When you Google \u201cSteal a Brainrot,\u201d it\u2019s hard to discern which sources are credible \u2014 largely because I\u2019ve never played and have no barometer for what is accurate, but also because there are no peer-reviewed secondary sources on the game.<\/p>\n
There is no concrete documentation informing the mechanics of \u201cSteal a Brainrot\u201d besides \u201cBrainrot Wiki\u201d<\/u><\/a> and a recent TikTok trend<\/u><\/a> where people tell their siblings that they \u201cstole a brainrot\u201d to gauge their reaction.<\/p>\n Most of my knowledge on this game has come from watching my eight-year-old stepbrother play. He enters a trance when he opens the game \u2014 minutes become hours. As someone watching from the outside, I don\u2019t understand the appeal. It\u2019s clear this game is stupid. But is that just my age talking?<\/p>\n After some brief scroll-based research, I understand the objective is to essentially gather virtual Brainrot characters and steal other players\u2019 Brainrot characters. The longer you have your characters, the more money they accumulate for you. So the objective is to make money and collect the rarest characters. There aren\u2019t really any levels, it\u2019s just that \u2014 over and over and over again.<\/p>\n Users are allowed to create their own games. Steal a Brainrot itself was created by avid player and Do Big Studios executive Sam Bratka under the internet username @SpyderSammy. Visually, the game looks like a 2-year-old made it. That\u2019s kind of Roblox\u2019s style, though \u2014 the draw isn\u2019t how amazing the graphics are. Steal a Brainrot is the perfect combo of meme-ability and repetition that breeds addiction in the 67-addled brains of the youth.<\/p>\n I asked my brother if I could watch him play and ask him a few questions afterward. He enthusiastically obliged.<\/p>\n Upon opening the game, players spawn at their base. Then, from a tunnel, an endless stream of Brainrot characters walk onscreen, each player racing to snag the most valuable ones. I learned they are ranked as such: uncommon, rare, epic, legendary, mythical, brainrot God, secret and Og\u2019s.<\/p>\n The strawberry elephant is the most elusive and desired character. Brainrot Wiki<\/u><\/a> reports that it costs 550 billion dollars to buy and 550 million dollars to make (not sure what the Brainrot dollar-to-USD conversion is). When I asked why \u2014 why the \u201cstrawberry elephant\u201d out of all the possible animal and fruit combinations, my brother couldn\u2019t really give me an answer \u2014 \u201cIt\u2019s just the strawberry elephant,\u201d he shrugged.<\/p>\n My brother told me that in order to procure a strawberry elephant, you need to buy \u201cRobux\u201d (with real money), which you can then use to buy \u201cluck multipliers\u201d that increase your chances of getting rarer Brainrot characters in the game. You don\u2019t have to spend money to play the game, but it\u2019s just a matter of how badly you want valuable characters.<\/p>\n \u201cBut,\u201d he noted, \u201ceven with multipliers, you probably will never get a strawberry elephant. There are only three in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n When you collect characters, you can lock them in your base, each character accruing value as time passes. I watched his money total go from $75 to $500,000 in two minutes. And you know what? I get it. The game takes virtually no work and no strategy. There is no end and no ceiling to what you can accomplish. It\u2019s so passive, yet so rewarding.<\/p>\n The money you get in the game doesn\u2019t have any use. You can\u2019t buy anything with it. It\u2019s just a number. It acts purely as a representative of how much time you\u2019ve spent on the game.<\/p>\n The \u201cminutes turn to hours\u201d sentiment has a factual basis \u2014 a 2025 study<\/u><\/a> done by the National Library of Medicine concluded \u201cinstant response\u201d games lead to hours of mindless gameplay. The study states that games that reward little participation \u201cimpair children\u2019s ability to engage in thoughtful, goal-directed behavior.\u201d <\/b>Steal a Brainrot is the teenage equivalent of scrolling on TikTok for two hours \u2014 you are basically just passing time, void of intention.<\/p>\n A 2025 study<\/u><\/a> done in Germany described the vulnerability of children to the commercial intent of these games \u2014 their lack of impulse control and critical evaluation abilities leaves them highly susceptible to addiction. The reason that a diamond Tim Cheese makes you $50,000 a minute is that Roblox wants to keep you on the game for as long as they can. No, it doesn\u2019t make sense. But the owners of Roblox don\u2019t care.<\/p>\n When I finally tore him away from the screen, we walked outside and sat in the driveway. I began the interview with a fairly open-ended question.<\/p>\n How do you feel when you play the game?<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cEnergetic. It makes you stiff. Everybody says, \u2018Oh yeah, it\u2019s so fun, but you really feel like\u2026 full on. Like, you focus,\u2019\u201d he said with an excited intensity, rocking back and forth with glee as he described the repetitive nature of the game.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re focused and when you get a good run, oh yeah, cool. And then you just, you just walk around, just waiting for another Brainrot to spawn. It\u2019s sad. It\u2019s terrible. It feels so bad \u2014 when no good Brainrots can spawn.\u201d<\/p>\n Even when discussing how \u201cterrible\u201d the game is, he kept a goofy smile plastered on his face.<\/p>\n Why do you play? Will you ever be done?<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t know when to finish.\u201d<\/p>\n A few seconds later, upon a moment of realization, he proclaimed, \u201cUntil you get your base full of strawberry elephants.\u201d<\/p>\n Would you give up all your Christmas gifts for a strawberry elephant?<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cYes. I would spend all my money on it. But my dad wouldn\u2019t let me do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Do you think the game is addicting?<\/b><\/p>\n \u201c[My classmates] know that it\u2019s, like, not good for your brain. Like, it\u2019s kind of addictive, [certain classmates] don\u2019t even want to play it anyway. And they just \u2014 they just think it\u2019s boring. They get bored with it. That\u2019s what\u2019s gonna happen to me really soon.\u201d<\/p>\n He paused and then added, \u201cActually, not really soon. But pretty soon.\u201d<\/p>\n What specifically do you find addicting about the game?<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cLike if I get it [strawberry elephant], I\u2019ll just go insane,\u201d he said. The idea made him jump out of his chair. He sauntered across the driveway, his head held high, \u201cand I\u2019ll go into a public server, and I\u2019ll be like, \u2018Hmm, I\u2019ve got a strawberry elephant,\u2019 and everybody will be jumping over me saying, \u2018Hey, I need it, I will trade my whole base.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Do you think most kids that play <\/b>know <\/i><\/b>it\u2019s addicting? <\/b><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not, like, worried for them. They\u2019re gonna stop. I mean, it\u2019s not even that bad. It\u2019s bad, but it\u2019s not like \u2014 it\u2019s not like it\u2019s rotting your brain and you\u2019re gonna be a dumb adult when you grow up.\u201d<\/p>\n So you don\u2019t think it\u2019s that bad?<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cYeah, I mean, it\u2019s just a video game.\u201d<\/p>\n We talked a little more about the strawberry elephant (the ultimate indicator of elementary school clout) and a few other characters he was on the hunt for. Something slowly became abundantly clear about Steal a Brainrot \u2014 a massive part of the psychological appeal is rooted in the collection. The relentless desire to procure the ever-elusive strawberry elephant, or the next best thing, fuels its users to play indefinitely. You never know what could come out of that tunnel. Every minute you spend absent from the game is a minute you could miss the opportunity to collect a rare character. The risk of wasting your time is so insignificant when compared to such an exclusive and valuable reward.<\/p>\n Corporations peddle to our insatiable desire to collect and gamble \u2014 our brains\u2019 addiction to dopamine and penchant for overconsumption. But instead of Las Vegas and lottery tickets, it\u2019s Pop Mart, fuzzy toys, Pok\u00e9mon Cards \u2014 today\u2019s material objects of desire have a decidedly more youthful energy.<\/p>\n Addiction is repackaged and sold to children in the form of Robux.<\/p>\n \u201cI want the pink Labubu, mommy. I didn\u2019t get it last time, so buy me another one.\u201d<\/p>\n Before you know it, $80 is gone, and a million screaming children create a billion-dollar industry.<\/p>\n In summary, the lack of strategy, the prospect of infinite reward and the stimulation of collection and risk create the perfect game. Add the viral phenomenon of internet \u201cbrainrot,\u201d and you get 25.2<\/u><\/a> million users at once.<\/p>\n So, we\u2019ve established the appeal. But what does this mean? Does Roblox really pose a danger to forthcoming generations, or is it just the inevitable next stage of the evolution of entertainment?<\/p>\n Since the beginning of time, old people have perpetually wagged a finger at the developing tech habits of the youth. Turn the music down! You spend too much time on the telephone! Don\u2019t sit so close to the TV! Get off your computer! You spend hours on TikTok!<\/p>\n That\u2019s going to rot your brain, they all say in unison.<\/p>\n In my opinion, yes, I would trust a baby boomer to change my tire before I would a Gen Z-er. But I don\u2019t think that signals the decline of civilization \u2014 the world is always changing, and technology will change with it. Sure, this might lead to a generational decline in certain skills, but have you ever used Triple A? It\u2019s so convenient!<\/p>\n I\u2019m not saying Steal a Brainrot is leading us farther into the future, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s sending us back to the Stone Age. I think the kids will probably be fine. They might have a steadily decreasing attention span and be at a potentially higher risk for a gambling addiction later in life, but hey, it\u2019s not like they\u2019re going to be dumb adults.<\/p>\n We can all have a good laugh at the absurdity of \u201cSteal a Brainrot.\u201d But when it comes to deducing the long-term effects, I don\u2019t think there is much to say.<\/p>\n To me, Roblox seems no different than any company that puts its users at risk for profit. Roblox actively seeks to get underage users addicted, encouraging kids to rifle through their parents\u2019 wallets and spend $5.99 for something they are convinced they need. TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, everything you see on the internet, any video game ever, anything ever created \u2014 they are all designed to do the same: suck you in and keep you sitting on your couch for as long as they can.<\/p>\n Doing so digitally has become increasingly popular in recent years. Taking advantage of the increased presence of tech in homes and in childcare to target minors is a newer concept, but I predict kids will adapt, just like we did. My brain\u2019s not rotted yet.<\/p>\n Claire Thatcher is a freshman at UT this year studying journalism and media. She can be reached at <\/i>[email\u00a0protected]<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n Columns and letters of The Daily Beacon are the views of the individual and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Beacon or the Beacon\u2019s editorial staff.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n