Tims Speed Run
- Brand
- Tim Hortons
- Year
- 2022
- Objective
- Engagement
- Industry
- Food & Drink
- Mechanic
- Arcade & Action
- Platform
- In-Game
- Agency
- Jam3
Objective
Tim Hortons wanted to stake a claim in the metaverse on National Coffee Day, turning its ~52M-daily-user Roblox audience (mostly Gen Z) into a new touchpoint for the brand. The run also gave the brand a way to translate the everyday ritual of "doing a Tims Run" into a game, backing the launch of its limited-edition Tims Run Club apparel, which fans had cleared out in minutes the year before.
Solution
Players drop into a Roblox experience that starts outside a virtual Tim Hortons, their avatar dressed in Tims Run Club gear, holding a tray with four coffee cups. From there it's a timed obstacle course built entirely out of Tims products: players jump across spinning doughnuts and giant bagels, dodge rolling Timbits boulders, slide down icing ramps, and scoop up gold coffee beans along the way for bonus points. Each run ends with a time posted to a leaderboard, with the fastest runners rendered as gold statues overlooking the lobby. The gold beans collected during the run unlock coffee- and doughnut-themed accessories that stay on the player's avatar across other Roblox experiences.
- 1
The player enters the free Roblox experience Tims Speed Run from any device and receives a profile badge simply for visiting. The run begins at a virtual Tim Hortons location styled after a real restaurant.
- 2
The player's avatar spawns already dressed in the Tims Run Club merchandise collection that went on sale the same day.
- 3
In the lobby before each run, gold statues of the fastest players stand on display as a leaderboard and a target to beat; players who post the best times are later honored with their own statue above the main lobby for everyone else to see.
- 4
The player picks up a tray holding four hot coffees that must stay balanced for the rest of the run — the core constraint of the game.
- 5
The timed run is an obstacle course (obby) through a world of giant Tims products: players descend sprinkle-covered stairs, jump between spinning donuts and giant bagels, slip past swinging and rotating donuts, dodge rolling Timbits boulders, and slide down icing-glaze chutes, with branded products like Timbits, donuts, Ice Capp, and iced coffee appearing throughout as both scenery and obstacles.
- 6
Along the course, players can detour to collect golden coffee beans, which award bonus points at the cost of a slower time.
- 7
Losing balance or falling spills the tray and all four coffees, ending the run and sending the player back to the start to try again.
- 8
The objective is to carry all four coffees to the finish line intact and post a time on the leaderboard, with top runs landing around two minutes.
- 9
Points earned from collected beans unlock exclusive coffee- and donut-themed cosmetic accessories that the player keeps and can wear across other Roblox experiences.
