Terms of Service

01The short version

02Agreeing to these terms

Lock and Lay ("the game") is a ball python breeding simulation at lockandlay.com and mobile.lockandlay.com, run by Duncan IT Services LLC ("we", "us"). These terms are an agreement between you and Duncan IT Services LLC. By creating an account or signing in, you agree to them and to our Privacy Policy, which explains what we do with your data. If you don't agree, please don't use the game.

03The game is a game

Everything in Lock and Lay is fictional: the animals, the genetics outcomes, the money, the racks, the market and the other breeders' rooms. In-game cash, animals, items, ribbons and levels are part of the game, not your property. They have no real-world value, can't be exchanged for real money, and may be adjusted, rebalanced or reset as the game changes. No real animals or real money change hands in the game. Brand names in the shop are stand-ins and aren't affiliated with any real company.

The game's genetics are inspired by real ball python morphs, but they're simplified for play. Don't rely on the game for real breeding, husbandry or veterinary decisions.

04Accounts

• Age. You must be at least 13 to play. If you're under 18, you need a parent or guardian's permission, and they should read these terms with you.
• Signing in. You can sign up with a breeder name and password, or through Google or Discord. Keep your login to yourself; you're responsible for what happens on your account. Tell us straight away if you think someone else has used it.
• One person, one account. The market and boards are shared, so extra accounts used to trade with yourself, farm starter cash or dodge a suspension will be removed.
• Breeder names. Pick one that isn't offensive, misleading or impersonating someone (including staff). We may rename or remove accounts that break this.
• Don't sell or share accounts. Accounts can't be sold, traded or transferred.

05Community rules

These apply everywhere in the game: Everyone chat, direct messages, Hatch posts and comments, bios, breeder names, room names, listings and the Wall TV. Don't:

• harass, bully, threaten or stalk anyone, or encourage anyone to hurt themselves;
• post hate speech or slurs, or attack people for who they are;
• post sexual content, or anything sexual involving minors, ever;
• share anyone's private information (real names, addresses, phone numbers, photos), including your own, or ask other players for theirs;
• spam, advertise, or post links to scams or malware;
• impersonate staff or other players;
• post anything illegal, or anything you don't have the right to share.

If someone breaks these rules, use Report in the game or email us. Don't retaliate.

06Fair play

• No bots, scripts, macros or modified clients that play for you.
• No exploiting bugs. If you find one, report it; we'd rather fix it than punish anyone.
• No attacking, overloading or probing the servers, or getting at other players' accounts or data.
• No trading game cash, animals, items or accounts for real money or anything outside the game.
• No collusion to rig the market, expos, boards or discoveries.

We may reverse the results of cheating or an exploit (for example, removing cash or animals gained that way).

07Your content

Posts, captions, comments, chat messages, direct messages, bios and names you create stay yours. So that the game can work, you give us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to store, copy, display and share that content inside the game and on our official channels (such as public news lines on our Discord), for as long as it's in the game. The licence ends when you delete the content or your account, except for copies already shared by other players or kept in backups for up to 30 days.

You're responsible for what you post, and you confirm you have the right to post it. You can delete your own Hatch posts at any time.

If you send us ideas or feedback, we may use them without owing you anything.

Photos and profile pictures

• The in-game Camera takes pictures of your room. Only post or use photos taken with it, of the game. Don't upload or post any other image, even if you find a way to.
• Your profile picture can be one of your animals or one of your room photos. Posts and profile pictures are public, and the community rules above apply to them.
• You can delete a photo post or change your picture any time. Staff can remove any photo or profile picture that breaks these terms, and players can report posts.

08Moderation

• An automatic filter removes links, email addresses and phone numbers from chat and messages, masks swearing, and refuses slurs, threats and sexual content. Repeatedly sending messages it refuses mutes you for a short time.
• Staff can remove content, mute, rename, suspend or delete accounts that break these terms. We decide based on what happened, and we may act without warning for serious or repeated breaches.
• If you think we got it wrong, email us within 30 days and a different staff member will look again where we can.
• We may report illegal content, especially anything that puts a child at risk, to the authorities.

We don't pre-screen what players post and can't catch everything. Content from other players is theirs, not ours.

09Wall TV and YouTube

The Wall TV plays videos from YouTube, and only after you agree to load it. You can add your own YouTube links; they play only for you. Only add videos you're allowed to watch and that follow these rules. YouTube's Terms of Service apply to what you watch, and videos belong to their creators. We may remove links or the TV channel at any time.

10Supporter membership

Lock and Lay is not pay to win, and it never will be. It's a free game for everyone, and every animal, pairing and place on the boards is earned by breeding, not by spending. Supporter membership is simply a way to help keep the servers running if you'd like to.

• What it is. An optional subscription that helps pay for the servers. As a thank-you, you get a supporter badge next to your name, exclusive supporter decor for your snake room, and any other perks we list at the time you join. We plan to add new supporter decor every month; the decor on offer may change over time. Perks are cosmetic only: supporters never get better odds, genetics, prices, money or any advantage over other players, and the game plays exactly the same with or without a membership.
• Price and billing. $5 (US dollars) a month, plus any tax your country charges, billed in advance through our payment processor. It renews automatically each month until you cancel. If the price changes, we'll tell you at least 30 days ahead, and the new price applies from your next renewal after that; you can cancel before then.
• Cancelling. Cancel any time from the game or by emailing us. You keep the badge until the end of the month you've paid for, and you won't be charged again.
• Refunds. Payments aren't refunded for part-used months, except where the law says otherwise. If you live in the EU or UK, you can cancel within 14 days of first subscribing and get your money back, minus a fair share for the days you've already had the membership. If we shut the game down, we'll refund the unused part of your current month.
• Suspensions. If we suspend or remove your account for breaking these terms, your membership ends and we don't refund the rest of the month, except where the law requires it.
• Chargebacks. If you dispute a payment with your bank instead of contacting us, we may pause the membership while it's sorted out.
• Minors. If you're under 18, a parent or guardian has to agree to the purchase.

11Gems (virtual currency)

Gems are cosmetic only. They unlock looks: name colours, badges, frames, store cards, room decor and things your animals can wear. They never buy in-game cash, animals, speed, odds, genetics or any advantage over other players.

• What Gems are. Gems are a limited licence to use a feature of the game, not money or property. They have no real-world value, can't be turned back into money, and can't be sold, traded, gifted or moved to another account. Items you unlock with Gems are a licence to use that look in the game, the same as everything else in section 3.
• Who can buy them. For now, Gem packs can only be bought in the United States, with a card and billing address from the US. A payment from anywhere else is refunded in full automatically and adds no Gems. Gems you already have, the supporter stipend and your unlocked items work wherever you play.
• Price and payment. Each pack shows its price in US dollars before you pay, plus any sales tax your state charges, which checkout shows before you confirm. A pack is one payment, not a subscription. Payments go through our payment processor, Stripe; we never see your card details. Gems arrive once the payment is confirmed, usually within a minute.
• Spending limit. To keep spending sensible, an account can add up to $100 of Gems in any 30 days. The Gem Store shows how much is left and when more frees up.
• Supporter stipend. While a paid supporter membership (section 10) is running, it adds 150 Gems to that account each week: the first when the membership is paid, then one every seven days for as long as it stays paid. Gift memberships and free passes don't include the stipend.
• The weekly shelf. The Gem Store sells a changing selection: each week a part of the catalogue is on the shelf, and the store shows when the shelf changes. An item that is off the shelf comes back in a later week of its season. What you have unlocked stays yours whatever the week.
• Seasons. Every Gem Store item belongs to a season. The store shows each item's season and the day the open season ends. While its season is open, an item takes its turns on the weekly shelf and can come out of a Mystery Pack. When the season ends its items are retired: they can no longer be unlocked or come out of a pack, and we don't promise that a retired item will ever be sold again. Items you unlocked before a season ended stay yours and keep working.
• Mystery Packs. A Mystery Pack costs a fixed number of Gems and gives you one cosmetic item you don't already own, picked at random from the season that is open. Every item a pack can give is worth at least the pack's price in the Gem Store, and you never get a duplicate. The pack shows the chance of each tier and the full list of what it can hold before you open it; those are the odds the game uses. Packs are bought with Gems only, at most five a day, and like everything Gems unlock their contents are cosmetic, can't be traded or sold, and have no real-world value. If you already own everything a pack can hold, it can't be opened.
• Random Gifts. A Random Gift costs a fixed number of Gems and gives one cosmetic item to another player who is online, picked at random; you don't choose who gets it or which item, and you get nothing back. The item is one the receiver doesn't own, worth at least the gift's price in the Gem Store, drawn the same way as a Mystery Pack's. The game announces who sent it and who got it. If no one can receive a gift, nothing is spent. A gift is a new item for the receiver, not a transfer of anything you own: Gems and items you hold still can't be moved to another account. At most five a day.
• Refunds. Gem purchases are final once the Gems are in your account, except where the law says otherwise. If something went wrong with a purchase, email us and we'll look at it. If a payment is refunded or charged back, the Gems it added are removed. If you already spent them, the items you unlocked most recently are removed until your balance is back to zero, and buying is paused while your balance is below zero.
• Minors. If you're under 18, a parent or guardian has to agree before you buy Gems.
• Changes and endings. We may change Gem prices, packs and items, and add or retire items, but we won't take back an item you've unlocked except as described here. If we suspend or delete your account for breaking these terms, or you delete it yourself, its Gems and unlocked items end with it and aren't refunded, except where the law requires. If we shut the game down for good, we'll give at least 30 days' notice in the game (section 14) and stop selling Gems when we give it.

12Our content

The game itself (its code, art, 3D models, textures, text, sounds, the name "Lock and Lay" and its logo) belongs to us or our licensors. We give you a personal, non-transferable, revocable licence to play it in your browser for your own non-commercial use. Don't copy, resell or redistribute the game, or scrape it, without our written permission. Screenshots and videos of your own play are welcome, including on social media and streams.

Credits

The 3D ball python you can turn on in Settings → Display → Snake model is “Ball python” by bluekiwi.dog, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. We changed it: it's re-posed, grown into older stages and re-textured with the game's own skins. That licence, not this section, covers the model itself.

13Copyright complaints

If you believe something in the game infringes your copyright, email support@lockandlay.com with: what the work is, where it appears in the game, your contact details, a statement that you believe in good faith the use isn't authorised, and a statement that your notice is accurate and that you own the rights or are acting for the owner. We'll look into it quickly and remove content that infringes. We may close the accounts of repeat infringers.

14Availability and changes

This is a small, independently hosted project. We may change features, rebalance the economy, add or remove genes, or pause the game at any time, and it may go offline, be reset, or shut down. We back up the world regularly and do our best to keep your progress, but we can't promise that any account, animal or balance will last. If we plan to shut the game down for good, we'll give at least 30 days' notice in the game where we can.

15Ending your account

You can stop playing any time. You can download your data or delete your account yourself in Settings › Privacy (see the Privacy Policy). We may suspend or delete accounts that break these terms, that we need to remove by law, or that haven't been used for 24 months. Sections 3, 7, 11, 12 and 16 to 18 keep applying after your account ends.

16No warranty

The game is provided "as is" and "as available". To the fullest extent the law allows, we make no promises about it being uninterrupted, error-free, secure or fit for any particular purpose.

17Liability

To the fullest extent the law allows, we aren't liable for indirect or consequential loss, lost game progress, or anything caused by other players or services we don't control. Our total liability to you for any claim about the game is limited to the greater of what you paid us in the 12 months before the claim, or US$20.

Nothing in these terms limits liability that can't be limited by law (for example, for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or fraud), or takes away rights you have under the consumer protection laws of the country where you live.

18Disputes

If something goes wrong, please email us first; most things can be sorted out quickly. If you're a consumer in the EU or UK, you can also bring a claim in the courts where you live, and the mandatory consumer laws of your country apply.

19Changes to these terms

We may update these terms as the game changes. The version and date at the top show the current version. If a change matters, the game shows you a notice the next time you open it, and continuing to play means you accept the new version. If you don't accept it, you can delete your account. Changes to supporter pricing follow the notice rules in section 10.

Version 9 (October 5, 2026): Random Gifts (a random cosmetic item for a random player who is online, announced, five a day); Gem Store seasons (every item belongs to one, and is retired when its season ends; what you own stays yours). Version 8 (October 4, 2026): the Gem Store's weekly shelf, and Mystery Packs (a random cosmetic item worth at least the pack's price, the odds shown, no duplicates, five a day). Version 7 (October 4, 2026): the supporter stipend is 150 Gems a week while the membership is paid (it was 300 for each paid month). Version 6 (October 3, 2026): Gems, the cosmetic virtual currency: US-only purchases, the spending limit, the supporter stipend, refunds and chargebacks. Version 5 (September 30, 2026): supporter membership spelled out: not pay to win, exclusive supporter decor, and new supporter decor planned each month. Version 4 (September 30, 2026): Lock and Lay is run by Duncan IT Services LLC, and these terms are with it. Version 3 (September 27, 2026): photos from the in-game Camera and profile pictures. Version 2: expanded community rules, fair play, moderation and appeals, content licence, Wall TV, supporter membership, copyright complaints, liability and disputes. Version 1: the first terms.

20Contact

Questions about these terms, appeals and reports: support@lockandlay.com.

If any part of these terms can't be enforced, the rest still applies. These terms and the Privacy Policy are the whole agreement between you and us about the game. If we don't enforce a term straight away, we can still enforce it later.