(To scroll down past the game to the press release-bit on mobile, scroll using the outer edges of the screen)
PR finally gets the racing game ABSOLUTELY nobody asked for
Spin Circuit: Grand PRix lets players create themselves, race their industry and turn professional frustrations into karting weapons
PR has always been competitive. Now there are projectiles.
Spin Circuit: Grand PRix is a browser-based kart racing game created by me, Rich Leigh, and FINE, I guess GPT 6 Astra did some light lifting too.
It’s inspired by absolutely no other games, and I’ve never even heard of the ones with that bandicoot and that Italian plumber, so I don’t know WHAT you’re on about.
It brings together 24 courses, customisable drivers, unlockable PR legends and the opportunity to settle industry rivalries without writing a snarky LinkedIn post.
Players can jump into a single race, practise any course, work through a six-cup single-player career or invite friends into a private online race. Eight drivers compete across three laps, with karts and motorbikes offering different combinations of speed, acceleration and handling.
It is, as is the case with my career, mostly daft. Winning is still the point.
Create yourself. Represent your COMPANY. Race your industry.
Players can build their own cartoon driver, choosing from a range of hairstyles, facial hair, eye colours, outfits and accessories.
Add a name, an optional agency or brand, and a catchphrase, and the character joins the searchable Community Drivers roster - where everyone can choose to race as them.
For anyone who would rather get straight to the grid, the game includes a playable version of me, naturally, and a cast of fictional industry characters, including Dee Brief, Penny Pitch, Ray Lease and Al Gorithm.
A player’s racing profile is separate from their chosen character, so they can switch drivers while continuing to build their own record - and make it onto the global leaderboard.
Make headlines. Cut corners.
The game’s 24 courses take racers through a colourful collection of environments, from waterfronts to snow, sand and space, with turns, ramps, bumps and hazards designed to keep things interesting.
The opening course, Down the Thames, celebrates the industry’s enduring enthusiasm for floating enormous things down a river. See if you can spot all seven stunts.
There are drifting boosts, slipstreams, jumps, short glides and aerial tricks to master, including front flips, back flips and side flips. Vehicle collisions matter, and a well-timed weapon can make a comfortable lead considerably less comfortable.
Some familiar occupational hazards
Collectible press packs supply the game’s PR-themed weapons and power-ups, with distinct sounds and visible effects that make their arrival difficult to ignore.
You can get speed boosts, protect yourself from attacks (with a corporate waffle holding statement), and generally cause trouble on your way to victory.
Among the more mischievous additions is an invisibility power-up inspired by the industry’s treatment of people over the age of 50, and a projectile that launches a naughty 2012 tweet into the racing arena, causing rivals to spin out of control.
Then there is Baby on Board, a crying-baby weapon that slows male drivers down some… and female drivers down more.
(Hey, I didn’t do it, I had matched and enhanced paternity at my agency, dontchaknow.)
Me? Subtle? Never knowingly.
Unlock the people who helped shape PR
Single-player career mode gives players something to work towards. Top-three finishes unlock the next course, with cup progression opening up further challenges.
Cup victories also unlock cartoon versions of historical PR figures:
Edward Bernays
Ivy Lee
Inez Kaiser
Jim Moran
Betsy Plank
Moss Kendrix
Win all six cups and P. T. Barnum joins the roster.
The Legends appear alongside the other drivers, but players must earn the right to race as them.
A leaderboard with actual industry names on it
The global leaderboard brings together players’ names, optional agency or brand affiliations and racing records, including races, wins, win rate, podium rate and total points.
Private online rooms let friends and colleagues organise races together using an invitation link or room code. Players can also share their drivers, results and the game itself, giving the industry another perfectly reasonable excuse to become competitive in public.
Podium finishers get a celebration. The rest of the field gets an opportunity to demonstrate how professionally they handle disappointment. Hey, tears are fine. We’ve all been there, a few drinks deep at an awards night.
Play in your browser
Spin Circuit: Grand PRix is playable on desktop, mobile and tablet, with keyboard controls on desktop and a thumbstick and accelerator on touchscreens. Double-tapping GO triggers a hop, with more tricks available off ramps.
There is no game download required. Players can practise every course before taking on the competition.
Created lovingly by the smartest, handsomest man in and around PR*, Rich Leigh.
Source: Rich’s mum.
For further information
Email rich@richleigh.co with any questions, grumbles or to offer me a bagload of cash to sponsor my podcast. Oh yeah, I’ve got a podcast.