Terms of Service

You need an account to save entries and take part in ratings, groups, and champions. You are responsible for your account and for keeping its credentials secure, and you must give us accurate information when you create it.

You keep ownership of the copyright in every work you write on 20 Words™. But publishing players’ works — in the daily gallery, on shared entry pages, and beyond — is part of how the game works, so we need your permission to do it.

By submitting a work to 20 Words™, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, and transferable licence to publish, reproduce, display, distribute, and promote that work — within the game and in any other medium, whether online, in print, or otherwise. This licence includes the right to sublicense these publication rights, in whole or in any part, to others. It applies to every work submitted by every player.

We will credit works to the name on your account wherever it is practical to do so.

Submit only writing that is yours and that follows the day’s constraint. Don’t submit anything unlawful, hateful, or harassing; don’t manipulate ratings or votes; and don’t interfere with the game or other players’ use of it. We may remove entries or suspend accounts that break these rules.

By using 20 Words™ you agree to refrain from the copying of others’ works published on the platform. Notwithstanding the foregoing, use of a “share” function offered by the platform, including for the sharing of others’ works with oneself or with third parties, is permitted and shall not in any event be considered a violation of copyright or of any other law, policy, or rule, and shall not give rise to any cause of action in law or equity.

A user’s submission of a 20 Words™ submission that is a wholesale copy of another user’s prior 20 Words™ submission shall be considered a violation of 20 Words™ game rules, for which reason the copy shall be ineligible for any prize or recognition that may be offered; however the publication and distribution of such a copy within the 20 Words™ platform or through associated or sublicensed media, shall not be considered a violation of copyright or any other law, and shall not give rise to any cause of action in law or equity.

The game itself — the deck, the daily draw, the site’s design and code — and all other intellectual property in 20 Words™ are the property of Eric Jansson or our licensors. The passages on the cards are drawn from public-domain works. Nothing in these terms transfers any of these rights to you.

20 Words™ is an exclusive trademark and trade name for Eric Jansson’s 20 Words™ literary game, as presented and played on this platform. By using this platform you agree to refrain from using the words “20 Words” or any confusingly similar term for the promotion or identification of any other publication, platform, puzzle, or game, whether online or otherwise, absent express written permission from the owner of this platform.

20 Words™ is a privately owned and operated platform, the owner(s) and operator(s) of which maintain the right in their sole discretion to invite or exclude any user from use of 20 Words™ and/or from holding or maintaining a 20 Words™ account, for any reason, with or without cause.

You can stop playing, or delete your account, at any time. We may suspend or close accounts that violate these terms. The publication licence in section 2 survives the closure of your account for works you submitted while it was open.

20 Words™ is provided as-is, without warranties of any kind. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for indirect or consequential losses arising from your use of the game.

We may update these terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will update the date at the top of this page. Continuing to play after a change means you accept the updated terms.