Starbucks For Life Merrython Is Gamifying Your Desperation

Starbucks really looked at the absolute meltdown over its glass Bearista Cold Cup. That $29.95 iced-latte teddy bear had grown adults lining up at 5 a.m. Now the cup that caused riots in the matcha line is back, but not in stores. Nope. This time you have to play a corporate obstacle course on your phone to maybe, possibly, if the caffeine gods allow, win one.

Welcome to Starbucks for Life: Merrython, where America’s favorite personality trait (being chronically online) meets its favorite beverage (overpriced iced coffee).

MORE ON THAT BEAR VESSEL: The Starbucks Bearista Cup Is Back to Haunt Your Dignity! Here’s How to Actually Get One

The Cup That Launched a Thousand Regrettable Posts

When Starbucks dropped the Bearista in early November, it became the Beyoncé of beverage vessels. It’s beloved, random, and impossible to get. People lined up before sunrise. Some stores allegedly “sold out” before even opening. (Sus.) Surely code that “employees hid them in the back like contraband Taylor Swift vinyl.” Starbucks even apologized, which it basically never does unless someone finds a lizard in a latte or something.

And because the world is unwell, the cup instantly hit resale sites for hundreds to thousands. You could buy an actual teddy bear for that, but no. This one holds your cold brew, so naturally it’s priceless??

Merrython: Because Nothing Says ‘Holiday Spirit’ Like a Branded Hunger Games

Instead of restocking the shelves like a normal company, Starbucks put 17,000 Bearista cups into a mobile game where you run around virtual cities collecting red cups like a festive raccoon.

The game is basically Starbucks’ revamped its Starbucks for Life game into a full-on interactive sprint. Players choose a city and avatar, then race through a 90-second virtual run grabbing red cups and menu items to rack up points and climb the leaderboard. Each week unlocks a new city with Starbucks landmarks, and collecting full item sets earns bonus points. You can challenge friends, share your scores, and keep replaying as much as you want to boost your rank, because nothing says holiday spirit like turning caffeine loyalty into a competitive sport.

Rewards members get one free “run” per week, and prizes range from drinks to Stars to—if the algorithm smiles upon you—the Holy Grail Bear Cup.

This is what happens when a corporation sees chaos and decides the reasonable next step is gamification. 

Clearly Starbucks understands something dark and powerful: Scarcity + nostalgia + a vaguely cute face = (some of) you will do anything. A glass bear cup is not vital to human survival, no, but tell people they can’t have one and suddenly it becomes culture. Buyers turn into collectors, collectors turn into flippers, and flippers turn into people listing a tumbler for rent prices.

So anyway, the Bearista is back, and still as unattainable as ever. Instead of sprinting to a café at dawn, you can now sit on your couch and chase digital cups for a shot at the real one. Is this dystopian? Sure. Is it effective in the marketing sense? For many. Will we play? Pass the iced vanilla latte and let’s go win a bear, or just buy one on resale below…