Terms of use
Plain terms for a small, free site. Using alftanet.com means you're fine with what follows. Last updated: .
1. What this is
Alftanet ("the site") is an independent games site operated by a single person. It offers browser games free of charge, funded by advertising. There is no account to create, no purchase to make, and no subscription.
2. The games are free, and provided as they are
Everything on this site is free to play, and is provided "as is" and "as available". I make no promise that the site will be uninterrupted, error-free, or available at any particular time. It runs on a small amount of hardware and it occasionally goes down.
Games change. They get rebalanced, rewritten and occasionally taken offline. Leaderboards may be reset — Strata's rotate weekly by design, and others may be cleared if they've been corrupted or filled with junk. Nothing here should be treated as permanent.
3. Leaderboards and display names
Submitting a score is optional; you can play any game without submitting anything. When you do submit, you choose a display name, and that name is shown publicly on the leaderboard.
Because leaderboards are public, please don't use personal information as a display name — not your full name, not an email address, not a phone number. Names that are abusive, hateful, sexually explicit, impersonate someone else, or advertise something will be removed, and so will the score attached to them.
Scores are validated on the server. Submitting a score you didn't earn — by modifying the game, replaying a captured submission, or automating play — may get the entry removed. This is a free hobby project with no prizes, so this is about keeping the boards meaningful rather than about enforcement.
4. Reviews
Games include a review box. Reviews are private feedback to me and are not published on the site. Don't include personal information in them; there is no reason to, and they aren't a support channel with any guarantee of a reply. By submitting one you allow me to read it, act on it, and keep it as long as it's useful. You can ask for one to be deleted by writing to the address on the contact page.
5. What you may and may not do
You may play the games as much as you like, link to any page here, and quote or reference the writing with attribution.
Please don't:
- copy, rehost or redistribute the games or their assets as your own;
- attempt to break, overload or gain unauthorised access to the site or its servers;
- scrape the site at a volume that affects other people's ability to use it;
- embed the games in a way that hides where they came from;
- use the site for anything unlawful.
6. Who owns what
The games, their code, artwork, music and all the writing on this site are mine unless stated otherwise, and are protected by copyright.
Several games are openly acknowledged tributes to older arcade titles. Where that's the case it's stated on the game's page, along with what it's a tribute to. Those older titles and their names belong to their respective owners; nothing here is affiliated with, endorsed by, or licensed from them, and no assets from them are used. What's borrowed is the idea, and the implementation is original work.
7. Advertising and third parties
The site displays ads, currently through Google AdSense, and uses privacy-friendly analytics. What that involves — cookies, what's collected, and how to opt out — is set out in the privacy policy, which forms part of these terms. Advertisers and the ad network are third parties I don't control, and the appearance of an ad is not an endorsement of it.
8. Liability
To the extent the law allows, I'm not liable for any loss or damage arising from your use of the site — including lost scores, lost progress, or time spent. Nothing in these terms removes any rights you have as a consumer that cannot be removed by agreement.
9. Children
The games are suitable for a general audience but the site is not directed at children under 13, and it doesn't knowingly collect personal information from them. See the privacy policy for what to do if you believe a child has submitted personal information.
10. Changes and contact
These terms may change; when they do, the "last updated" date above changes with them. Continuing to use the site means you're fine with the current version.
Alftanet is operated from Iceland, and Icelandic law applies. Questions about any of this go to contact@alftanet.com, or via the contact page.