Terms of Service

Welcome to iLoveSudoku ("we", "us", or "our"). These Terms of Service (the "Terms", "Agreement") constitute a legally binding agreement between you ("User", "you", or "your") and iLoveSudoku regarding your access to and use of the https://ilovesudoku.net website, including any related mobile-optimized interfaces, subdomains, features, or downloadable printables (collectively, the "Service").

Please read these Terms carefully before utilizing the Service. By accessing, browsing, or playing puzzles on iLoveSudoku, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by all of these Terms of Service. If you do not agree with all of these terms, you are expressly prohibited from using the Service and must discontinue use immediately.

1. Eligibility & Permitted Use

The Service is intended solely for users who are at least 13 years of age. By accessing the Service, you represent and warrant that:

• You are at least 13 years of age, or possess legal parental or guardian consent if under the age of majority in your jurisdiction.
• Your use of the Service does not violate any applicable local, state, national, or international laws or regulations.
• You will use the Service strictly for lawful, personal, and non-commercial recreational purposes.

2. Intellectual Property Rights

Unless otherwise stated, iLoveSudoku and/or its licensors own all intellectual property rights and proprietary materials published on this Service. All rights are reserved.

• Codebase & Algorithm: The unique algorithmic implementation of Donald Knuth's Dancing Links (DLX / Algorithm X), hint deduction tree logic, generator systems, responsive web layouts, interactive components, and visual themes are the proprietary intellectual property of iLoveSudoku.
• Content & Assets: The typography styles, logo icons, custom audio synthesizer effects, downloadable PDF printable templates, and educational guide articles are protected under international copyright and trademark laws.

You are granted a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access and play puzzles on the website for personal recreation. You must not:

1. Republish, scrape, mirror, or redistribute the software or code of iLoveSudoku on any other website or server without express written consent.
2. Sell, rent, lease, or sub-license materials from iLoveSudoku.
3. Decompile, reverse-engineer, disassemble, or attempt to derive the underlying source code of our proprietary game engines.
4. Circumvent or tamper with any technological measure or security feature implemented to safeguard the platform.

3. Fair Play, Leaderboards & Tournament Integrity

iLoveiLoveSudokuvides competitive speedrun modes, daily calendar puzzles, and weekly tournament leaderboards. To preserve fair competition and the integrity of scores:

• You agree not to deploy automated scripts, web crawlers, algorithmic bot solvers, memory injection tools, or browser extension macros to artificially solve puzzles or report fraudulent completion times.
• You agree not to manipulate client-side browser timestamps, local storage keys, or network payloads to claim illegitimate positions on leaderboards.
• We reserve the unilateral right to audit, flag, disqualify, or wipe scores that exhibit mathematically impossible completion speeds or patterns indicating computerized tampering.

4. Third-Party Advertisements & Google AdSense

The Service is provided free of charge and is supported through third-party digital advertising, predominantly via Google AdSense. By using the Service, you acknowledge and agree that:

• Advertisements may be displayed alongside, above, below, or between game puzzle sections. We endeavor to ensure advertisements remain unobtrusive and do not impair your puzzle-solving experience.
• You will not use automated clicking software, bots, or deceptive practices to generate fraudulent impressions or clicks on advertisements displayed on the Service.
• iLoveSudoku does not endorse, guarantee, or assume responsibility for any products, services, statements, or websites advertised by third-party ad networks. Any interactions or transactions with advertisers are strictly between you and the respective advertiser.

5. User Feedback & Submissions

If you submit feedback, suggestions, bug reports, or feature ideas to us (via our contact page, GitHub, or email), you acknowledge that such submissions become the sole property of iLoveSudoku. We shall own exclusive rights, including all intellectual property rights, and shall be entitled to the unrestricted use and dissemination of these submissions for any lawful purpose, commercial or otherwise, without acknowledgment or compensation to you.

6. Disclaimer of Warranties

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS-IS" AND "AS-AVAILABLE" BASIS. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, iLoveSudoku DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO:

• IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.
• WARRANTIES THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE CONTINUOUS, TIMELY, SECURE, ACCURATE, OR ERROR-FREE.
• WARRANTIES REGARDING THE ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY PUZZLE HINTS OR PROCEDURALLY GENERATED DIFFICULTY CALIBRATIONS.
• WARRANTIES THAT YOUR LOCAL BROWSER STORAGE WILL NOT BE RESET OR PURGED BY DEVICE BROWSER SETTINGS OR THIRD-PARTY EXTENSIONS.

7. Limitation of Liability

IN NO EVENT SHALL iLoveSudoku, ITS DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS, OR PARTNERS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, LOST REVENUE, LOSS OF DATA, DEVICE MALFUNCTION, OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

8. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless iLoveSudoku, its affiliates, developers, and partners from and against any loss, damage, liability, claim, or demand, including reasonable legal fees and expenses, made by any third party due to or arising out of:

1. Your violation of these Terms of Service.
2. Your breach of any representations and warranties set forth herein.
3. Your violation of the rights of any third party, including intellectual property or privacy rights.

9. Links to External Third-Party Websites

The Service may contain hyperlinks to third-party web pages (e.g., Google Ads opt-out portals, academic literature on combinatorial algorithms, or external puzzle resources). We do not control, inspect, or endorse the content, policies, or practices of any external sites and accept no liability for any damage or loss caused by reliance on them.

10. Modifications to Service and Terms

We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify, update, replace, or discontinue the Service (or any part thereof) with or without notice at any time. We also reserve the right to revise these Terms of Service periodically.

Whenever revisions are enacted, the updated version will be indicated by an updated "Last Updated" date at the top of this document. Your continued use of the Service following the posting of revised Terms constitutes your acceptance of the amendments.

11. Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

These Terms shall be governed by and defined following international principles of contract and commercial law. In the event of any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement, both parties agree to first seek informal resolution in good faith by contacting legal@ilovesudoku.net before initiating any formal legal or arbitration proceedings.

12. Contact & Inquiries

If you have any questions, inquiries, or notices regarding these Terms of Service, please reach out to us at:

• Support Page: https://ilovesudoku.net/contact/
• Legal Department: legal@ilovesudoku.net
• Headquarters: iLoveSudoku Engineering & Puzzles Group