Five Guys has entered the trading card conversation with a promotional release that feels very different from the usual restaurant giveaway. Instead of licensed characters or movie tie-ins, this set highlights real employees who competed in the company’s Five Guys Games, a global skills competition that also became the focus of the Prime Video series On the Line: The World Burger Games.
The cards arrived quietly in mid-October and never got the kind of hobby spotlight that usually follows a major licensed promotion. That low-key rollout is part of what makes the set interesting. It blends fast-food marketing, workplace competition, and collectible culture into a release that feels unusual even in a hobby that has seen cards show up in cereal boxes, magazines, and kids meals.
For collectors tracking novelty issues, food promotions, and hard-to-find regional handouts, there are three points that matter most.
Top 3 things collectors should know about the Five Guys trading card promo
1. It is a real eight-card set built around Five Guys Games finalists
This is not a generic coupon insert or a one-off character handout. Five Guys produced an eight-card promotional set featuring finalists from its internal competition, giving the release a true card-set structure that collectors can chase.
For more collector background, read Mimikyu Will Be Legal in Play! Pokémon GO Championship Series Competition on November 16, 2026.
The checklist includes:
- Carson Tate, “Meat Papa”
- Aurelien Favreau, “Mr. Patate”
- Jose Once, “La Máquina”
- Peter Le, “Anonymous 24-H”
- Joshua Harvey, “Jed”
- Jackson Chimbay
- Enock Akuwure
- Jonathan Martinez, “The Terminator”
That alone gives the promotion more hobby appeal than many restaurant collectibles, which often lean on packaging graphics rather than individual subjects. Here, each card centers on a specific competitor, with the nicknames adding a sports-style presentation that fits surprisingly well in trading card form.
The competition itself also gives the cards context. Rather than celebrating fictional branding mascots, the set focuses on workers tested in timed challenges based on real store tasks. Events include stacking cheese, preparing and wrapping orders, and cutting potatoes, with speed and accuracy determining results. That framework makes the cards feel closer to event memorabilia than a standard restaurant premium.
Collectors who enjoy niche modern releases often look for two things: a defined checklist and a story behind the subjects. This promo has both. Even if it never develops into a mainstream chase set, it already stands out as one of the more distinctive food-related card issues in recent memory.
2. The cards may still be available at participating restaurants
Availability is a major part of the appeal. Five Guys distributed the cards through participating restaurant locations, and they were tied to qualifying purchases. That means collectors are not limited to the secondary market if they want to try for the set.
Because the rollout was relatively quiet, some locations may still have leftover stock. For collectors, that creates a rare window where a modern promo can still be found at retail through the original channel instead of only through resale listings.
That matters for a few reasons. First, restaurant-issued cards tend to disappear quickly once collectors realize they exist. Second, underpublicized handouts can become surprisingly tough to piece together later, especially if distribution varies by store. Third, promotions like this often generate a second wave of attention once hobbyists realize there are unopened examples still floating around in the wild.
Anyone trying to track these down should keep expectations realistic. Availability likely depends on participation and remaining inventory at individual restaurants, so collectors may need to ask when ordering rather than assume every location still has them. Still, that possibility is what makes the set especially fun right now. There is still a real-world treasure hunt element to it.
For collectors who miss the old era of in-person promotional chases, this is part of the charm. Pulling a card from a current restaurant promotion feels different from clicking “buy now” online, and that direct connection between product purchase and collectible pickup gives the issue a more memorable hobby experience.
3. Jonathan “The Terminator” Martinez is the clear card to chase
Every small set benefits from having an obvious centerpiece, and this one has it. Jonathan Martinez of Kingston, New York won the Five Guys Games championship and took home the $100,000 grand prize, making his card the most natural focal point of the release.
Martinez’s “The Terminator” nickname already gives the card a stronger identity than a typical promo subject, and the fact that he finished as the competition winner should make his card the one most collectors single out first. In novelty sets tied to a specific event, winners often become the hobby shorthand for the entire release.
That does not guarantee scarcity or major secondary-market value, but it does create a hierarchy within the eight-card run. When collectors talk about the set, his card will likely be the first one mentioned because it connects directly to the top result of the competition and the biggest headline attached to it: the $100,000 prize.
There is also a broader collecting pattern at work here. In compact promotional sets, the most collectible card is often the one with the easiest story to tell. Martinez checks that box immediately. He won the featured event, carries a memorable nickname, and appears in a release tied to a streaming series that follows the competition arc from qualifiers to championship.
For anyone trying to build the full set, his card is still just one piece of an eight-card checklist. But for collectors who prefer to sample unusual releases without chasing every card, “The Terminator” is the most logical single-card target.
Why this promo stands out in the fast-food card space
Restaurant collectibles are nothing new, but most well-known examples center on major licensed brands. Pokémon promotions at McDonald’s have become a familiar annual hobby event, and older Burger King tie-ins remain part of the nostalgia surrounding late-1990s collectibles. Five Guys took a different route by building its cards around employees rather than entertainment properties.
That creative decision gives the set a different identity. It is less about franchise recognition and more about documenting a branded competition with real participants. In that sense, the cards sit somewhere between promotional advertising, event souvenirs, and modern oddball issues.
Collectors who focus on unusual categories often gravitate to exactly this type of release. It is specific, quirky, and rooted in a narrow moment that may not be repeated. Those ingredients can make a set memorable long after the initial promotion ends, even if it never becomes a mainstream hobby priority.
Another point in its favor is that the full card fronts and backs can be viewed through the official Five Guys Games website, giving collectors a way to verify the entire lineup and understand what they are hunting for before trying to track cards down in person.
What to know before chasing the set
Anyone interested in the Five Guys promo should treat it like a modern oddball issue rather than a traditional sports card product. There is no indication of parallels, autographs, serial-numbered versions, or pack odds. The appeal here is the novelty of the concept, the limited promotional window, and the connection to a documented competition.
That makes condition and provenance worth watching if cards begin appearing in greater volume on the resale market. Hand-distributed restaurant issues can be prone to soft corners, surface wear, and inconsistent handling. Collectors who care about clean examples may want to be selective, especially if the cards were originally handed out without the protections usually associated with hobby packaging.
The set also works well for collectors who enjoy building micro-collections around unusual themes. Fast-food trading cards, streaming-series tie-ins, workplace competitions, and modern promotional oddballs all intersect here. Even people who do not plan to assemble all eight cards may see value in adding one or two as conversation pieces.
With the cards tied to qualifying purchases at participating locations and the competition winner already established, the chase is fairly straightforward. Ask at Five Guys locations that took part in the promotion, know the eight names on the checklist, and keep Jonathan Martinez at the top of the want list if you are only targeting a single card.
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