Kainyne Terms of Service (DRAFT)

Last updated: [DECIDE: publish date — e.g. "April 21, 2026"]

1. Acceptance

These Terms of Service (the "Terms") are a legal agreement between you and [DECIDE: legal entity — match §1 of the Privacy Policy] ("Kainyne", "we", "us") governing your use of kainyne.com and the games and services we offer on it (the "Service").

By accessing or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

If you are using the Service on behalf of an organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that organization to these Terms.

2. Who can use the Service

• You must be at least [DECIDE: 13 (United States minimum under COPPA) OR 16 (stricter EU threshold — pick one and mirror §7 of the Privacy Policy)] years old. If you are between 13 and 17 (or 16 and 17, depending on the threshold), you may only use the Service with a parent or legal guardian's permission.
• The Service is provided globally, but we make no representation that it is appropriate or available in every jurisdiction. If local law prohibits your use of the Service, you must not use it.
• You are responsible for your own conduct on the Service, including any conduct that takes place during a match with another player.

3. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• Harass, threaten, bully, or discriminate against other players on any protected basis (race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, etc.) during gameplay or through your chosen display name. Our screen-name moderation (see the blocklist at war/name-blocklist.js) is the first line of defense; repeated or severe violations will result in the escalation ladder described in the moderation policy.
• Cheat, exploit bugs for unfair advantage, or attempt to circumvent our anti-cheat architecture (host-authoritative game loop). Minor exploits discovered and responsibly disclosed to [email protected] are welcomed under our security disclosure policy.
• Automate, scrape, spider, or use bots against the signaling Worker or the game servers. Rate limits are enforced per the RFE-153 scope and circumvention is a breach of these Terms.
• Reverse-engineer the Service with the intent of creating a competing product or extracting trade secrets. Security research that stays within the disclosure policy is fine.
• Impersonate Kainyne staff, employees, or representatives. "Kainyne" and any project maintainer's name are not acceptable display names.
• Upload, transmit, or otherwise distribute unlawful content through any user-controllable field (screen names, future chat surfaces, future user-generated content uploads).
• Use the Service in a way that interferes with other users' ability to use it (denial-of-service attempts, coordinated abuse of matchmaking queues, spam in any future chat surface).

Violations of this section may result in temporary or permanent suspension of your access to the Service, without notice if the violation is severe or ongoing. We reserve the right to investigate and cooperate with law enforcement to prosecute users who violate these Terms in ways that break applicable law.

4. Accounts

As of the date of these Terms, the Service does not require or offer user accounts. Your use of the Service is session-based:

• Your browser stores your chosen display name locally (see the Privacy Policy).
• Matches are ephemeral and tied to per-tab state that ends when you close the tab.

If we add accounts in the future (see RFE-049 in our public roadmap), these Terms will be updated with account-specific provisions — including password security, account termination, and data retention — and you will be asked to re-accept the updated Terms before account creation.

5. User-generated content

Today, the only user-generated content (UGC) you provide through the Service is your chosen display name (the "screen name"). By entering a screen name, you grant Kainyne a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to display that name to other players in the same match and to use it in any related service feature (lobby roster, game-over screen, leaderboards once shipped).

If we add broader UGC features in the future (custom avatars, player-written match chat, community forums, shared replays), these Terms will be updated with:

• Clear rules about acceptable UGC (aligned with §3),
• Your grant of a license to display the UGC on the Service,
• Our right to remove UGC that violates these Terms or applicable law,
• Takedown procedures consistent with the US DMCA and EU Digital Services Act.

6. Intellectual property

• Our IP. The Service (including the software, graphics, audio, and original text) is © [DECIDE: copyright year range, e.g. "2024–2026"] Kainyne, all rights reserved, except where specifically licensed otherwise.
• Open-source components. The source code for portions of the Service is available under [DECIDE: open-source license — MIT / Apache 2.0 / "All Rights Reserved, source-available for auditability but not licensed for reuse" — pick one and update the repo's LICENSE file to match]. The applicable license file in the repository is authoritative for source code; these Terms govern the running service.
• Your IP. You retain any ownership rights you have in content you enter into the Service (your screen name, future UGC). §5 describes the license you grant us.
• Third-party content. Some fonts, libraries, and assets used by the Service are provided by third parties under their own licenses; see the repository's third-party notices if published, or contact us for the current list.

7. Warranty disclaimer

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE", WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Kainyne disclaims all warranties, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, and any warranty arising out of course of dealing or usage of trade.

Specifically:

• We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free.
• We do not warrant that any defects will be corrected.
• We do not warrant that the Service is free of viruses or other harmful components.
• We do not warrant that gameplay results are free of random variation (the games involve card shuffling which is explicitly probabilistic).

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of implied warranties, so the above exclusions may not fully apply to you. In those jurisdictions, our warranties are limited to the minimum extent required by applicable law.

8. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, KAINYNE AND ITS OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES, AND LICENSORS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, including lost profits, lost data, loss of goodwill, or business interruption, arising out of or in connection with your use of the Service, whether based on contract, tort (including negligence), strict liability, or any other legal theory.

OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICE IS LIMITED TO THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR (B) [DECIDE: $100 is a common floor for free services — but consult a lawyer about whether this cap is enforceable in your jurisdiction] USD.

Some jurisdictions do not allow limitation of liability for certain types of damages (including damages caused by gross negligence, willful misconduct, or fraud, and in some cases personal injury). Nothing in these Terms limits our liability where applicable law prohibits such limitation.

As of the date of these Terms the Service is free of charge, so the "amount you paid" component of the liability cap will in most cases be zero — leaving the fallback cap as the effective limit. If we introduce paid features in the future, this section will be re-evaluated.

9. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold Kainyne harmless from any claims, damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to:

• Your breach of these Terms,
• Your violation of applicable law,
• Your infringement of any third party's rights through your use of the Service.

We reserve the right, at our own expense, to assume exclusive defense and control of any matter subject to indemnification by you, in which case you agree to cooperate with us.

10. Termination

• Your right to stop using the Service — You can stop using the Service at any time by closing the browser tab. Since the Service does not use accounts today, there is nothing to delete; your data flows are described in the Privacy Policy.
• Our right to suspend or terminate your access — We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service, with or without notice, if:
  • You materially breach these Terms,
  • We are required to do so by law,
  • We discontinue the Service or a specific feature,
  • Continuing to provide the Service to you poses an unreasonable risk to us or other users.
• Surviving provisions — Sections §5 (UGC license, for any UGC you provided before termination), §6 (IP), §7 (disclaimer), §8 (liability cap), §9 (indemnification), §11 (governing law), §12 (dispute resolution), and this §10 survive termination of these Terms.

11. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of [DECIDE: governing jurisdiction — typically your home state for a US solo operator, e.g. "the State of California, without regard to its conflict-of-law principles". For EU-based operators, the member state of establishment.], without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law.

Where applicable law grants you consumer-protection rights that cannot be waived by contract (for example, in the EU/EEA), those rights apply notwithstanding the governing-law clause above.

12. Dispute resolution

[DECIDE: pick a dispute-resolution model that fits your risk tolerance and jurisdiction:]

[DECIDE option A — courts only:] Any disputes arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in [county, state], and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.

[DECIDE option B — arbitration with class-action waiver (common in US ToS, scrutinize enforceability in your jurisdiction): Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service, except for claims for injunctive relief to protect our intellectual property, will be resolved by binding arbitration under the American Arbitration Association's Consumer Arbitration Rules. The arbitration will take place in [county, state], and the arbitrator's decision will be final. YOU AND KAINYNE AGREE THAT EACH PARTY MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. This clause does not apply where arbitration agreements are unenforceable under applicable law.]

EU/EEA residents: you are entitled under the EU Consumer ODR Regulation to use the European Commission's Online Dispute Resolution platform at https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/. Use of the platform is voluntary and does not prejudice your right to sue in a competent court.

13. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do:

• Material changes (new restrictions on use, new liability provisions, changes to dispute resolution) — we will give at least 30 days' notice via a banner on the site and, if you are subscribed to our newsletter, via email. Continued use of the Service after the effective date of the updated Terms constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms.
• Non-material changes (typo fixes, clarifications, updates to third-party references) — we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this document.

Previous versions of these Terms will be retained [DECIDE: match the Privacy Policy §10 approach — archive page or git permalinks] so you can see what the Terms said at any given time.

14. Miscellaneous

• Entire agreement — These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any other documents expressly referenced in them, constitute the entire agreement between you and Kainyne about the Service.
• Severability — If any provision of these Terms is held to be unenforceable, the rest of the Terms remain in effect.
• Waiver — Our failure to enforce any provision of these Terms is not a waiver of our right to enforce it later.
• Assignment — You may not assign your rights under these Terms without our consent. We may assign ours in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, subject to applicable consumer-protection law.
• Force majeure — Neither party is liable for delays or failures caused by events beyond its reasonable control (natural disasters, war, governmental action, widespread internet outages, etc.).

15. Contact

For questions about these Terms, use:

• Email: [email protected] (general) or [email protected] (responsible-disclosure / security).
• Postal address: [DECIDE: same as Privacy Policy §11].