Privacy policy

The short version: no cookies, no ads, no third-party trackers, and nothing sold. If you join the email list we keep your address to tell you about playtests and the launch. We count page views ourselves with an anonymous ID that stays in your browser.

Who we are

American Collapse is an independent game made by Ryan Byrd. This policy covers americancollapsegame.com, including the free browser game. Questions or requests go to hello@americancollapsegame.com.

What we collect, and why

If you join the email list

• Your email address, the date you signed up, and which form you used.
• We use it only to send news about playtests, print-and-play files, and the boxed edition’s launch. We do not sell it, rent it, or share it with anyone for their own use.
• It stays on the list until you ask us to remove it.

Page views and share clicks (our own analytics)

• When a page loads we record the page path and the time. When you use a share button we record which network you picked. That is all we record.
• To count unique visitors, your browser keeps a random ID in local storage (ac_vid). It is not a cookie, it is not linked to your email or name, and it is not shared with anyone.
• We do not store your IP address with these events, we do not fingerprint your device, and we do not run Google Analytics, ad pixels, or any other third-party tracking script.

If you play online with private links

• The names players enter (any nickname works), the victory path each player picks, every move in the game, and the private seat links that let each player back in.
• An email address only if a player chooses to give one, so we can send turn reminders and round updates for that game. It is not added to the mailing list.
• We keep game records so a game can be resumed and so we can check the rules engine. Ask us and we will delete a game you played in.

Abuse protection

To stop automated abuse of the online game, we count requests per time window. When we count by network address we store only a keyed, one-way hash of it, never the address itself, and the counters are deleted after their window closes.

Saved games on your device

Solo saves (ac_solo_v1), Pass & Play saves (ac_hotseat_v1), and your online seat links (ac_seat_…, ac_invites_…, ac_online_games) live in your browser’s local storage. They never leave your device unless you share a link yourself. Clearing this site’s data in your browser removes them.

Who processes data for us

• Vercel hosts the site. Like any web host it processes your IP address to deliver pages and may keep standard request logs for a short time.
• Neon hosts the database that stores the email list, the analytics events above, and online games.
• Resend delivers our emails: list emails and online-game turn reminders.

Fonts are served from this site, not loaded from Google. Share buttons are plain links: nothing from X, Facebook, Reddit, or WhatsApp loads until you click one, and then you are on their site and under their policy.

Your choices

• Email hello@americancollapsegame.com to see what we hold about you, correct it, or have it deleted. We will reply within 30 days.
• Clear this site’s data in your browser to remove the analytics ID and saved games.
• Because we do not track you across other sites, there is nothing for a browser’s Do Not Track signal to switch off, and we treat every visitor the same way.

Children

The game is designed for ages 14 and up. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has joined the list, email us and we will delete the address.

Changes

If what we collect changes, we will update this page and the date at the top before the change goes live.