Jimothy is a wild animal, not a pet and not an attraction. This game is as close as any of us should ever get to him.
If you find yourself in his neighborhood: don't go looking for him, don't feed him, don't try to touch him, and don't crowd him for a photo. Food from people teaches raccoons to approach humans, and that is how a beloved neighborhood raccoon becomes a "problem animal" who gets removed. A short spine means he already moves slower than he should have to. A crowd is a genuine danger to him.
Secure your trash, keep your dog leashed, give him the whole sidewalk, and let him get on with his night. Love him from a distance. That's the whole ask.
If you see a raccoon that is injured or in trouble, call a licensed wildlife rehabilitator in your area rather than handling it yourself.
Raccoon Run is a free 8-bit maze chase in the style of a late-1980s NES cartridge, starring Seattle's viral short-spined raccoon. Clear each night, outmaneuver four small dogs with different pursuit habits, roll through tight escapes, and turn the chase around when Jimothy finds a large pickup. Built by Chris Pirillo.
| Move | Arrow keys or WASD. On touch, use the D-pad below the screen — in landscape it splits to either side. A paired controller's D-pad or left stick also works. |
|---|---|
| A button | Z or Space, or the A button. Confirms menus and advances result screens. |
| B button | X, or the B button. Hold while moving to roll. Big scraps put Jimothy into spin mode automatically. |
| Start | Enter or the Start button. Starts the game and pauses during play. |
| Select | Backspace, or the Select button on the pad. Goes back in menus and opens pause during play. Remappable in Settings. |
| Mute | M toggles all sound. Music can also be toggled separately in Settings or Pause. |
| Gamepad | Plug in or pair a controller and press any button. |
Clear every scrap. The four big scraps temporarily turn the dogs blue and vulnerable. Optional garbage bonuses appear during a night. You begin with five hearts; later nights tighten the routes, shorten power time, and make the dogs more accurate.
Follows Jimothy directly and keeps steady pressure on the shortest legal route.
Targets the corridor ahead of Jimothy and tries to arrive before he does.
Pursues from a distance but retreats toward a corner when Jimothy gets close.
The grey schnauzer flanks from Pip's position and prioritizes an active garbage bonus.
Every track is generated live by a 2A03-style synth in your browser — there are no audio files in this page. Each night draws from a larger set of long-form themes, and the powered state has its own dedicated chase music.
On July 13, 2026, Seattle resident Kiana Hall was out walking with her husband in Ballard when she spotted something under a car. She thought it was a cat. It turned around, she saw the mask, and she filmed a few seconds of a small, round raccoon with an unusually short spine and a determined little hobble. "What am I looking at?" she says in the clip. She posted it to Instagram the next day and, in the caption, gave him a name: Jimothy. He just looked like one. The video collected millions of views within days.
Wildlife experts believe Jimothy has a congenital spinal deformity, usually called short spine syndrome, which compresses the vertebrae so he appears to have no neck. It shows up occasionally in dogs and is rarer still in raccoons. Marcie Logsdon, a veterinary professor at Washington State University who reviewed the footage for the Seattle Times, judged him to be a young raccoon, healthy, moving around fine, and not in pain. That he made it this far in the wild is the remarkable part, and neighbors who watched him grow up credit his mother and siblings for it.
Jimothy became a folk hero almost overnight: murals, tattoos, merch, a bobblehead, a dedicated subreddit, a Google easter egg, and a Mariners appearance. Seattle City Council members Alexis Mercedes Rinck and Dan Strauss issued an official proclamation naming the summer of 2026 "Jimothy Summer." Not bad for an animal about eight inches tall who would rather you left him alone.
Experts say the kindest thing you can do for Jimothy is leave him alone. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife recommends: never feed raccoons, never let them reach your garbage, feed dogs and cats indoors, and lock pet doors at night. A fed raccoon loses its healthy fear of people, and that rarely ends well for the raccoon. Seattle & King County Public Health add that raccoons can carry bacteria and roundworms, and that any stressed or cornered wild animal can bite. If you are worried about an animal in the Seattle area, the PAWS Wildlife Center can help at 425-412-4040. Photograph from a distance, keep your dog leashed, and let the little guy hobble in peace.
Common questions about Raccoon Run and Jimothy the raccoon.
Jimothy is a real raccoon in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood. He went viral in July 2026 after resident Kiana Hall filmed him and asked, "What am I looking at?" She named him in the caption. Short spine syndrome makes his torso look almost spherical.
Use the arrow keys, WASD or the on-screen D-pad to move, hold B to roll, and clear every scrap. Big scraps turn the dogs blue and put Jimothy into spin mode.
Yes. Touch devices get an NES-style D-pad plus A, B, Select and Start controls, split to either side of the screen in landscape. A paired game controller also works.
A new run shuffles validated generated layouts within difficulty bands. The same seed recreates the same order, but ordinary new runs do not follow one fixed sequence.
Yes. High scores, best nights, settings, and remapped keys save locally in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
No. Secure garbage, feed pets indoors, keep dogs leashed, and give wildlife room to leave.
Yes. Advanced speeds up the dogs, sharpens their decisions, and shortens powered time. Basic and Advanced keep separate records.
No. It is a free fan tribute built by Chris Pirillo in the style of a late-1980s NES game.