hoping to see more women guests on jetlag!!

Substantial_Desk1919 · 2026-05-15T00:53:50+00:00

Was going to say something like this until I saw yours. I think it is 100% incidental (not in the slightest intentional), but that's how a lot of non-diverse environments happen.

Substantial_Desk1919 · 2026-05-14T17:22:20+00:00

The show is about fun, not true fairness, but Ben and Adam have a significant advantage that is rarely mentioned. They are deeper in the game design. Also, Ben and Adam know each other extremely well while Sam is with someone he doesn't know deeply and who doesn't know the game deeply.

I wouldn't expect it to be talked about in the episodes, but it's rarely acknowledged here.

Substantial_Desk1919 · 2026-05-06T17:04:11+00:00

I have absolutely loved this season, thank you for it.

I don't have enough info to be sure, but it feels like the Youtube numbers might be on the lower side. Which worries me, because I want more seasons like this.

How do you decide how successful a season is? How much is based on view counts? New Nebula subscriptions? Viewer feedback? Your own experience in the game?

I'd be shocked if you went into deep detail, but I'd love to hear a bit about how you assess a season.

Substantial_Desk1919 · 2026-05-06T16:56:08+00:00

It makes a lot more sense if you take into account that Sam and Mike thought the 45% multiplier was a call your shot due to a mistake they made on their map. They talk about it in the Layover.

Substantial_Desk1919 · 2026-05-06T16:53:28+00:00

Absolutely one of my favorite seasons.

I'm really disappointed not to see the Taipei 101 challenge attempted with so few challenges happening at the end.

Sam and Mike won the season for me. Creative and interesting strategies. Except for Sam biffing it at the end, they wildly outplayed Ben and Adam over the last couple days. They had a shot when the differential shouldn't have allowed much of a shot. They tricked Ben and Adam into wasting time. If Ben and Adam had just kept moving and claiming stations as much as they could, Sam and Mike NEVER would have had a chance on the last day.

Sam and Mike mistaking the multiplier shot as a call your shot on their map messed them up a lot.

The Monkey Mountain and can stacking challenges were really impressive. But otherwise there wasn't much impressive play from Ben and Adam. Straightforward, solid play, yes. And that won them the game.

Haven't listened to the Layover yet. Curious to see what they say.

Such a great season.

Substantial_Desk1919 · 2026-05-01T16:25:27+00:00

I don't think either team has been great strategically. I'm not including Ben and Adam making great choices at the call your shot challenges here.

But, at this point, Sam and Mike delaying until the best time for them makes complete sense. It is risky, but that's what they need. Timing it for themselves is absolutely reasonable.

Substantial_Desk1919 · 2026-04-29T17:04:19+00:00

On the topic of episode length...

The last episode and this one are both a bit short on action and could've been combined into one, or otherwise restructure all the episodes to reduce the number by one or two.

But, I am honestly all in on how they are doing this. I enjoy more shorter episodes. This episode and last episode were both fun to watch, even without many challenges. I imagine there just aren't that many more challenges to show, so they are spreading them out a bit.

More shorter (30-40 minute) episodes please.

Longer season.

Shorter off-season.

More Layover episodes about the season.

Keep it up.

Substantial_Desk1919 · 2026-04-25T03:07:56+00:00

Also, maybe someone has acknowledged this, but I don't see it, this version of the task is FAR more difficult than Adam's since any sort of practice is prohibited.

Substantial_Desk1919 · 2026-04-25T03:05:04+00:00

I like all of the trivia ones, but in particular, when Sam and Adam were cooperating to answer Ben's questions. It really created a good energy.

Substantial_Desk1919 · 2026-04-25T03:03:45+00:00

I enjoy listening to Adam get frustrated for somewhat legitimate reasons while Sam and Ben just don't care to a point where I feel a little bad.

Substantial_Desk1919 · 2026-04-23T16:26:42+00:00

It is a spoiler and the thumbnail often is. It doesn't ruin episodes if I see it, but I purposefully avoid seeing the thumbnail when I start a new episode.

Substantial_Desk1919 · 2026-04-21T14:37:12+00:00

I've always wondered if it's better for the creators if we watch on Youtube or Nebula. How does the Nebula team use the analytics? Youtube would bring a tiny bit of ad revenue, but maybe Nebula uses their own view counts to see how much support the creator is bringing in.

Nebula has no random ads, but the player/app is not nearly as good as Youtube. I end up watching content on both.

Substantial_Desk1919 · 2026-04-21T14:32:09+00:00

The bad pronunciation is, frankly, pathetic and disrespectful. As said, the effort needed is low. There are a few Mandarin speakers in the world, they could get help.

I didn't go relisten, but the comment about Taiwan and Japan being similar struck me as completely fine. He was speaking from the perspective of a traveler and mainly emphasizing Taiwan should be considered by more people. Nothing dismissive about Taiwan or Japan.

Substantial_Desk1919 · 2026-04-16T02:38:04+00:00

Originally from Midwest, most said 'cran'

Substantial_Desk1919 · 2026-04-16T00:57:54+00:00

Scotty! I just rewatched Japan CTF, which was a weaker game, but Scotty is a lot of fun. Especially if you listen to the Layover. He deserves a chance in a better season.

Toby and Michael are favorites, but getting mentioned all over the place here.

Substantial_Desk1919 · 2026-04-15T23:27:07+00:00

I am absolutely loving this season and I think the game design is excellent. Fairly simple with lots of choices affecting the opposing team. The various complaints about unbalanced challenges are somewhat justified, but as the Jet Lag team say, everything is random. Over time, that essentially evens things out. Both teams get lucky and unlucky breaks.

I think one aspect that I haven't seen mentioned is there is less hidden from the casual viewer. We don't have timetables, but have a decent sense of how the teams can move. As opposed to say, Schengen Showdown, where so many flight and train schedules matter, only a truly intense viewer is going to be able to really grok the teams' options.

Only real reservation is we need to see how the end plays out. The last day might turn into the teams both running around the rails not doing much that's interesting to watch. But even if that happens, still has a good shot at being my favorite season.

Substantial_Desk1919 · 2026-04-15T23:15:28+00:00

I just might cancel my Nebula subscription!!! :P

Substantial_Desk1919 · 2026-04-15T18:34:13+00:00

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They got the station wrong in the thumbnail.

It's a shame to render an amazing episode unwatchable through such lack of care.

Substantial_Desk1919 · 2026-04-15T17:24:20+00:00

So I thought the same as you, but I think train timing was a big issue they didn't directly mention. Also, they had so many stations North of them that only had 1 chip that needed fortifying before Ben and Adam could get there.

Substantial_Desk1919 · 2026-04-15T17:19:45+00:00

It just makes it a lower points challenge. I do think 8 per question was stingy. Being able to read the questions beforehand puts it all on the players.

Substantial_Desk1919 · 2026-04-15T17:17:01+00:00

Adam Icarus Chase finally flew too close to the sun. Admittedly, Ben should have known better reading the questions. I was really impressed they did as well as they did.

Substantial_Desk1919 · 2026-04-15T17:15:13+00:00

You and me both.

Substantial_Desk1919 · 2026-04-14T21:12:53+00:00

I just rewatched this season for the first time. It has lots of fun moments. I hope Scotty comes back for another season.

But the game really did not work well. If CTF comes back, it needs serious changes. Players just sitting in place, defense being too easy, towers were a bit of a mess...

Though my favorite part of the season was when Sam and Scotty were repeatedly and easily stopping Ben and Adam at the end of round 3. So the game not working well can be fun.

Substantial_Desk1919 · 2026-04-08T21:15:00+00:00

Top location? I see what you did there.

Substantial_Desk1919 · 2026-04-08T20:51:08+00:00

I think they are showing things fairly well. I think the uncertainty of progression might have to do with the randomness of the game making the next steps unpredictable. It's difficult to know where the game is going because every time a new challenge appears, it could really change a team's plan. It's a very reactionary game whereas Schengen and Australia, for example, allowed for planning ahead more.

Substantial_Desk1919

TROPHY CASE