokens which can be used to purchase power-ups, such as the ability to swap two cards with the opposing team or cross into another state by car, which is otherwise only allowed through a flight or public transportation. A team can steal a state from the opposing team by challenging the opposing team to a battle, provided they have claimed two bordering states. After a 30-minute warning, a competitive challenge is drawn from a separate deck; the winner of the challenge is awarded the state and the opposing team cannot challenge for the state again. At the end of the four days, each team earns one point for every state they hold, with a two-point area bonus awarded to the team that holds the largest land area; the team with the most points is the winner.

Denby and McManus, losing a battle challenge for Maryland early in the game and gradually trailing in the number of claimed states in general, decided to base their strategy around obtaining the two-point area bonus, claiming the large states of Texas and California. After competing with Chase and Doyle to claim Arizona, Denby and McManus initiated a battle challenge for the Chase and Doyle-held state of Nevada, which would have tied the game in the event that Denby and McManus succeeded. The result of this challenge was decided by popular vote on Twitter, which Chase and Doyle won. Chase and Doyle eventually flew to claim the state of Alaska, putting the two-point area bonus firmly out of reach of Denby and McManus, who acknowledged their defeat soon afterward, losing by a combined score of 9 to 14.

Season 5: Race to the End of the World
The fifth season premiered on March 1, 2023. Starting in Cape Reinga (the most northern point of New Zealand) Denby and Toby Hendy compete against Chase and Doyle, embarking on a road trip to be the first to reach Lookout Point in Bluff in the far south of the country. The teams must follow pre-made routes across the country, competing in challenges based on the local area placed across the state highway network. Once one team has completed the challenge, the roadblock is cleared for both teams. Teams may veto a challenge but must wait a predetermined amount of time before the roadblock opens; some roadblocks cannot be vetoed and force the team onto a longer diversion route. The winner of the challenge is awarded a number of coins which they can use to purchase power-ups, such as the ability to skip roadblocks, place down roadblocks to slow down the other team, place a curse on the other team, or purchase a dart for a Nerf gun that both teams carry with them. If a player is physically hit with a Nerf dart by a member of the opposing team, they are forced to serve a 30-minute penalty wherein they and their teammate are not allowed to progress in the game.

The two teams were closely matched to start off the game, switching lead positions several times and reaching the city of Auckland at the same time, directly competing against each other to complete the city's challenge and earn the right to advance first. Partially because Chase and Doyle were affected by a curse card that slowed down their movement, Denby and Hendy were able to complete the challenge first and take the lead out of Auckland. Denby and Hendy eventually boarded the first ferry across the Cook Strait between Wellington and Picton, building up a several hour lead over Chase and Doyle. However, due to ferry docking delays, this lead was somewhat cut down as they entered South Island. Even though the trailing Chase and Doyle managed to draw a curse card that forced their opponents onto a less efficient route in the southern half of South Island, Denby and Hendy were able to reach Lookout Point first, winning the game.

Season 6: Capture the Flag
The sixth season premiered on May 31, 2023. Starting at Tokyo Station, Denby and Scotty Allen (host of the YouTube channel Strange Parts) compete against Chase and Doyle in a game of capture the flag across Japan. Each team must attempt to capture the opponents' flags and bring it back to their own territory without being caught. The flag locations are vending machines and the flag is represented by an item purchased from that vending machine. To travel in the opponent's territory, team members must complete challenges drawn randomly from a deck of cards to earn coins, which are then used to purchase transport. If a team member is caught, they forfeit all their coins to the opposition and are sent back to Tokyo Station, where they must serve a 30-minute penalty before resuming the game. The teams can also place "towers" which affect a certain radius around the location they are placed and force opposing players within that radius into a certain restriction: for example, only being allowed to move while carrying pizza or only being allowed to walk sideways.

The game was divided into three rounds, worth one, two, and three points respectively, with each round covering a progressively larger area of Japan. Chase and Doyle won the first two rounds, but Denby and Allen won the third, putting both teams at an even three points and forcing the game to go into a sudden death tiebreaker round. In the bonus round, the players were not allowed to place towers, and instead competed in a best-of-seven format to collect flags in Tokyo itself. Chase and Doyle were able to outmaneuver Denby and Allen to win the game, prevailing in the bonus round by a score of four collected flags to one.

Season 7: Tag EUR It 2
The seventh season premiered on September 6, 2023. Starting in Charleville-Mézières again, Denby, Chase and Doyle repeat the game format from season 3, but with the player destinations rotated: Denby this time is aiming for Jersey; Chase for Borkum, Germany; and Doyle for Zermatt, Switzerland.

Early in the game, Chase as the runner was able to stay ahead of the chasers for over 20 hours of game time and eventually reach Emden, the final stop en route to his target location of Borkum, before finally getting tagged there. This made for the single longest continuous run seen in a Tag season, as well as the closest any runner ever got to their destination.

In the final episode of the season, Doyle, the runner at the time, arrived in Metz after narrowly avoiding the chasers in Howald, Luxembourg. Initially intending to take a train to Nancy, Doyle noticed an infrequent train to the small town of Bar-le-Duc, relatively deep into his win area. Doyle knew that if he could make this connection without the chasers boarding the same train, then the next runner would not have a way to get out of his win area before the game ended. Before Doyle could board this train, Denby and Chase arrived at Metz train station and frantically searched the entire building for Doyle, who hid from the chasers in a photo booth and ultimately managed to make the connection. When the chasers caught up with Doyle in Bar-le-Duc, they declared him the winner of the season.

Season 8: Arctic Escape
The eighth season premiered on December 13, 2023. Starting in the northern extreme of the United States in Utqiagvik, Alaska, Denby and Michelle Khare compete against Chase and Doyle to be the first to reach the southernmost point of the continental United States in Key West, Florida. Teams complete challenges selected from a common pool called the flop to earn tickets, which allows them to take a specified form of transportation (plane, train, or rental car) with restrictions on distance and destination. There are also challenges in the flop which allow the team to steal a ticket from the other team. There are four challenges in the flop at any time, with a new challenge drawn once a challenge is completed, and the entire flop replaced at the beginning of each day. Each team may hold three tickets at a time.

After winning the first challenge of the game as judged by popular vote on Twitter, Denby and Khare were the first to leave Utqiagvik as well as Alaska as a whole, building up a lead over Chase and Doyle early in the game. After all traveling through Seattle, Washington, Denby and Khare took a route including Boise, Idaho; Salt Lake City, Utah; Montrose, Colorado; Dallas, Texas; Birmingham, Alabama; and Atlanta, Georgia. Meanwhile, Chase and Doyle went through the cities of Denver, Colorado; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Chicago, Illinois; Connellsville, Pennsylvania; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Atlanta, Georgia. Twice in the game, Denby and Khare were able to complete a challenge to steal a ticket from Chase and Doyle, which ultimately contributed to their victory. Denby and Khare were able to reach Key West while Chase and Doyle were still in Atlanta.

Season 9: Hide + Seek
The ninth season premiered on February 28, 2024. Starting in Lucerne, Switzerland, Denby, Chase, and Doyle compete against each other in a four-day-long game of hide-and-seek across Switzerland. All players may only move on foot or by railway; alternate means of transport such as buses, cars, or cable cars are prohibited. The player designated as the hider is given a lead of 2 hours and 30 minutes to travel to an undisclosed location of their choosing, after which the two seekers are free to chase them down. To get clues to the hider's location, the seekers may ask any of a series of pre-set questions from various categories, which the hider must respond to truthfully. No question can be repeated in a given round, and there is a 30-minute delay between questions from the same category. For each question asked, the hider receives in-game coins, which can be used to purchase curses that hinder the chasers, with severity based on dice rolls. The hider may roam their immediate vicinity (defined as a circle of a half-mile radius) until the seekers reach the same locality. The hider must then move to a single hiding place and remain there. When the hider is found, one of the seekers becomes the next hider based on a pre-set rotation. The player with the longest single round of hiding is named the winner.

Based on a random draw, the order of hiders was set at Chase first, Doyle second, and Denby third. In Chase's first run, he hid in the town of Hospental atop its castle, and was reached by the seekers after 4 hours and 39 minutes. In the next run, Doyle hid in the village of Merlischachen, strategically misdirecting the seekers towards Zug instead. Even after correctly identifying Doyle's town, it took the seekers several hours to find Doyle's hiding spot underneath a slide at a secluded playground, putting his hiding time at 9 hours and 36 minutes. In the game's third run, Denby hid in the city of Winterthur, where the seekers were stalled for over five hours attempting to pinpoint his hiding location within a forest on the outskirts of the city, putting Denby's hiding time at 7 hours and 23 minutes. This was followed by the final and winning run by Chase, as he outwitted the seekers by taking a train to Thun, then running to Steffisburg just before his hiding time ran out. As he could not have made a train to Steffisburg in the allotted time, Denby and Doyle rejected it as a possibility. In the end, Denby and Doyle never reached Steffisburg, awarding the win to Chase when he exceeded Doyle's previous best time.

Season 10: Au$tralia
Toby Hendy returned as the guest competitor for season 10, which premiered on May 15, 2024. The format involves two teams of two traveling across Australia and completing challenges to make claims to eight regions (the six states, and the two internal territories of the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory). Teams may deposit money from their budget into the region they currently occupy; whichever team has the highest total deposited in a region claims it. The team with the most regions claimed at the end of four days wins the game.

Teams begin near the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, New South Wales with a A$1000 budget for travel expenses and region deposits. They can earn money by completing challenges, most of which consist of a wager with a known multiplier ranging from x1.5 to x4.0. Teams must state the amount they will stake on a multiplier challenge before starting it. Failing to meet the challenge's conditions will lose their stake; successful completion wins back their stake, times the multiplier. Additionally, there are steal challenges where teams must stake a listed percentage of their total current funds against the same percentage of their opponents'; successful completion steals that amount from the opponents. The available daily challenges for a given region are confirmed by visiting a virtual challenge board in that region, located at a notable landmark in major cities and towns (for example, the Sydney Opera House). Cash infusions of A$250 are provided at the start of each day and a welcome bonus of A$750 is awarded to the first team to arrive in a region.

Early in the game, Denby and Hendy claimed New South Wales in Sydney; Queensland in Gold Coast; and the Australian Capital Territory in Canberra. Meanwhile, Chase and Doyle claimed Tasmania in Hobart; South Australia in Adelaide; Victoria in Melbourne; and the Northern Territory in Alice Springs. Denby and Hendy then took South Australia and Victoria from Chase and Doyle, while Chase and Doyle took Queensland in Brisbane from Denby and Hendy. On the final day, Chase and Doyle planned to fly direct to Canberra to claim the Australian Capital Territory and then quickly travel to Queanbeyan across the border in New South Wales to claim both regions. However, non-stop flights from Brisbane to Canberra were booked out, so they flew to Sydney instead, claiming New South Wales from Denby and Hendy. Based on a false assumption that Denby and Hendy were flying to Tasmania, Chase and Doyle flew to Melbourne to claim Victoria back. Denby and Hendy had in fact flown to the Gold Coast Airport on the New South Wales–Queensland border, claiming both states in quick succession to win the season four to three.

Spin-off series
A spin-off series titled The Getaway was announced on April 8, 2024, with production having started the same day. The game involves six content creators competing on a road trip through the American West. The contestants are led to believe that there is one secret saboteur among them, with the rest of them working collaboratively. In actuality, all six contestants are told that they are the saboteur. Denby, Dave Wiskus, and Trenton Waterson will executive produce. Denby will also direct, with Doyle and Chase involved in production. The show will be exclusive to Nebula and is set to be released on July 10, 2024.