“Hold the door.”

“Stick em with the pointy end.”

“And now my watch begins”

Those are just a few of the many phrases made famous by Game of Thrones, their mere utterance enough to conjure – in the minds of fans at least – mental images of medieval brutality and clannish scheming.

But when paired with beautiful Greek scenes they become something else: a whimsical and clever social media campaign to promote the country and the riches of its diverse regions.

“Game of Islands” divides the Greek archipelago into 6 Houses, each with its own distinct character; when the Cretans “Send their Regards”, it is with raki and mezes. In the House of Sporades the, “Day is Long and Full of Surprises” (of the pleasant kind). “Stick em with the pointy end,” is no longer a sword-fighting tip, but advice on how to best eat olives.

There is no major organization behind “Game of Islands”, just two friends – Dimitris Kanellis and Elina Makrodimitri who decided to try and promote the Greek islands on social media without any direct benefit to themselves.

“Since we decided to stay in Greece and try and make it work here, we decided to apply our skills and effort without expecting something in return, just to promote the country abroad. We don’t have a company behind us,” 24-year-old Elina told Kathimerini. She is currently studying for a postgraduate degree in international marketing.

Of the six houses in the Game of Islands, the most active ‘players’ appear to be the Cretans. Their reputation for fierce local pride appears to hold true on social media where they widely share any flattering post about their island.

“As we approach the premiere [of the new season] we will present the second group of ‘houses’ and we will see what we can use from each episode,” says Elina.

While she says that when the season ends they are not certain if and how they will continue the project, for now at least, “Summer is Coming”.