GnollHack Account Terms of Service

Last updated: 18 October 2026

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your creation and use of a GnollHack Account and the online account features it enables (collectively, the "Account Service"), provided by Hyvän mielen pelit ry, a non-profit association registered in Finland and operating in English as Sound Mind Games ("we", "us", or "our"). The Account Service is operated through our account website at account.gnollhack.com and connected features within the GnollHack video game client.

The game GnollHack itself is a free, open-source roguelike game for Android, iOS, and Windows (available via Steam, the Microsoft Store, and GitHub builds). The game software is licensed separately under the NetHack General Public License, and these Terms do not modify, limit, or replace that software license. These Terms govern only your GnollHack Account and the online features it provides.

By creating, signing in to, or using a GnollHack Account, you agree to be bound by these Terms, our GnollHack Account Privacy Policy, and our GnollHack App Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these Terms, do not create or use a GnollHack Account.

1. Plain-Language Summary

To make these Terms easy to read, here is a summary of the core rules. The full sections below control in case of any conflict, but in short:

Free Online Account Only: Your GnollHack Account is completely free and lets you post scores and dumplogs, appear on public leaderboards, share ghost-level "bones files" and replays, verify save integrity, link with the Junethack tournament, and sign in to Gnoll Overseer. The open-source license of the GnollHack game itself stays separate.
Public Leaderboards Are Public: When you play with a linked account, your username, character names, scores, game details, and end-of-game dumplogs are shown publicly on our website. If you delete your account later, your past game records are anonymized rather than erased so the leaderboard stays accurate.
Play Fair and Obey the Law: Do not use the Account Service for anything illegal, do not upload malware or tampered bones/save files, do not use hateful or impersonating names, and do not cheat or fake leaderboard scores.
We Can Restrict or Ban Accounts: If you break these rules, cheat, or abuse the servers, we can remove your content, exclude your scores from leaderboards, disable your bones sharing, block access to Gnoll Overseer, temporarily lock your sign-in, or permanently ban you.
Provided "As Is" for Free: We run the Account Service as a non-profit organization at no cost to you, without warranties or promises that the servers will always be available.

2. Features Covered by Your GnollHack Account

A GnollHack Account gives you access to the following online features, and only these features:

Registration and Sign-In: Creating and signing in to an account on account.gnollhack.com using a username, a confirmed email address, and a password. You can download your personal data and delete your account at any time from the website's Personal Data page.
Score and Game Posting: When you enter your account credentials into the GnollHack game app, the app posts your finished games to the account server, including your character's death or ascension, score, statistics, achievements, conducts, and plain-text and HTML dumplogs (complete records of your character at the end of the game).
Public Leaderboards and Game Listings: The account website publicly displays top scores, recent games, and player statistics, including your account username, character names, and game details.
Bones File Sharing (Optional): A "bones file" is a saved dungeon level containing a dead character's ghost and belongings that may appear in other players' games. If enabled, your game client can upload your bones files and download other players' bones files. You can configure your settings to limit sharing to, or exclude, specific named users.
Replays (Optional): Uploading recordings of your games to the account server.
Save File Tracking (Optional): Registering save files with the account server so that game integrity can be checked to keep leaderboards and tournaments fair.
Tournament Integration: Linking your GnollHack Account to your username on Junethack, an annual community tournament operated by a third party.
Access to Gnoll Overseer: Signing in to Gnoll Overseer, our optional AI gameplay assistant, requires a GnollHack Account. Gnoll Overseer is governed by its own Gnoll Overseer Terms of Service and Gnoll Overseer Privacy Policy, which apply in addition to these Terms whenever you access or use Gnoll Overseer. Where these Terms and the Gnoll Overseer Terms of Service could conflict regarding Gnoll Overseer, the Gnoll Overseer Terms of Service control for that service.

3. Eligibility and Account Responsibility

Age Requirement: You must be at least 13 years old to create or use a GnollHack Account. If you are under 18, you may create and use a GnollHack Account only with the consent and supervision of a parent or legal guardian who agrees to these Terms on your behalf.
One Person, One Account: You may hold only one GnollHack Account for leaderboard, scoring, and ban-enforcement purposes. You must not create or use additional accounts to manipulate rankings or evade any account restriction or ban.
Accurate Registration Details: You must provide truthful and accurate information when registering, including a valid email address that you are authorized to use and confirm.
Password Security and Account Activity: You are responsible for keeping your password confidential and for all activity that takes place under your account. You must notify us promptly at gnollhack@hyvanmielenpelit.fi if you suspect unauthorized access to your account.

4. Acceptable Use

You must use your GnollHack Account and the Account Service responsibly and lawfully.

4.1. Prohibition on Illegal Use

You must never use your GnollHack Account or any feature of the Account Service for any purpose that is illegal under the laws of Finland, the European Union, the country or jurisdiction in which you reside, or the United States. Without limitation, you must not:

Upload Malware or Harmful Files: Upload, transmit, or distribute viruses, trojans, worms, malicious code, or files crafted to crash, exploit, compromise, or harm our servers or another player's device or game (for example, a maliciously crafted or manipulated bones file, replay, save record, or dumplog);
Upload Infringing, Unlawful, or Abusive Content: Upload or transmit any content that infringes another party's copyright, trademark, trade secret, or other intellectual property rights, or any content that is unlawful, defamatory, harassing, hateful, threatening, sexually explicit, or that exploits, abuses, or endangers minors (including child sexual abuse material or child sexual exploitation and abuse);
Use Offensive, Impersonating, or Privacy-Violating Names: Register or submit account usernames or in-game character names that are offensive, hateful, unlawful, impersonate another person or organization, or contain another person's personal data (as usernames and character names are displayed publicly);
Attempt Unauthorized Access or Server Disruption: Probe, scan, attack, overload, or disrupt our servers or networks, bypass authentication or security controls, sign in to or use another person's account without authorization, or access data that does not belong to you; or
Engage in Fraud or Privacy Violations: Use the Account Service to commit fraud or deception, or to violate any person's privacy or data-protection rights.

4.2. Prohibition on Cheating and Service Misuse

Even where conduct is not independently unlawful, you must not misuse the Account Service. Specifically, you must not:

Cheat or Manipulate Scores: Post fabricated, forged, or altered game records, statistics, or dumplogs; tamper with save files, bones files, or save-file tracking; or post games or scores from anything other than an official, unmodified GnollHack build;
Scrape or Bulk-Query the Service: Use automated bots, scrapers, crawlers, scripts, or bulk-downloading tools to access the account website, leaderboards, dumplogs, or server APIs beyond ordinary gameplay and web browsing;
Evade Bans or Restrictions: Create or use multiple accounts, alternate identities, or technical workarounds to circumvent an account ban, score ban, bones ban, lockout, or other restriction;
Share, Sell, or Transfer Your Account: Share your login credentials with others, or sell, trade, rent, or transfer your GnollHack Account to any other person; or
Send Spam: Submit repetitive, automated, or unsolicited promotional content or requests through any account feature.

5. User Content and License

Your Ownership: As between you and us, you retain whatever ownership rights you hold in the content you upload or submit through the Account Service, including your game records, dumplogs, bones files, replays, account username, and character names ("User Content").
License to Operate the Service: By uploading or submitting User Content to the Account Service, you grant Hyvän mielen pelit ry a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, copy, process, format, anonymize, publicly display, and transmit your User Content as needed to operate, secure, and provide the features described in Section 2. This includes displaying your username, character names, scores, game details, and dumplogs on public leaderboards and game listings, and delivering your uploaded bones files to other players' games.
When the License Ends: This license ends when the relevant User Content is deleted from our servers, except for:
- Anonymized Leaderboard Records: When you delete your GnollHack Account, your previously posted game log entries are anonymized rather than deleted so that public leaderboards and historical game statistics remain intact; and
- Already-Delivered Copies: Bones files or other game data that have already been downloaded into other players' games before deletion remain usable in those games.
Your Confirmation: You represent and warrant that you have the legal right to upload and submit your User Content and to grant the license in this section without infringing or violating the rights of any third party.

6. Public Visibility and Privacy

What Is Public: Leaderboards and game listings on the GnollHack Account website are open to the public. When you post games with your GnollHack Account, your account username, character names, scores, game details and statistics, and plain-text and HTML dumplogs are publicly visible to anyone on the internet. If you enable bones file sharing, your dead character's ghost, character name, and items may also appear inside other players' games. Do not include your real name, contact details, or other sensitive personal information in your username or character names.
Privacy Policies: How we collect, store, use, and protect your personal data is explained in our GnollHack Account Privacy Policy and GnollHack App Privacy Policy (and, when you use Gnoll Overseer, the Gnoll Overseer Privacy Policy).
Self-Service Data Access and Deletion: You can download a copy of your personal data and permanently delete your GnollHack Account at any time through the Personal Data page on account.gnollhack.com.

7. Third-Party Services and Platform Terms

Junethack Tournament: If you choose to link your GnollHack Account to a username on Junethack, your participation in that tournament is governed by Junethack's own rules and operators.
App Stores and Distribution Platforms: When you download or play GnollHack through third-party storefronts (such as the Google Play Store, Apple App Store, Microsoft Store, or Steam), your use of those storefronts is subject to their own terms of service, including those listed in Terms and Conditions.
No Responsibility for Third Parties: Third-party tournaments, websites, and app stores are operated independently of us. We do not control them and are not responsible or liable for their availability, actions, content, terms, or privacy practices.

8. Monitoring, Enforcement, and Termination

We reserve the right to investigate suspected violations of these Terms and to take enforcement action to protect our players, the fairness of our leaderboards, and the security and legality of our servers.

Proportional and Immediate Action: We may act in proportion to the severity and nature of a violation. However, graduated enforcement is not mandatory: for serious, harmful, abusive, or illegal conduct, we may impose any sanction — up to and including a permanent ban — immediately and without prior warning or notice.
Sanctions We May Impose: If we reasonably believe you have violated these Terms, cheated, or misused the Account Service, we may apply one or more of the following measures:
- Removing or hiding content: Removing, redacting, or hiding any User Content, including leaderboard entries, game records, dumplogs, bones files, and replays;
- Score ban: Excluding your games from public leaderboards and scoring while leaving your account otherwise active;
- Bones ban: Disabling bones file uploading or sharing for your account;
- Blocking access to Gnoll Overseer: Restricting or revoking your account's access to the Gnoll Overseer AI assistant;
- Temporary lockout: Temporarily suspending your ability to sign in to your account; and
- Permanent ban and termination: Permanently banning you and terminating your GnollHack Account.
Bans Apply to the Person: A permanent ban applies to the individual person, not merely to the specific account that was banned. If you are banned, you may not create, acquire, or use another GnollHack Account, and we may refuse registration of or terminate any account we reasonably believe was created or used to evade a ban.
Minimum Records for Enforcement and Legal Claims: When we impose a sanction or ban, we may retain the minimum records necessary to enforce that ban and to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims. Those records are limited to the relevant account identifiers and the reason for the sanction, and are handled in accordance with our GnollHack Account Privacy Policy.
Reporting Illegal Conduct: We may report suspected illegal content or conduct to law enforcement or other competent authorities and cooperate with lawful requests and investigations.
Questions and Appeals: If you believe a sanction or ban on your account was applied by mistake, you may contact us at gnollhack@hyvanmielenpelit.fi with your username and a brief explanation. We will review good-faith appeals, though we do not guarantee any specific outcome or response timeframe.
Termination by You or Us: You may stop using the Account Service and delete your account at any time from the website's Personal Data page. We may suspend or terminate your account in accordance with this Section 8. Because a GnollHack Account is provided free of charge, you are not entitled to any compensation or payment if your account is restricted, suspended, or terminated.
Survival: Upon account deletion or termination, Sections 5 (solely as to anonymized leaderboard records and already-delivered bones files), 6, 8 (as to ban enforcement and record retention), 10, 11, 12, 13, and 15 survive and remain in effect.

9. Service Availability and Changes

The Account Service is provided free of charge by a non-profit association, and there are no paid subscriptions or purchases through a GnollHack Account. We do not guarantee that the Account Service or any specific feature will always be available, uninterrupted, or error-free. We may modify, update, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Account Service at any time without liability, and we may delete or prune data held by optional features (such as uploaded bones files or replays) as part of routine server maintenance, game version updates, or storage management.

10. Disclaimer of Warranties

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE ACCOUNT SERVICE AND ALL RELATED WEBSITES, LEADERBOARDS, AND FEATURES ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY. HYVÄN MIELEN PELIT RY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, ACCURACY, QUIET ENJOYMENT, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE ACCOUNT SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, ERROR-FREE, OR FREE OF HARMFUL COMPONENTS, OR THAT ANY GAME RECORDS, BONES FILES, OR REPLAYS WILL BE PRESERVED WITHOUT LOSS OR CORRUPTION.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits any warranty or consumer right that cannot be excluded or limited under mandatory applicable law, including the mandatory consumer protection laws of Finland, the European Union, the United Kingdom, or your country of residence.

11. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW:

Exclusion of Indirect Damages: IN NO EVENT SHALL HYVÄN MIELEN PELIT RY, ITS BOARD MEMBERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, VOLUNTEERS, CONTRIBUTORS, OR AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, GOODWILL, LEADERBOARD STANDING, OR GAME PROGRESS, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF (OR INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE) THE ACCOUNT SERVICE, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STATUTE, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
Cap on Total Liability: IN NO EVENT SHALL OUR AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE ACCOUNT SERVICE OR THESE TERMS EXCEED TEN UNITED STATES DOLLARS (USD 10.00).

Some jurisdictions (including Finland, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and states) do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or the limitation or exclusion of liability for certain types of damages under mandatory consumer law. Accordingly, the exclusions and limitations in Sections 10 and 11 apply to you only to the extent permitted by the mandatory laws applicable to you.

12. Indemnification

If you are not using the Account Service as a consumer under mandatory consumer protection law, or to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Hyvän mielen pelit ry, its board members, officers, volunteers, contributors, and affiliates from and against any and all third-party claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from or related to: (a) your misuse of the Account Service; (b) your violation of any provision of these Terms; (c) your violation of any applicable law or the rights of any third party; or (d) any User Content you upload or submit through your account.

13. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

Global Service with United States and Finnish Legal Framework: The Account Service is operated by Hyvän mielen pelit ry (a non-profit association registered in Finland) for a global audience.
Governing Law: If you reside in the United States, these Terms and any dispute arising out of or relating to the Account Service shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the federal laws of the United States and the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflict of law principles. If you reside outside the United States, these Terms shall be governed by the laws of Finland, without regard to conflict of law principles, except that if you are a consumer residing in the European Union, the United Kingdom, or another jurisdiction with mandatory consumer protection laws, nothing in these Terms deprives you of the protection of mandatory provisions of the law of your country of residence.
Informal Resolution First: Before initiating any formal legal proceeding, you agree to contact us at gnollhack@hyvanmielenpelit.fi and provide a written description of the dispute and your account username so that both parties may attempt in good faith to resolve the matter informally for at least thirty (30) days.
Export and Sanctions Compliance: You represent and warrant that you are not located in a country that is subject to a United States Government or European Union embargo, and that you are not listed on any United States Government or European Union list of prohibited or restricted parties.

14. Changes to These Terms

Material Changes Require Acceptance: When we make material changes to these Terms, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page, and you will be required to review and accept the updated Terms the next time you sign in to the GnollHack Account website before continuing to use your account there. If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you may decline them and delete your account from the Personal Data page.
Non-Material Changes: Minor changes — such as typographical corrections, formatting improvements, updated links, or clarifications that do not materially affect your rights or obligations — take effect when posted on this page.

15. General Provisions

Severability: If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, that provision shall be enforced to the maximum extent permissible and the remaining provisions of these Terms shall remain in full force and effect.
Entire Agreement: These Terms, together with the GnollHack Account Privacy Policy, the GnollHack App Privacy Policy, and Terms and Conditions (and, when you use Gnoll Overseer, the Gnoll Overseer Terms of Service and Gnoll Overseer Privacy Policy), constitute the entire agreement between you and us regarding your GnollHack Account and the Account Service.
No Waiver: Our failure or delay in exercising any right, power, or remedy under these Terms (such as not immediately sanctioning or banning an account upon a violation) shall not operate as a waiver of that or any other right.
Assignment: You may not assign, delegate, or transfer these Terms or your GnollHack Account to any other person without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms in connection with a reorganization, merger, or transfer of the GnollHack project to another non-profit or successor organization.
Controlling Language: These Terms are drafted in English. If these Terms are translated into any other language for convenience, the English version controls in the event of any conflict or ambiguity.

16. Contact Information

If you have any questions, concerns, or notices regarding these Terms of Service or your GnollHack Account, please contact us at:

Organization: Hyvän mielen pelit ry (Sound Mind Games) — soundmindgames.org
Email: gnollhack@hyvanmielenpelit.fi