Fighting a Brutal Regime With the Help of a Video Game

U Sein Lin did not play a video game in his life. He stumbled on the game while scrolling through Facebook.

Since then, he has been playing it nonstop.

Mr. Sein Lin wants to participate in real-life resistance to the country's ruthless military, which has killed thousands of citizens after seizing power in a coup.

War of Heroes has been downloaded more than 350,000 times since it was released. Many players say they are motivated by the creators pledge to donate proceeds to aid those who have been displaced by the fighting

Mr. Sein Lin said that killing in the game is satisfying even though he can't kill soldiers. Clicking until I die will help the revolution.

The military has been at war with its own citizens since it ruled the country for half a century. The regime has tried to crush dissent since ousting elected officials in a coup last year.

The People's Defense Force, or P.D.F., is an army with more than 60,000 fighters under the leadership of the National Unity Government. The local people's defense forces are formed by a group of fighters in urban areas.

The war of heroes was created by three developers who left the country before the generals took power. One of them, Ko Toot, said they were motivated to create the game after the disappearance of tech industry colleagues in the country who were involved in the anti-coup protests.

A paid version of the game was released in mid-June, and within days it began landing on lists of top 10 games at Apple's App Store in the US, Australia, and Singapore. Mr. Toot said that people all over the world are using it.

In the game, players move up in rank as the game gets harder. Players can target traitors who support the coup leaders.

The game requires players to join resistance forces to protect innocent people from evil military forces. It is your duty to join the People's Defense Force.

When players watch ads, the game makes money. The paid version makes money when players download it or purchase it. If you play enough to make the equivalent of $54 for the game, you will receive a "certificate of achievement" for your participation in the Spring Revolution.

The developers say they've given $90,000. Some of it has been used to help people who have left their homes. More than twenty local defense groups have received the rest.

To get around internet restrictions for access to the game, players need a Virtual Private Network. To avoid being arrested at police stops, players uninstall the game from their phone before they go out and download it again.

A Buddhist monk is one of the fans of the game.

A monk named U Pyinnyar Won Tha is an avid player. Buddha doesn't say not to kill living things, but people need to defend themselves.

He doesn't feel guilty because we're dying under the military regime. We need to kill someone to defend ourselves. They can kill us if we don't.

He has never played a battle game before. He liked the developers pledge to give money to people in need.

The military junta is torturing and killing monks. It is a good idea to play a game to give them good fortune.

Some soldiers are playing the game as well. There have been more defections since the coup. Those who stay in the military but are against the regime are referred to as watermelons.

One soldier, who is being kept out of the public eye for his safety, said he would defect if he could, but that he was aware that his family would be taken advantage of. He provided inside information to the resistance forces in order to aid the revolution.

War of Heroes is one of the things he plays.

He said he wanted to kill the generals and soldiers who saw the people as enemies. I can't kill them in the real world. I would do it if the situation allowed.

He can use the game to vent his anger. He said it was a good feeling to kill the soldiers. I enjoy killing soldiers and earning money for the revolution.

Ma Myat Noe Aye is a nurse who quit her job at a government hospital in the second largest city in the country to protest the military takeover. She fled to Laiza, a town in rebel-held territory, where she volunteers as a paramedic.

Thousands of people were forced to flee in May after soldiers attacked and burned her home village. She stated that she lost her job. My family lost their homes. My family needs help now. We need to win this revolution because there are many families like ours. We will all die if not.

Ms. Myat Noe said her mother was a cook for the People's Defense Force. The older woman plays War of Heroes before she sleeps, because she introduced her mother to it.

She told her that she could play the game to relieve her stress and help the revolution. The same thing happens when I play the game. The revolution needs to be the end.