Jet Lag: The Game

Jet Lag: The Game is an American travel competition web series by Wendover Productions, and released on Nebula and YouTube. Created by Sam Denby, Adam Chase, and Ben Doyle, and launched in May 2022, each season features a contest that sends players to achieve a geographical objective in some part of the world, some of which are inspired by playground and board games. During seasons, episodes are published weekly on Nebula, and a week later on YouTube.
As of March 2025, Wendover has produced thirteen seasons of the series, and the channel on YouTube has over 850,000 subscribers.
Each season features a game structure adapted to the geographic area and transportation modalities available in its filming location. These include requiring the players to claim states of the United States, circumnavigate the globe via air travel, play tag across parts of Europe, race across New Zealand and the United States, capture flags across Japan, and compete in games of hide-and-seek in Switzerland and Japan.
Players must often endure randomly assigned restrictions to progress through the game. These restrictions may be in the form of a challenge, requiring the player to perform a certain task before progressing, or in the form of a curse, which restrict their travels or adds an undesirable element to the game.
Team format changes across seasons, depending on if the season features a guest or not. In seasons where there is no guest star, two of the three players form a team, while the other member is on their own, rotating roles when the game state changes. In seasons where the trio are joined by a guest, Chase and Doyle compete as one team, while Denby allies with the guest. The series has featured Brian McManus, Joseph Pisenti, Toby Hendy, Scotty Allen, Michelle Khare, and Tom Scott as guests.
Jet Lag: The Game was created by Sam Denby, 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. The show is created primarily for streaming on Nebula, which supports its relatively expensive per-video budget. Episodes are released first on Nebula and a week later on YouTube.
Jet Lag's format was partially developed during a previous Wendover Productions show, Half as Interesting's Crime Spree, which had Chase and Doyle pursuing Denby as he attempted to break obscure laws in US states. Denby has also cited The Amazing Race and Taskmaster as inspirations for some of the show's various game mechanics.
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 lack the strategic intrigue of public transit. 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.
Most of the video is recorded by the players themselves, using handheld or tripod-mounted phones and wearable microphones, an approach that Denby says allows the competitors to focus on creating content rather than cinematography.
As of season 13, Jet Lag: The Game has visited 25 countries across four continents.
The show was nominated in the editing category of the 13th Streamy Awards in 2023, and the reality and unscripted category of the 29th Annual Webby Awards.
In September 2023, the show surpassed one million hours streamed on Nebula. As of March 2025, the channel has over 850,000 subscribers and 90 million views on YouTube, with many individual episodes exceeding a million views.
As of March 2025, Jet Lag: The Game has released twelve complete seasons, with a thirteenth currently airing.
The first season premiered on May 25, 2022. Starting at Chicago O'Hare Airport, Denby and guest Brian McManus of Real Engineering compete against Chase and Doyle to claim the 22 states of the United States 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.
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 22,859 mi (36,788 km) and cross all meridians. Teams started with a US$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 (480 km) 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.
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 turning their tracker off for 10 minutes. 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, 3 mi (4.8 km) 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.
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 US states (plus the District of Columbia) in four days. Both teams have a travel budget of US$3,000, with an extra US$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.
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.
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 1, 2, and 3 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. In the tie-breaking round, the players were not allowed to place towers, competing in a best-of-seven format to collect flags in Tokyo itself. Chase and Doyle collected four flags, and Denby and Allen collected only one.
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 while waiting for an infrequent ferry. 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 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.
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 as they were able to reach Key West while Chase and Doyle were still in Atlanta.
The ninth season premiered on February 28, 2024. Starting in Lucerne, Denby, Chase, and Doyle compete in a four-day game of hide-and-seek across Switzerland. 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 2.5 hours to travel to an undisclosed location of their choosing, after which the two seekers are free to look for them. 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.
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. After correctly identifying Doyle's town, it took the seekers several hours to find Doyle's hiding spot 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 woodland on the outskirts of the city, putting Denby's hiding time at 7 hours and 23 minutes. In the final run, Chase took a train to Thun, then ran to nearby Steffisburg, which was not reachable only by train service in the allotted time, leading Denby and Doyle to overlook it as a possibility. Denby and Doyle didn't find him before the game ended, awarding the win to Chase when he exceeded Doyle's previous best time.
Toby Hendy returned as the guest competitor for season 10, which premiered on May 15, 2024. The format involved 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 were able to deposit virtual money from their budget into the region they currently occupied; whichever team had the highest total deposited in a region claimed it. The team with the most regions claimed at the end of four days won the game.
Teams began in Sydney, New South Wales with a budget of A$1,000 for travel expenses and region deposits. They could earn money by completing challenges, most of which consisted of a wager with a multiplier ranging from ×1.5 to ×4.0. Failing to meet the challenge's conditions would lose their stake; successful completion won back their stake, times the multiplier. Additionally, there were challenges in which teams staked a listed percentage of their total current funds against the same percentage of their opponents'; successful completion stole that amount from the opponents. The available challenges for a given region were confirmed upon visiting a notable landmark in that region. Cash infusions of A$250 were provided at the start of each day and a bonus of A$750 was 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. Incorrectly guessing 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 by a score of four to three.
The eleventh season premiered on August 21, 2024. Denby, Chase, and Doyle repeated the game format from seasons 3 and 7, but with a new starting point and final destinations. Starting in Ferrara, Italy, Denby aimed for Lyon, France; Chase for Bratislava, Slovakia; and Doyle for Capri, Italy.
Chase was randomly selected to run first. He made it to Nova Gorica, a Slovenian town on the border with Italy, before the chasers caught up with him. Denby was next in the rotation. After getting to Bassano del Grappa, Denby struggled to solve a puzzle box challenge. After giving up on the challenge and serving his time penalty, Denby chose to attempt to amass as many coins as possible. He twice used a power up that gave him double coins on his next draw and then drew a Curse card with a high coin value before he was tagged. After he missed an infrequent train to Verona, Doyle's first run was largely unsuccessful, only making it back to the starting point of Ferrara. On his second run, Chase managed to evade the chasers twice while being at the same train station as them before he was tagged in Castelfranco Veneto. Using the high coin balance from his first run and some fortuitous train schedules, Denby was able to build a multi-hour gap from the chasers as he efficiently made his way to Switzerland, far into his win region. He chose to travel to Hospental Castle, the location he and Doyle had found Chase hiding in season 9. He was tagged with less than one hour left in the game and declared the winner.
The twelfth season premiered on December 4, 2024. In this season Denby, Chase, and Doyle play a modified version of the game format from season 9, competing in Japan. The six-day game included a new selection of seeker questions as well as the addition of a deck of cards for the hider that provide curses and other tools, such as bonuses adding various amounts to the actual time they remained hidden.
Starting from Tokyo Station, Doyle went first, hiding in the small town of Yamadera in Yamagata Prefecture. He achieved a total score of 9 hours and 59 minutes. Chase went next and hid near Tobiyama Castle Site Station in Tochigi Prefecture, where he achieved a score of 7 hours and 41 minutes. Denby hid at the obscure Higashi-Narita Station in Narita International Airport, but was found by the chasers who had mistakenly taken the train to his location instead of Narita Airport Terminal 1 Station; he ultimately achieved a score of 7 hours and 42 minutes. In his second run, Doyle hid near Izu-Kōgen Station in Shizuoka Prefecture; due to the chasers' initial incorrect belief that he could not have reached the Izu Peninsula during his travel time, Doyle achieved a score of 13 hours and 9 minutes. For his second run, Chase hid in Saruhashi in Yamanashi Prefecture. With the chasers choosing to take the relatively slow Minobu Line, Chase achieved a score of 11 hours and 21 minutes. For his second run, Denby initially hid near Kawagoe Station in Saitama Prefecture. As the chasers approached his hiding location 6.5 hours into his run, he played a card allowing him to change his hiding place. He traveled to and was later found near Naka-Urawa Station with a total score of 10 hours and 46 minutes. Doyle's second run's score made him the season's winner.
The thirteenth season premiered on March 5, 2025. Starting in London, United Kingdom, Denby and Tom Scott compete against Chase and Doyle to claim the most countries within the Schengen Area (including the microstates of Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City) over the course of six days. Countries are claimed by visiting them. Teams have the option to lock in their claim by completing a country-specific challenge. If they choose not to make an attempt or they fail, the country can be stolen by the opposing team visiting the country and successfully completing the challenge. For the first time on the show, teams will not know the details of the challenges in advance, as they were written by producer Amy Muller with only general guidance from Denby, Chase, and Doyle. The teams must use public transportation and have a US$4,000 budget for flights.
At the start of the game, Denby and Scott took a Eurostar train to Brussels, Belgium, claiming France as the train passed through it. They then entered Belgium and completed its challenge, locking it. Afterwards, they went to Maastricht, Netherlands, claiming the country, but failed the challenge to lock it. Meanwhile, Chase and Doyle flew to Zurich, Switzerland, claiming the country, and from there took a train to Schaffhausen, Switzerland, claiming Germany as the train briefly passed through its territory. After traveling to Waldshut-Tiengen, Germany to lock in their claim, they then traveled to Saint-Louis, France where they managed to complete France's challenge, stealing the country from Denby and Scott. They traveled by train to St. Margrethen, Switzerland, before walking across the border to Höchst, Austria. Meanwhile, Denby and Scott took a flight from Brussels to Vienna, Austria. Although Denby and Scott claimed Austria by landing in Vienna before Chase and Doyle arrived in Höchst, Chase and Doyle were quicker to finish the country's challenge, thereby stealing the country. Denby and Scott then took a train to Hegyeshalom, Hungary where they completed Hungary's challenge, before returning to Vienna. At the same time Chase and Doyle visited Schaan, Liechtenstein to claim that country, before going to Zug, Switzerland where they completed Switzerland's challenge. Denby and Scott traveled to Břeclav, Czechia, completed the country's challenge, and took a train to Bratislava, Slovakia, completing that country's challenge as well. Meanwhile, Chase and Doyle returned to Zurich and flew to Rome, Italy, claiming the country. They then traveled to the Vatican City, where they completed its challenge, before walking back to Italy and completing its challenge as well. Denby and Scott then returned to Vienna to fly to Copenhagen, Denmark, claiming the country, before going to Malmö, Sweden, claiming that country as well, but failing its challenge. They then returned to Denmark to attempt its challenge, but failed again. Meanwhile, Chase and Doyle flew to Amsterdam, Netherlands attempting to steal the country but failed its challenge, locking it for Denby and Scott. Chase and Doyle then flew to Copenhagen, while Denby and Scott flew to Helsinki, Finland, claiming the country.
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, with some The Layover episodes released between Jet Lag seasons focusing on travel tips and games. Videos containing outtakes have started being released on Nebula since season 8.
In 2022, Denby, Chase and Doyle played a game of "Photo Battle Royale" in London with Tom Scott. The game was one episode long and published on Scott's Tom Scott Plus YouTube channel.
A card game, titled Jet Lag: The Game's Hide and Seek, became available for purchase in November 2024. Its rules are largely the same as those used in Season 12 of the show, with some modifications allowing for play in different sizes of geographical area.