Terms

Converge is a free word game and a research project by Plasma Enterprises. It is in a closed test: accounts are by invite, and the game may change, pause or end while we learn from it. We may have to reset games or accounts; when we can, we’ll warn testers first. Converge is provided as it is, without promises that it will always be available or free of mistakes, and as far as the law allows we aren’t liable for losses from using it.

Converge is for adults. Someone under 18 may play only with the permission and under the supervision of a parent or guardian. By letting them play, the parent or guardian accepts these Terms for them, including the use of their gameplay for research, and is responsible for their account and how they play. This applies to guests too. Converge isn’t meant for children under 13, even with a parent’s permission.

Converge doesn’t filter words: there is no profanity filter and no list of banned words, so other players’ words, names and explanations can be anything (the rules in Playing fair still apply). Parents should keep that in mind before letting a child play, especially with people they don’t know, such as in Quick Match.

An account opens with an invite link. An invite works once, so don’t post it publicly. Keep your password to yourself: anyone with it can play as you, and you’re responsible for what’s done with your account. One account is one person. Usernames are public, so don’t put anything in yours that identifies you, such as your full name, email or phone number. If you forget your password, ask whoever invited you for a reset link, or write to support@plasma.enterprises.

We reserve the right to disable or delete any account at any time, without notice or giving a reason. When the closed test ends, accounts, friends, streaks and statistics will be wiped and won’t carry over when Converge opens to everyone. The games’ words stay as research data, with nothing linking them to you.

• No harassment, hate, threats or sexual content in your words, names or explanations, and nothing about anyone’s private life (their address, number or anything they wouldn’t share).
• No bots or scripts playing for you, and no second accounts to get around a limit.
• No attacking, overloading or scraping the service, or getting around its limits.

Everything that happens in a game: the words you submit, the explanations you write, when you typed and locked in, what you drafted and deleted before submitting, votes, and the outcome. We also record which opening question you were shown, though nobody else sees it.

For your account: your email (only to sign in; we never send to it), your username and the name you show friends, and your password, stored only as a scrypt hash that can’t be turned back into it.

Your IP address is used for security and to limit abuse (how often one address can try something). We don’t store it with your account or your games; it stays only in our hosting provider’s request logs, for up to 30 days.

Running and improving the game, and research into how people converge on the same idea. Results may be published, in aggregate or with every player shown only as a placeholder.

There is no way to opt out of research and still play: if you don’t agree, please don’t create an account or join a game. We don’t sell your data to third-party advertising companies, and there are no ads.

Everyone in a game with you sees your username and your words as you play, including strangers in Quick Match. Your finished games can be replayed by the people you played with, chased by your friends and by anyone you share a link with, and featured anonymously as a Daily Chase for everyone. A share link can show every round’s words of that game. Players who aren’t your friends appear under a placeholder name in all of these. Your friends also see your record, your streaks and how alike the two of you play.

Guests play without an account under a name shown with “(Guest)”. A guest can join a room with the host’s approval, play the Daily Chase and chase a shared game, but can’t host or keep friends and streaks. Their words are recorded the same way, tied to the room they played in. Because nothing ties a guest’s words to a person, we can’t find or delete them afterwards. A guest accepts these Terms when they join.

No system is perfectly secure. If your data is ever exposed, we’ll tell you. Except where the law says otherwise, we aren’t liable for a breach.

In Settings, choose Delete account and confirm with your password, or write to privacy@plasma.enterprises and we’ll do it for you once you’ve shown the account is yours. Deleting can’t be undone.

Your account, email, password, friends, your own chases and share links are deleted, and streaks you’re in end. In games you played with other people, your words stay, so their games still make sense: you become “Deleted player” with nothing that links back to you. Backups of the database are replaced within 7 days, and with them anything they still held.

We may change these Terms at any time. Wording fixes don’t change the date at the top, which says which version this is. A change to what we do, or to what we record and why, asks you to accept the new version before you play again; if you don’t, you can delete your account in Settings. Guests accept the version in force whenever they join a room.

• Privacy and deleting an account: privacy@plasma.enterprises. We answer within 30 days.
• Help with an account (a forgotten password, a disabled account), and reporting a player or anything that breaks these Terms: support@plasma.enterprises
• Anything else: contact@plasma.enterprises