About the game

Raccoon Trash Heist is an original top-down stealth mini-game set in the Plateau Mont-Royal at 2am. You play a Montreal raccoon — confident, opportunistic, mildly judgmental — moving between the numbered green compost bins behind a row of triplex back balconies. Every bin you loot adds to your score, but joggers, dogs and the occasional SPVM cruiser sweep the alley on patrol routes.

Stay in the shadows, time your runs to gaps in the patrols, and clear all eight bins to advance. Get spotted and you lose a stealth heart. Lose three and a SPVM officer slaps you with a ticket for "circulating without a snout-mask," which is somehow $148.

How to play

• Move: Arrow keys, WASD, or tap-and-hold to drag direction on mobile.
• Loot a bin: Stand next to the green numbered bin and press Space (or tap the bin).
• Avoid line-of-sight: Joggers and patrols have a vision cone. Stay behind cars, recycling bins and dumpsters.
• Listen: Audio cues warn you when a jogger is approaching from off-screen.
• Beat the timer: Last call alley sweep starts at 3am. Clear all bins before then.

Why Montreal raccoons are different

Montreal raccoons are not regular city raccoons. They're highly socialized. They open ziplock bags, they know which night is recycling night, and they have been observed dragging entire roast chickens up fire escapes on the Plateau. This game leans into that reputation — every bin is dangerous, but every bin is also worth it.

The numbered bins in the game match real City of Montreal compost-bin sticker numbering. The patrol routes mimic real Plateau jogging routes: along Boulevard Saint-Joseph, Avenue du Parc, and the inner laneway grids of the Plateau and Mile End.

Stealth strategy tips

Real Plateau alley culture

The Plateau is the densest neighbourhood in North America by some counts, and the back-laneway system between Avenue Henri-Julien, Rue de Brébeuf and Boulevard Saint-Joseph is the longest continuous urban-raccoon corridor in Canada. Locals know to bungee-cord their green bins. Tourists who rent Airbnbs and leave bins ajar wake up to a yard that looks like a small bagel-themed crime scene.

If you ever want to spot a real raccoon in Montreal, walk Rue Marquette south of Mont-Royal at around 11pm in summer. Look up — they will be on the second-storey balcony staring at you without breaking eye contact.