Jet Lag: The Game

Jet Lag: The Game is a properly excellent show. Each season, three hosts (usually joined by guests) play large-scale travel games across countries and around the world.

Most games use public transport—especially long-distance trains—so the chaos of last-minute bookings and delays can interfere with the best of strategies.

The show is fun, good-natured, and intelligent.

Notable seasons include:

• Tag Eur It (Europe, Season 3)
• Race to the End of the World (New Zealand, Season 5)
• Capture the Flag (Japan, Season 6)
• Hide + Seek (Switzerland, Season 9)
• Schengen Showdown (Europe, Season 13)

Season 17 starts tomorrow on YouTube. The season’s called Taiwan Rail Rush, and features two teams trying to claim the most stations out of 243 in Taiwan’s long-distance train network.

Here’s the trailer:

Excitedly for me, the trailer includes a scene at Kaohsiung’s famous Dragon and Tiger Pagodas—a 20-minute scooter ride from my apartment. (I’m guessing the teams may also stop at Kaohsiung Main Station, which is even closer.)

In the show’s companion podcast, The Layover, the hosts have been effusive about Taiwan:

• “I think [Tawian] is what people want from Japan. I feel like it is similar to Japan, different in some ways that make me personally like it even more, and it’s got all the same upsides of travel in Japan—without some of the downsides.”
• “The number one question all of us get asked is what’s your favorite place that you’ve been? I’ve started kind-of being like… it might be Taiwan.”
• “Within the context of Jet Lag, for me, it’s for sure Taiwan. A hundred percent. And I would advocate for anyone who’s deciding where to go in Asia—if you’re thinking Japan—just go to Taiwan instead.”
• “The culture was part of what I loved. Because I found people were generally more outgoing and friendly than most places in Asia, and we all encountered—all the time—people testing out their English on us. And it seemed like, in many cases, that was only a couple of words, but it was very charming. Because wherever we went, we would get a hello! How are you doing? That kind of thing.”
• “I cannot say enough good stuff about the food. Literally the highest hit rate of probably any place I’ve been to in the world.”
• “Crazy hit rate with Taiwan food.”
• “Every single thing I ate, I loved, and it was great. It was amazing.”

(I totally agree, by the way.)

As a Nebula subscriber, I saw the first episode of Taiwan Rail Rush a week early—and it too was great. It was amazing. It gives a good sense of the general vibe of Taiwan, both within and away from the cities.

Episode 1 will be available for free on YouTube at 2:30pm tomorrow (UTC), with new episodes weekly:

• youtube.com/@jetlagthegame

Enjoy!

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