Terms and conditions

Who we are

Chain of Custody is a game by Scott Smith Newtro Studios of Jeffersonville, Indiana, United States. Contact us at playtest@chainofcustody.party.

What this is

Chain of Custody is a work-in-progress investigation game. You work a fictional cold case from a browser, and fictional characters contact you by phone call and email as part of play — and by text message too, if you choose texts. Every crime, victim, witness, location, document, and record in the experience is invented. Nothing in it describes real people or real events.

This is a private test, not a finished product. Things will break, characters will occasionally behave oddly, and the case may change between sittings. Telling us when that happens is the point.

Eligibility

You must be 18 or older and have a mobile number in the United States. Case 001 concerns a fictional homicide and its investigation.

Access

Access is by invitation. We send single-use links to the email address on your request. Those links are personal to you — please do not forward or share them. We may end or decline access at any time, for any reason, including simply having no seats left in a round.

There is no charge to take part, and we will never ask you to pay for access.

Calls, email, and text messages

Gameplay uses real phone calls and email to the details you gave us, inside the weekly hours you chose. Calls are recorded and transcribed so characters remember your investigation and so we can diagnose failures.

Text messages are a separate, optional choice. You agree to them only by ticking the optional text-message checkbox on the request or setup form; accepting these terms does not sign you up for texts, and you can play without them. If you opt in, message frequency varies and Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to any message to stop all text messages from Chain of Custody, or HELP for help. Carriers are not liable for any delayed or undelivered messages. The SMS Terms of Service set out the text program in full, and the Privacy Policy explains how your opt-in is handled.

Acceptable use

While taking part, please do not:

• share, publish, stream, or resell case material, recordings, or transcripts without asking us first;
• attempt to break into, overload, scrape, or reverse-engineer the game or its infrastructure;
• use the phone numbers or email addresses for anything other than playing the case;
• impersonate another participant, or use someone else’s contact details.

Poking at the fiction to see where it gives way is encouraged. Poking at the servers is not.

Your feedback

Feedback you send us — notes, bug reports, screenshots, and what you say about the experience — may be used to improve the game, without obligation or payment. We will not publish your name or contact details without asking you.

Our content

The case, its characters, writing, artwork, audio, and software remain ours. Taking part gives you permission to play, not to reuse the material.

Privacy

What we collect, why, who processes it, how long we keep it, and how to have it deleted are set out in the Privacy Policy, which forms part of these terms.

Ending participation

You can stop at any time. Reply STOP to any message to stop all text messages from Chain of Custody; calls and email continue. To leave the playtest entirely, email us and we will end your participation and delete your data. We may also end the playtest, or your place in it, at any time. Nothing here obliges either of us to continue.

No warranty, and limits

The playtest is provided as-is, with no warranty of any kind. It is an unfinished game offered free of charge, and it may be unavailable, incomplete, or wrong at any moment. To the extent the law allows, we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss arising from taking part.

Nothing here limits any liability that cannot lawfully be limited.

Changes and governing law

If these terms change in a way that affects participants, we will update the date above and tell active playtesters by email. These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Indiana, United States.