Terms of Service

1 · Acceptance

By purchasing, downloading, or using 3Chess, you enter into this agreement with Round Online ("we", "us", or "the service") and acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by these Terms, together with our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the service.

2 · License grant

When you purchase 3Chess, you receive a personal, non-transferable, non-exclusive license to:

• Download and install the game on your personal devices
• Play the game in Online and Ranked modes
• Access supporting online services (relay, server, leaderboard) as available

Restrictions: you may not:

• Resell, rent, or lend your license
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble client binaries except as permitted by law
• Copy, duplicate, or distribute the client executable
• Commercial use (e.g., paid tournaments) without written permission
• Host your own relay or server and represent it as "3Chess official"

Permitted use:

• Share gameplay, screenshots, and user-generated content on social media
• Create content (YouTube, Twitch, etc.) about the game, including monetization, unless this changes in the future

3 · User accounts

3Chess uses a keypair-only identity model. There is no email signup, no password, and no third-party SSO. Your client generates a cryptographic keypair on first launch and stores the private key locally; the public key is your only ranked-account identifier.

• Online mode (casual play): no account or registration required
• Ranked mode: identity is the cryptographic keypair generated by your client. You are responsible for safeguarding your private key.
• Loss of private key: if you lose your private key, you cannot access your ranked account. We cannot recover keys (we never had them). Completed game history remains as evidence in public audit.
• Sharing: do not share your private key or use another user's keypair.
• One person, one account (recommended): not strictly enforced, but creating multiple accounts to evade rating (smurfing) may result in bans at our discretion.
• Website session: separately, the website (leaderboard / player profile pages) sets a short-lived 3chess_session cookie when you log in there. This is a website-convenience layer only and does not replace your in-game keypair identity.

4 · Acceptable use

You agree not to:

Enforcement: we may suspend or delete ranked accounts, remove ratings, or ban IPs at our discretion. Serious violations may be reported to authorities.

5 · User content

5.1 · Online mode (private)

Content you create in Online mode (moves, chat, etc.) is entirely yours. We have no access, do not store it, and claim no rights to Online-mode content (see Privacy Policy §3.1).

5.2 · Ranked mode (public)

When you play ranked, you consent to public audit of that game, meaning:

• Anyone can view completed game history (move chain, placements, rating change) via the public API and leaderboard
• Chat messages you send in ranked are signed with your long-term key and may be referenced permanently as part of the audit

Note: a live spectator mode is not currently offered — only completed games are public.

You retain ownership of your content but grant us and the public a perpetual, irrevocable license to:

• Store, display, and distribute signed moves and chat messages for rating integrity
• Retain this evidence even after you delete your account (see Privacy Policy §7 — your pubkey is pseudonymized)

5.3 · Chat content restrictions

In ranked chat, you may not post:

• Illegal content, threats, hate speech, or inappropriate sexual content
• Malicious links, phishing, or advertising
• Personal information of others (doxing)

We reserve the right (but have no obligation) to moderate chat stored in our systems.

6 · Fair play and ranking

• Rating model: PL-Elo + σ tracking · publicly auditable via the leaderboard and game-history API
• Deterministic: rating computation is server-side and verifiable via public audit endpoints
• Integrity: every move is signed with the player's key; the signature chain is independently verifiable. Invalid signatures cause rating updates to be rejected.
• Resignation: you may resign mid-game at any time. A resignation is treated the same as being checkmated for rating purposes.
• Abandonment: leaving a ranked game without resigning (closing the client, network drop, etc.) starts a 30-second grace window during which you may rejoin. If you do not return before the window expires, the game continues for the remaining players and your seat is treated as forfeited (equivalent to a 3rd-place finish). Repeated abandonment may result in temporary or permanent suspension at our discretion.
• Rating disputes: email hello@3chess.online with game_id and reason. Public audit evidence is our primary source of truth.
• No compensation: we do not compensate for rating "lost" due to network issues, hardware failures, or circumstances beyond our control

7 · Service availability

• Service is provided "as-is" and "as-available"
• No SLA or uptime guarantees
• We reserve the right to update, restructure, or suspend parts of the service for maintenance or development
• If we permanently shut down the service, we will provide at least 30 days' notice via in-game and 3chess.online, and allow users to export their ranked data

8 · Intellectual property

• 3Chess name, logo, visual assets, source code, audio, and all content are the intellectual property of Round Online or our licensors
• We grant you the license described in §2 only
• 3Chess game rules — under law, game mechanics are not copyrightable, but the expression of those rules in documentation, axiom system, or implementation is ours
• You may create derivative content (gameplay videos, etc.) under §2 "Permitted use"

9 · Disclaimer of warranties

The game and service are provided "as-is" without any warranty, express or implied, including but not limited to:

• Fitness for a particular purpose
• Freedom from defects
• Continuity of service
• Invulnerability to all forms of attack

We strive for quality but do not guarantee the service will be free from bugs, downtime, or compromise.

Mandatory warranties under applicable law cannot be waived.

10 · Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Round Online and its associates are not liable for:

• Indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages
• Loss of Online-mode game data (which is not retained by design)
• Rating loss due to user's network issues
• Other users' violations of these Terms
• Issues caused by third-party services (e.g., storefronts, payment processors, internet service providers)

Our maximum aggregate liability to you, if any, shall not exceed the price you paid for the game.

This limitation does not apply to:

• Willful misconduct or gross negligence
• Violations where the law prohibits liability limitation

11 · Termination

• You may terminate at any time: stop using the game, or delete your ranked account via in-game account settings
• We may terminate: if you violate these Terms, we may terminate your account immediately
• Effect: your license to use the online service ends, but your purchased copy remains (offline play vs AI remains possible). Provisions on IP, liability, dispute resolution, and evidence retention survive.
• No refunds: except where required by law or by the storefront's own policy

12 · Dispute resolution

• First step: contact hello@3chess.online to attempt informal resolution within 30 days
• If unsuccessful: disputes are referred to competent courts in Thailand
• Exception: if the law of your country mandates local courts or consumer protection bodies, we will honor those rights

13 · Changes to terms

• We may amend these Terms from time to time
• Material changes will be announced with 30 days' notice in-game and on 3chess.online before taking effect
• Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance
• If you do not accept the changes, you may stop using the service (see §11)

14 · Contact

15 · Governing law

These Terms are interpreted and enforced under the laws of the Kingdom of Thailand. Any disputes arising from or related to these Terms shall fall under Thai court jurisdiction, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.