Jimothy Game: How to Play, Controls & 4 Missions
Jimothy is no longer just a viral Seattle raccoon. The internet-famous animal has also inspired a free retro browser game that turns his adventures into a small 8-bit experience you can play online.
Built by Chris Pirillo, the Jimothy game takes inspiration from late-1980s NES games and features four different missions based loosely on the raccoon's adventures around Seattle.
You do not need to install a large game client or create an account to play. The game runs through a web browser and supports desktop, touch devices, and compatible controllers.
Here is how the Jimothy browser game works, how to control Jimothy, what each mission involves, and where you can play the original fan-made version.
What Is the Jimothy Game?
Jimothy is a free 8-bit browser game starring Seattle's viral raccoon.
The game was created by Chris Pirillo as a fan tribute and uses retro pixel graphics, synthesized chiptune music, and gameplay inspired by classic console games.
It is important to make one distinction: this is not an officially licensed Jimothy game. The creator describes it as a free fan tribute inspired by the viral raccoon.
Instead of using the same gameplay throughout the entire game, Jimothy changes mechanics between its four missions. One involves searching garbage bins, another crossing busy streets, another avoiding photographers, and the final mission becomes a vertical climbing challenge.
That variety makes Jimothy more substantial than a simple single-screen internet joke while still keeping the experience quick and easy to understand.
Can You Play Jimothy in a Browser?
Yes.
Jimothy can be played directly through a web browser.
There is no conventional PC game installation required for the browser version, and the game supports both desktop and touch devices.
On phones and other touch-screen devices, virtual controls appear below the game. Compatible game controllers are also supported.
This accessibility is one of the reasons Jimothy fits naturally alongside the unusual browser games we cover at Q00P.
Where Can You Play the Jimothy Game?
The game is available from its creator, Chris Pirillo, at:
https://arcade.pirillo.com/jimothy.html
Q00P does not host, copy, or redistribute the Jimothy game files.
Using the creator's page also ensures that you are playing the version currently provided and maintained by its developer.
How to Play the Jimothy Browser Game
Start by opening the Jimothy game page in a supported browser.
From the title screen, you can select a mission and begin playing. Three missions are initially available, while the fourth — The Big Climb — remains locked until you complete the first three.
Each mission has its own objective, gameplay style, music, and high score.
You receive five lives for each mission. Clear all four missions to unlock the game's ending.
Jimothy Game Controls
The keyboard controls are straightforward:
Move: Arrow keys
A button: Z or Space Used for actions such as rummaging through bins and confirming menu choices.
B button: X or Shift Used to hop.
Start / Pause: Enter
Select / Back: Tab or Backspace
Mute: M
Escape can also be used to go back from mission and settings screens.
Some controls can be remapped through the game's Settings menu.
If you are playing on a touch device, the game provides an NES-style directional pad along with A, B, and Start buttons.
Jimothy also supports compatible game controllers. Pair or connect a controller and press a button to begin using it.
The 4 Jimothy Missions
Jimothy contains four missions, with each one using a different style of gameplay.
- Trash Night
Trash Night is a side-view challenge in which Jimothy searches garbage bins for food before the garbage truck arrives.
Not every bin can be opened, and two dogs patrol the alley. You need to keep moving, search the useful bins, and time your hops to avoid the dogs.
The mission combines a food target with a time limit, so standing around for too long can make completing it difficult.
- Get Across Easy Street
The second mission shifts to a Frogger-style street-crossing challenge.
Jimothy must travel through five blocks of streets, yards, sprinklers, and moving traffic to reach the park.
The layout can vary between runs, and one part includes a five-lane crossing where there is nowhere safe to stop.
Success depends on watching traffic patterns and choosing the right moment to move.
- Paparazzi in the Park
Paparazzi in the Park changes the game again, this time into a top-down stealth challenge.
Jimothy needs to navigate through a park filled with photographers without attracting too much attention.
Rather than simply moving as quickly as possible, the mission rewards careful movement and knowing when to stay out of sight.
- The Big Climb
The Big Climb is the final mission and is initially locked.
Complete Trash Night, Get Across Easy Street, and Paparazzi in the Park to unlock it.
The gameplay becomes a vertical climbing challenge as Jimothy works his way upward across fences, branches, and ledges toward the safety of his den.
Complete The Big Climb after clearing the first three missions to finish all four challenges and unlock the ending.
Basic vs Advanced Difficulty
Jimothy includes two difficulty settings: Basic and Advanced.
Basic is the better starting point for new players because it gives you more room to learn each mission's mechanics.
Advanced makes several parts of the game more demanding.
For example, Advanced difficulty increases the food requirement in Trash Night from eight to ten while reducing the available time from 56 seconds to 46 seconds. Dogs and traffic move faster, photographers detect Jimothy more quickly, and the ledges in The Big Climb become narrower.
Basic and Advanced also maintain separate high-score tables.
That gives players who finish the game on Basic an additional challenge without requiring completely new missions.
Is the Jimothy Game Free?
Yes.
Chris Pirillo provides Jimothy as a free browser game.
You do not need to purchase the game or create an account to start playing it.
The creator also states that high scores are stored locally rather than uploaded to an account.
Do You Need to Download Jimothy?
No conventional download is necessary to play the browser version.
Open the game's webpage and play from there.
This makes Jimothy particularly convenient for players who enjoy small games that can be accessed quickly without installing a large PC game client.
If you encounter websites offering unrelated downloadable copies, there is little reason to use them when the creator already provides the game through his own browser arcade.
Why Did Jimothy Get a Browser Game?
Jimothy became an internet phenomenon after images and videos of the unusually shaped raccoon roaming Seattle's Ballard neighborhood spread online.
His popularity quickly extended beyond social media into artwork, local events, gaming references, and other internet tributes.
The browser game is one of those fan creations.
Instead of simply watching another Jimothy clip or looking at another meme, the game turns several elements associated with his adventures — garbage bins, Seattle streets, photographers, and climbing home — into playable challenges.
That connection between a fast-moving internet phenomenon and a deliberately old-school game is a large part of what makes Jimothy unusual.
Is Jimothy Worth Playing?
Jimothy is not intended to compete with a large commercial release.
It is a small, free fan-made browser game built around an internet-famous raccoon.
But it offers more than a simple novelty screen.
The four missions use different mechanics, there are Basic and Advanced difficulty modes, individual high scores, controller and mobile support, and an ending to unlock after completing all four missions.
If you enjoy retro browser games, pixel graphics, unusual web games, or simply want to experience one of the stranger gaming spin-offs of Jimothy's viral popularity, it is worth a try.
Play Jimothy
You can play the Jimothy fan game on its creator's website:
https://arcade.pirillo.com/jimothy.html
The game is created and hosted by Chris Pirillo. Q00P does not host or redistribute the game itself.
Looking for a Retro Animal Browser Game Like Jimothy?
If you enjoyed the idea of controlling a small urban animal through short retro-style challenges, try Nox's Night Run, an original browser game created for Q00P.
Nox's Night Run stars Nox, a city-dwelling possum who scavenges rooftops, dodges late-night traffic, avoids security lights, and unlocks an endless score-attack mode.
Nox's Night Run is not affiliated with Jimothy or its creator. It is an original Q00P game with its own character, artwork, code, levels, and gameplay systems.
Play Nox's Night Run on Q00P: https://q00p.xyz/games/noxs-night-run
