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Terms of Service

Last Updated: May 7, 2025

Welcome, Adventure Planner! So, you’re ready to use Bellings to design and run some seriously fun pub crawls, city explorations, or other interactive games. That’s fantastic! Before you dive in, our team (and the folks who know about laws) need you to read through these “Terms of Service.” Think of them as the rulebook for ensuring everyone has a great and safe time. By using Bellings (“Service”), you agree to these terms. If you’re not on board with them, then unfortunately, you won’t be able to use our platform.

1. The Bellings Service: Your Adventure Toolkit

Bellings provides you, the “Game Master” (or “Organizer”), with tools to create, manage, and launch interactive games (“Campaigns” or “Adventures”) like pub crawls or city explorer challenges. Participants (“Players”) experience these adventures primarily through phone calls and SMS messages. You bring the creative ideas; we help deliver the fun!

  • Adventure Design: Craft your story, define tasks or challenges, set timings, and manage your player list.
  • Automated Game Flow: Our system helps orchestrate the delivery of your adventure content (SMS, automated calls) based on your design.
  • Player Experience: Players get messages and calls directly on their phones, guiding them through your real-world adventure.

2. Eligibility & Responsibility: Setting Up Your Game

Bellings is designed for creating fun and engaging adventures. To use our Service, please adhere to the following:

  • Users Under 16: If you are under the age of 16, you may only use Bellings (either as a Game Master creating Campaigns or as a Participant/Player) with the verifiable consent and active supervision of a parent or legal guardian. Your parent or legal guardian is responsible for your use of the Service and for ensuring you understand and comply with these Terms. They agree to these Terms on your behalf.
  • Users 16 and Over: If you are 16 or older, you may use Bellings, provided you have the legal capacity to agree to these Terms in your jurisdiction.
  • Game Masters Creating Content with Adult Themes: If you, as a Game Master (regardless of your own age, but with parental consent if under 16), are creating Campaigns that involve or suggest adult themes, activities, or locations (e.g., pub crawls suggesting visits to bars where alcohol is served), you acknowledge that you are responsible for:
    • Ensuring the content is appropriate.
    • Clearly communicating any age-related considerations or restrictions to your invited Participants.
    • Ensuring all Participants are of a suitable age for such content or have necessary permissions.
    • Bellings is not responsible for verifying the age appropriateness of specific user-generated Campaign content for all Participants; this responsibility lies with the Game Master.

2.2. Account Responsibility

  • Secure Your Account: You (or your parent/guardian if you are under 16) are responsible for all activity that occurs under your Bellings account, which is linked to your phone number. Keep any access codes or verification methods secure.
  • Accurate Information: You agree to provide accurate and complete information when creating your account and to keep this information up-to-date.

2.3. Game Master Responsibilities

As a Game Master, you are responsible for:

  • User Content: All “User Content” (narrative, tasks, images, etc.) you create and use within your Campaigns.
  • Rights & Permissions: Ensuring you own or have the necessary licenses, rights, and consents for any content you upload or incorporate into your Campaigns.
  • Clear Communication: Clearly communicating any specific rules, age recommendations, safety considerations, or other relevant information for your particular Campaign to your invited Participants.
  • Campaign Conduct: The overall conduct, execution, and management of your Campaign within the Bellings platform.
  • Participant Consent (Data & Participation): Obtaining necessary consents from Participants (or their parents/guardians if applicable) for their participation in your Campaign and for you to provide their phone numbers to Bellings for the purpose of the game, as further detailed in our Privacy Policy.

2.4. Participant Responsibilities

As a Participant/Player, you (or your parent/guardian if applicable) are responsible for:

  • Personal Conduct & Safety: Your own conduct and safety while playing any Bellings Campaign. Be aware of your surroundings and local laws, especially during activities like pub crawls or city explorations. If a Campaign involves alcohol, consume responsibly.
  • Device Readiness: Ensuring your device meets the requirements outlined in Section 4 (“Player Conduct & Responsibilities: Playing Fair & Safe”) of these Terms.
  • Adherence to Rules: Adhering to all local laws, any specific rules set by the Game Master for the Campaign, and any rules of venues involved.

3. Campaign Management: The Adventure Blueprint

As the Game Master, you control the adventure’s flow. Here are the key rules:

3.1. Launching Your Adventure

  • Preparation Time: A Campaign in ‘draft’ mode cannot be started if it’s within three (3) hours of its scheduled start time. This buffer is for notifying all Players (notifications go out 3 hours before start).
  • Roster Lock: New Players cannot join a Campaign within three (3) hours of its start time.
  • Advance Setup: Campaigns must be finalized and paid for at least three (3) hours before their scheduled start time. Payment must be completed at least three (3) hours before the Campaign starts.

3.2. Stopping Your Adventure

  • More than 3 hours before start: Can be stopped and potentially restarted. A full refund may be requested (see Section 5). Rescheduling is possible.
  • Within 3 hours of start: Can be stopped but NOT restarted (Players are already notified). A refund may still be requested (see Section 5). Rescheduling is possible.
  • After the Adventure has started: Stopping is permanent. No refunds or rescheduling. All ongoing and upcoming activities will end.

3.3. Editing Your Adventure

  • ‘Draft’ status: Can be fully edited.
  • Active (started) Adventures: Can partially be edited.
  • Critical Window: Campaigns start times (even drafts) CANNOT be edited within three (3) hours of their start time.

4. Player Conduct & Responsibilities: Playing Fair & Safe

Players are essential to any great adventure! By participating, you agree to:

  • Play Safely: You are responsible for your own safety and well-being during any Campaign. Be aware of your surroundings, especially during pub crawls or city explorations. Bellings is not responsible for any real-world incidents. If your Campaign involves alcohol, consume responsibly and look out for your friends.
  • Device Readiness: Ensure your phone and the players involved phones:
    • Has adequate cellular service. Bellings adventures rely on calls and SMS!
    • Is fully charged or has enough battery for the game’s duration.
    • Has the volume turned up and notifications enabled (SMS, calls). Do Not Disturb mode should be off.
  • Connectivity & Device Issues: Bellings is not liable, and no refunds will be given for, issues due to: poor cellular service, missed calls/SMS due to reception or user settings, network provider problems, roaming issues, dead batteries, or device malfunctions on your end.
  • Backup Access: Mission details and progress can often be viewed via a campaign link provided to every player. Missing a call or SMS doesn’t necessarily mean you’re out of the game.
  • Leaving a Campaign: Players can leave a Campaign at any time. However, no refunds are provided for Players who choose to leave.

5. Payments & Refunds: The Admin Stuff

5.1. Payment

  • Campaigns must be paid for by the Game Master before they can be started, as per the timelines in Section 3.1.

5.2. Requesting a Refund

  • To request a refund based on the conditions below, the Game Master must email us at bellings.app@proton.me with your campaign details and reason for the request.
  • Full Refund Consideration: If the Game Master cancels the Campaign MORE than 3 hours before its scheduled start time.
  • Partial Refund (50%) Consideration: If the Game Master cancels the Campaign WITHIN 3 hours of its scheduled start time.
  • No Refund: After a Campaign has started.
  • No Refund: For individual Players who voluntarily leave a Campaign.
  • Force Majeure & System Issues:
    • No refunds for weather-related issues; Players and Game Masters are responsible for assessing conditions.
    • Refunds for major unforeseen external events (force majeure) will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
    • If a Campaign cannot be started due to technical issues on Bellings’ end, a full refund will be issued.
    • Significant system outages on Bellings’ end during active Campaigns may result in refunds or credits, assessed by Bellings Support.
  • Processing Time: Please allow 5-10 business days for us to process and respond to refund requests.

6. Your Content & Ours: Creative Sparks & Shared Inspiration

6.1. Your Creative Content (“User Content”)
As a Game Master, you retain ownership of the original creative text, images, and ideas (collectively, “User Content”) you design and input into Bellings for your Campaigns (e.g., the story, specific tasks, unique clues).

6.2. License You Grant to Bellings
By submitting User Content to Bellings, you grant Bellings a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, sublicensable, and transferable license to:
a. Run Your Campaigns: Use, reproduce, modify (e.g., to fit formatting or delivery constraints), distribute, and display your User Content as necessary to operate the Bellings Service and execute your Campaigns for you and your invited Participants.
b. Improve Bellings & Develop New Features: Analyze, use, and adapt anonymized or aggregated forms of User Content (where no personal data of Game Masters or Participants is identifiable) to understand trends, improve our platform, develop new game mechanics, or create new features.
c. Create Templates & Pre-Made Content: Adapt, modify, and incorporate elements, structures, ideas, or portions of your User Content into new templates, pre-made campaign components, or example games (“Derivative Works”) that may be offered to other Bellings users, either for free or as part of a paid offering. When creating such Derivative Works for broader use, we will make reasonable efforts to anonymize or generalize the content so it does not directly replicate your entire unique campaign in a way that attributes it back to you without your separate consent for such attribution.
d. Marketing & Promotion (with care for privacy):
i. Display or feature excerpts or anonymized descriptions of successful or interesting User Content or Derivative Works in our marketing materials, on our website, or on social media to showcase Bellings’ capabilities.
ii. We will NEVER publicly share or use your User Content for marketing in a way that discloses your personal identity as the Game Master or the personal information of your Participants without your explicit prior consent for that specific use.
iii. If we wish to feature your original Campaign more prominently (e.g., a case study, a full feature with your name/brand), we will always contact you directly to request specific permission beforehand.

6.3. Our Commitment to Fairness & Community
Our goal is to build a vibrant Bellings community. When using User Content to create templates or pre-made components (as described in 6.2.c), our intention is to draw inspiration from the community and provide valuable resources back to all users. We aim to do this by generalizing concepts and structures rather than wholesale copying of highly unique, detailed narratives for such templates without specific creator agreement. If we believe a particular user’s campaign is exceptionally unique and would make a great fully-featured pre-made offering, we would seek a separate agreement with that creator beyond this general license.

6.4. Responsibility for Your Content
You are solely responsible for your User Content and the consequences of posting or publishing it. You affirm, represent, and warrant that you own or have the necessary licenses, rights, consents, and permissions to publish User Content you submit; and you license to Bellings all patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights in and to such User Content for publication on the Service pursuant to these Terms.

7. Acceptable Use & Anti-Harassment Policy: Play Nice!

Bellings is for fun and creating positive experiences. You agree NOT to use Bellings to:

  • Transmit any unlawful, harassing, libelous, abusive, threatening, harmful, vulgar, obscene, or otherwise objectionable material.
  • Design or participate in Campaigns that promote hate speech, discrimination, or violence.
  • Bully, harass, or target any individual or group. This includes using the game mechanics or communication features for such purposes.
  • Conduct any fraudulent activity or create Campaigns intended to deceive or harm (beyond the fun of a good mystery!).
  • Violate any applicable local, national, or international laws or regulations.
  • Interfere with or disrupt the Bellings Service.

Misuse of Bellings for bullying, harassment, or any malicious activity is strictly prohibited. We take this very seriously. We reserve the right to investigate any such reports and to terminate your account and/or Campaign immediately, without refund, if we find, in our sole discretion, that such misuse has occurred. We may also report such activities to the relevant authorities.

8. Termination: Ending the Adventure (Officially)

We can terminate or suspend your access to Bellings without notice if you breach these Terms. You can also choose to stop using Bellings and delete your account.

9. Disclaimers: The “Just So You Know” Bit

BELLINGS IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.” WE DON’T GUARANTEE IT WILL ALWAYS BE PERFECT, UNINTERRUPTED, OR ERROR-FREE (THOUGH WE TRY!). YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. WE AREN’T RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONDUCT OF ANY GAME MASTER OR PLAYER, OR FOR ISSUES FROM DEVICE MALFUNCTIONS, POOR CONNECTIVITY, OR USER ERROR AS DETAILED ELSEWHERE.

10. Limitation of Liability: Keeping Things Reasonable

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, BELLINGS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS OR REVENUES, RESULTING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING OUT OF THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US, IF ANY, IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS FOR THE SERVICE GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM.

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of The Netherlands. Any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of The Netherlands.

12. Changes to These Terms: Keeping Up-to-Date

We might update these Terms sometimes. If we make major changes, we’ll let you know (e.g., by a notice on our site). If you keep using Bellings after changes, it means you accept the new terms.

13. Contact Bellings Support

Got questions about these Terms? Email us at: bellings.app@proton.me