OpenAI ran an ad during the Knicks vs Spurs game. It was hiding a minigame to win free AI tokens.

OpenAI aired a "Time to Fly" ad for its Codex AI coding tool during Game 1 of the Knicks vs Spurs NBA Finals, hiding a cosmic logic puzzle minigame that rewarded eagle-eyed viewers with free AI tokens. Users who found and completed the online game won up to $1,000 in credits, though OpenAI ran out of promo codes before all players could claim prizes. The stunt promoted Codex amid rising industry trends like tokenmaxxing and growing concerns over AI computing costs.

OpenAI's new ad that ran during Game 1 of the Knicks vs Spurs NBA Finals https://www.businessinsider.com/nyc-bar-free-drinks-knicks-kalshi-nba-finals-2026-6 included a hidden game of its own. The company debuted an advertisement for Codex, its AI coding tool https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-ceo-codex-dan-shipper-every-2026-5 , titled "Time to Fly." The ad shows a variety of users vibe coding a product idea. One asks for a companion app https://www.businessinsider.com/valentines-date-ai-companion-wine-bar-cringe-2026-2 ; another puts their request on "Extra High" mode. A third seems to be developing a video game. The name of that game echoes the title of the ad: "Time to Fly." Eagle-eyed viewers found and played the game online — and won some free AI tokens. The "Time to Fly" game is a "cosmic logic puzzle game about orbital rotation," per OpenAI's website. One employee wrote on X https://x.com/kagigz/status/2062511493665415290?s=20 that the team built a "mini game that's waiting for anyone curious enough to follow the clues." One user posted their https://x.com/andrew dizenzo/status/2062352562888876534?s=20 "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" screen on X. The screenshot showed that they won $1,000 in tokens. "Thank you for the credits " another user https://x.com/sound4movement/status/2062512198719807933 wrote. For those mining for some free AI money: apologies, it seems like you missed your shot. One user https://x.com/kr0der/status/2062382189908803748?s=20 posted that they were proud to have placed third, even though OpenAI had run out of tokens. Another posted a screenshot https://x.com/ArtemR/status/2062398275718881577?s=20 showing the game screen saying, "We're all out of promo codes, but you can still compete on the leaderboard " AI tokens, often referred to as credits, are a unit of measurement used to help determine the computing costs associated with using AI products. The rise in popularity of Anthropic's Claude Code and OpenAI's Codex in the last year have given rise to trends like tokenmaxxing https://www.businessinsider.com/tokenmaxxing-debate-uber-exec-viral-ai-costs-2026-5 — as well as concerns over AI costs https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-openai-top-token-spender-ai-costs-issue-2026-6 and budgeting.