Image: Jet Lag: The Game on YouTube
Three friends playing a giant game of tag across Europe is a fun past time for me. The hosts of “Jet Lag” have played this game before and it always makes for great TV. The three start at one starting point and each travel to an equidistant destination, and have 72 hours to get there. If they don't make it in 72 hours, the person closest to a designated town wins. There are games and challenges along the way, but they're traversing the continent in a way they never could in America – mostly by train.
The trio kicked off this latest round in Ferrara, Italy, with stops in Lyon, Capri and Bratislava. Each route is roughly 750km from the start and equally accessible by high-speed public transport. In this part of Europe, there are inevitably a few more delays and schedule uncertainties than in, say, France or Germany, but the races are still on, and they're fast. If you use the schedule well and get through the challenges quickly, you can make a big difference as a runner.
The details of the game aren't really important; they explain the rules as you play, so watch it on YouTube (or Nebula) right now. “Jet Lag” has quickly become one of my favorite shows on the internet over the past year or so, and this season is shaping up to be a pretty intense chase. It's similar to “The Amazing Race,” but not overproduced or simplified for network TV.
Europe has around 20,000 kilometers of high speed rail, and tens of thousands more kilometers of light rail in the pipeline. Plus thousands of buses and ferries. Europe has lots of ways to get to your destination, even if the Alps are in the middle of it. That's what makes the game fun.
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