Protests have always found ways to adapt to the times. From slogans on placards and street theatre to viral hashtags, memes and Instagram Reels, the way people express dissent has changed alongside the platforms they use.
The latest CJP (Cockroach Janta Party) protests, however, have taken this Internet-driven activism a step further. Alongside videos of demonstrations, satirical posts and memes, the protests have inspired something rather unexpected: video games.
Take 'Bhaag Neha Bhaag', a satirical game concept inspired by student leader Neha Bora and the repeated reports of her detention. Then there is 'Jantar Mantar Chalo', which turns the familiar sights of Delhi's protest culture into a playable experience, and 'CJP, It's Done, Bro', a browser-based game that uses arcade-style challenges to present political claims and counterarguments. Suddenly, online protesting involves 'dodging barricades', collecting 'Democracy coins', and 'bursting balloons'.
A growing number of games inspired by the CJP protests are now appearing across social media, turning political developments into interactive experiences. From satirical chase games to challenges built around political claims, these creations are finding an audience on Instagram, where creators are sharing gameplay clips and asking users to comment for links to try them out.
Political satire has found another format, one that is familiar to a generation raised on mobile games, memes and short-form videos.
From The Streets To The Screens
Protests have never been limited to the physical act of gathering in public spaces. Posters, cartoons, songs and slogans have long been part of political expression, helping people communicate frustration and rally support. Social media expanded that vocabulary, allowing protest messages to travel far beyond the streets where they originated.
Memes, in particular, have become a popular way of responding to political developments. They offer a quick, often irreverent way to comment on events, and their humour makes them easy to share. A photograph, a line of dialogue or a particularly absurd moment can become an Internet in-joke within hours.
The CJP protests have followed a similar trajectory, with online conversations extending the demonstrations into meme culture. But the emergence of protest-inspired games suggests that the Internet is no longer merely documenting political events or making fun of them. It is finding ways to turn them into interactive experiences.
'Bhaag Neha Bhaag': When Protest Becomes An Endless Runner
Created by brothers Anav Nayar and Akshay Nayar, 'Bhaag Neha Bhaag' takes inspiration from the reported developments surrounding Neha Bora and the CJP protests. The satirical game concept borrows the familiar visual language of endless-runner games like Mario Kart and Subway Surfers, in which players must keep moving while avoiding obstacles and pursuers.
In this viral game, a character named Neha runs through Delhi, jumping over barricades as people dressed in khaki and orange chase her, shouting "Pakdo". If she gets caught, the screen flashes "Pakdi gayi". Players can also collect coins labelled "Democracy", turning an otherwise familiar gaming mechanic into a political punchline.
The satirical game concept borrows the familiar visual language of endless-runner games.
Anav Nayar has said that the brothers were 'disturbed by reports of the protests' and wanted to respond through satire. The idea took shape after they saw reports of Neha being detained and appearing at protests again the following morning.
Its popularity, however, points to the Internet's appetite for turning unfolding news events into instantly recognisable visual jokes.
'Jantar Mantar Chalo': Pick A Side, Then Play
If 'Bhaag Neha Bhaag' imagines a protest as a chase, 'Jantar Mantar Chalo' takes the idea further by allowing players to step into either side of a familiar Delhi confrontation.
Created by 27-year-old Bareilly-based IT professional and Instagram creator Suraj Kushwaha, who goes by @bugswriter, the satirical 3D browser game is available at mantarjantar.com.
Developed with AI assistance, it transforms Delhi's protest into a playable environment complete with barricades, police deployment and crowds attempting to reach a demonstration site.
Players can choose to be protesters trying to reach Jantar Mantar and stage a dharna, or Delhi Police attempting to stop them. As a protester, the objective is to build a larger kafila, navigate obstacles, avoid tear gas and police action, and make it to the protest site. On the police side, players can use a lathi, detain protest leaders and attempt to prevent crowds from reaching their destination.
Developed with AI assistance, it transforms Delhi's protest into a playable environment
The game also includes deliberately exaggerated details, from 'golgappas that restore stamina' to references to Internet shutdowns and detention buses.
Its premise is simple, but the format gives players a way to engage with the imagery of a protest rather than merely watch it unfold. The game is explicitly labelled as satire, with fictional characters, shops and brands, making its intentions clear.
'CJP, It's Done, Bro': Burst Balloons, Challenge Claims
While the first two games draw much of their humour from the imagery of protests and detentions, 'CJP, It's Done, Bro' approaches political commentary differently. The browser-based game, available at 'cjpitisdonebro.com', uses arcade-style challenges to present political claims and what it describes as evidence-based counterarguments.
'CJP, It's Done, Bro' approaches political commentary differently.
Its premise is summed up by its tagline: "Big claims. Zero receipts. Let's see what survives."
The game is divided into four levels, each with its own challenge. The first, 'Delulu', asks players to burst balloons containing claims. The next, 'Delulu Pro Max', involves using darts to tackle more claims, while 'Propaganda Final Boss' requires players to break at least five shields to win. The final level, 'Anarchymaxxing', challenges players to identify rumours, select an appropriate fact-check or response, and act before the claims spread further.
CJP It's done bro website
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Scores, combo multipliers, a rumour meter and a scoreboard add a competitive element to the experience. The game also features a section called 'The Receipts', which lists 36 claims alongside reality checks and sources that users can consult.
The format turns political argument into a series of challenges, making the act of engaging with claims feel closer to playing an arcade game than reading a conventional fact-check.
Reactions on Reddit about the game (where it is going viral) have been mixed. Some users have appreciated the humour and the use of sources, while others have questioned the game's political framing and the explanations it offers.
Why Are Protest Games Going Viral?
A major appeal lies in how easily these games translate a complicated political moment into a format people already understand.
Endless runners, balloon-popping challenges and arcade-style levels require little explanation. The player can understand the basic premise almost immediately, even without knowing every detail of the protests.
Then there is the language. "Pakdo", "Pakdi gayi", Democracy coins and "It's done, bro" are short, memorable, memeable and easy to turn into captions, reaction videos and memes.
The games offer ready-made material for social media, where a joke that takes seconds to understand is often more likely to travel than a long explanation.
They also offer a different way to participate. Not everyone can attend a demonstration, and not everyone wants to risk being caught up in one. Sharing a game, playing it or discussing its premise allows people to register an opinion from behind a screen. That does not make online participation equivalent to protesting on the streets, but it does give political expression another outlet.
For younger Internet users, particularly those accustomed to gaming references and remix culture, this form of satire may feel more immediate than traditional political messaging.
AI has also made it easier for creators to experiment with making games without necessarily having extensive coding or game-development experience. Tools that can assist with writing code, designing characters and building basic gameplay mechanics have lowered some of the barriers to creating a playable concept. Several of these protest-inspired games have reportedly been developed with AI assistance, including ‘Jantar Mantar Chalo'.
When Protests Become Playable
There is a reason humour has long been used to challenge authority. Satire can make power look absurd, expose contradictions and give people a shared language for expressing frustration. Turning a protest into a game extends that tradition into a digital format.
These games can also help keep an issue visible after the initial news cycle has moved on. A memorable character, a recurring joke or a playable challenge can give people another reason to revisit a story, discuss it and share it with others. In that sense, the games are not simply about protests; they are also about how political events are remembered and circulated online.
Ultimately, the rise of protest-inspired games reflects a change in how political conversations unfold online.
From running away from pursuers in 'Bhaag Neha Bhaag' to navigating barricades in 'Jantar Mantar Chalo' and challenging claims in 'CJP, It's Done, Bro', the message is clear: political satire has entered the gaming era.
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