Terms of Service

1. Service Description

ChartWars is a virtual stock market game for entertainment and educational purposes. All currency ("Chart Bucks" or "C$") is virtual and has no real-world monetary value. No real money is used, wagered, or earned through this platform.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to create an account. By using ChartWars, you confirm you meet this requirement.

3. User Accounts

• One account per person
• You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account
• Account sharing is not permitted
• We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms
• Each new account starts with C$10,000 in virtual Chart Bucks

4. Trading Rules

• A 3% transaction fee (minimum C$3.00) applies to all trades: buys, sells, short opens, and short closes
• Short selling requires collateral equal to the share value plus fees
• Limit orders are automatically filled when the target price is reached and expire after 7 days if unfilled
• Songs in "cooling off" or "penny stock" status may have rapidly declining prices
• Delisted songs result in forced liquidation of all holdings at the last traded price
• Artist stocks are index-based, tracking the average price of an artist's listed songs

5. Bankruptcy

If your total portfolio value (cash + holdings) falls below C$100, you may declare bankruptcy. This permanently deletes all holdings, trade history, achievements, watchlists, and open orders. Your balance is reset to C$10,000. This action is irreversible.

6. Referral Program

• Each user receives a unique referral link
• When a new user registers through your referral link, you earn C$10,000 in Chart Bucks
• Maximum of 25 referral bonuses per account (C$250,000 cap)
• Self-referral (creating multiple accounts to earn bonuses) is prohibited and may result in account suspension
• Referral bonuses are virtual and have no real-world value

7. User Content & Avatars

• Uploaded avatars must not contain offensive, illegal, or copyrighted content
• Avatars are resized to 256x256 pixels, converted to WebP format, and stripped of all metadata
• Your username, bio, holdings, and achievements are publicly visible on your profile page
• We reserve the right to remove inappropriate content without notice

8. Prohibited Conduct

• Automated trading bots without explicit permission
• Market manipulation or coordinated trading schemes
• Creating multiple accounts to gain unfair advantage or earn referral bonuses
• Attempting to exploit bugs or vulnerabilities (report them instead)
• Scraping or excessive automated access to the site or API
• Harassment of other users
• Uploading malicious files or attempting to compromise the platform

9. Intellectual Property

Song metadata, album artwork, and artist information are sourced from third-party APIs (Spotify, YouTube, Billboard, Genius, Last.fm, Google Trends, Reddit, TikTok) and remain the property of their respective owners. ChartWars does not claim ownership of this content. Song lyrics are linked to Genius and are never reproduced on our platform.

10. Disclaimer

ChartWars is not financial advice. Song and artist stock prices are algorithmically generated from public data signals and do not reflect real financial markets. We are not responsible for any decisions made based on data displayed on this platform. The platform is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind.

11. Modifications

We reserve the right to modify these terms, adjust game mechanics (pricing algorithms, fees, starting balance, referral bonuses), reset market data, or discontinue the service at any time. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance.