Free To Play Friday – Relay

Yeah it’s Christmas, so today’s FTPF is themed.  Now I know what you’re thinking, “OH GREAT JAMES IS TALKING ABOUT A SANTA GAME.”  No – and stop shouting – it’s better than that.  A brief history lesson –

The first Christmas during World War I showed the beginnings of a populist movement.  The brief waning of the nationalism that so swept countries into the war to begin with allowed a “live and let live” phenomenon to occur.  At small levels, soldiers would not fire on opposing forces if they were acting in a non-aggressive manner, such as exercising or eating.  The additional stresses of modern combat (trench warfare, machine guns, gas, etc) lent to a level of understanding between low-ranked soldiers, who had no real need to kill someone just minding his own business.

This was most documented with the Christmas Truce, which was a widespread unofficial truce between forces on Christmas Day 1914.  Soldiers crossed into no-man’s land to exchange news and gifts, sing, and in a few (admittedly, anecdotal) cases play soccer.  Then, come the 27th, they were back to war.

Relay, this week’s Free To Play Friday, puts you in the harried shoes of a telegraph operator during those days.  While the time leading up to Christmas is full of troop and supply requests, a twinkling rendition of Silent Night lets you know that maybe there can be even the briefest of truces.

I used to be really into the history of WW1 – it was truly the first industrial age war, and the philosophies and mindsets that started the war changed in just four years, to a completely different paradigm that was bleak, jaded, and world-weary.  It’s a fascinating subject.  Relay touches on just a single week of a 200+ week slaughterhouse, and it is all the better to show its humanity.

Relay can be played for free in your browser right here.

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Author: James View all posts by
Dangerously fat. Twitter: @hypersaline