1. Who We Are

Cyvasse (the "Site") is operated by McRitchie Studio LLC (doing business as McRitchie Studio) ("we", "us"). The Site is cyvasse.xyz, which was formerly cyvasse.mcritchie.studio.

This policy explains what information the Site collects, how we use it, and who else receives it.

2. Information We Collect

When you browse or play the computer: You can read the public pages and play a full game against the computer without an account. A game against the computer runs in your browser and is not saved. We run no analytics or advertising trackers. Like any website, the servers that deliver the Site record each request in their logs, including your IP address, the page requested and the time.

When you press Play Now without an account: The Site creates a guest account for you with a temporary name (such as Guest_4821) and keeps you signed in to it in that browser. Games you play as a guest are saved to it. If you later sign in to a full account in the same browser, the guest's games move to that account.

When you sign in: The Site has no passwords.

• By email link: If you enter your email address, we store it with the single-use sign-in link we email to you, and we keep a record that the email was sent. Using the link creates your account or signs you in to the one you have.
• By Google: Where we offer Google sign-in and you choose it, Google tells us your name, your email address, whether Google has verified that address, and an identifier for your Google account.
• From a link in one of our emails: Some of our emails carry a link that signs you in directly. We record each use of such a link, whether it worked, and the account it signed in to.

Your account: We store your email address, your name, your username, your account role, the piece art you choose, whether you asked for email updates and when you answered, and, only if you give them, your birthday and a profile photo.

Your games: For every online match we store the two players, each army's secret setup and its current position on the board, the most recent move and when it was made, whose turn it is, and the result. We do not keep a history of earlier moves. We keep each player's record of wins and losses, and the army lineups you save.

Your messages: We store the messages you send other players, in a match's chat and in Chat, with who sent them, who received them, when, and whether they have been read.

If you played on the original Cyvasse site: When we rebuilt Cyvasse in 2026, we carried over the players, matches, messages, saved lineups and message-board posts of the original Cyvasse site (2014 to 2023): for each player, the username, email address, win and loss record and the date they joined. We did not carry over passwords.

When something breaks: If the Site hits an error, it saves a technical record of it (the error message and where in the code it happened), which can refer to the account or the game involved.

3. What Other Players Can See

• Your username is public. The leaderboard shows it with your rank, points, wins and losses, to anyone.
• A player you play sees your username and your profile photo if you added one, and the moves of your game.
• Messages you send another player are shown to the two of you, and the Site's administrators can read them too, to keep the game friendly.
• Your name, your email address and your birthday are not shown to other players.

4. How We Use Information

We use the information above to:

• sign you in and keep you signed in;
• run your matches, check every move against the rules, and keep the leaderboard;
• deliver your messages;
• send you the emails described in section 5;
• keep the Site running, find faults and protect it from misuse;
• meet legal obligations.

5. Email

Emails you need to play: We email you the sign-in links you ask for. In an online match that is not played live, we email you when a player challenges you and when it is your move.

News and events: We send occasional emails about Cyvasse, such as new features and Cyvasse Night. They are sent from McRitchie Studio's own email system at mcritchie.studio, which holds your email address and a summary of your Cyvasse record (your username, your games, wins and losses, when you joined and last played, and your all-time rank) so that an email can mention them. Every one of these emails carries an unsubscribe link.

What these emails record: A news email records whether it was opened, by an image in the email, and which of its links you clicked, by passing the click through mcritchie.studio. When a link in one of our emails brings you to the Site, the Site remembers which email it was, in a cookie, for 30 days, and tells mcritchie.studio if you then sign in or start a game, so we can tell which emails are useful.

6. Who We Share It With

We do not sell or rent your information. We share it only with the companies that run parts of the Site for us, and only so they can do that work:

• Heroku hosts the Site, its database, and the service that carries live chat.
• Resend delivers our email, so it receives your email address and the messages we send you.
• ZeroBounce checks that an email address can receive mail before we send it news email. It receives the email address only.
• Google signs you in, if you choose Google sign-in (section 2).
• Anthropic may write the chat lines of a computer player. When you chat with a computer player in a match, the conversation in that match and your username may be sent to Anthropic's Claude service to compose its replies.

We may also disclose information if the law requires it, or to protect the rights, safety and property of McRitchie Studio, our players or others.

7. Cookies and Browser Storage

The Site sets only its own cookies, and none for advertising or analytics:

• a session cookie, which keeps you signed in (as a player or a guest) and protects the Site's forms;
• a cookie that remembers the piece art you chose;
• two cookies that remember, for 30 days, which of our emails brought you here and whether the Site has already reported your sign-in for it (section 5).

Your browser's own storage keeps a few display choices, such as light or dark theme, the board's threat highlights and your recent army setups. They stay in your browser and are not sent to us.

8. How Long We Keep It

We keep your account, your games and your messages for as long as your account exists, or until you ask us to delete them. A sign-in link works once and expires soon after it is sent.

9. Security

The Site is served only over an encrypted connection (HTTPS). Sign-in uses single-use links sent to your email address rather than passwords, and the pages for players and for administrators require sign-in.

10. Your Choices

• You can change your username, your name and your profile photo on your profile.
• You can unsubscribe from news emails with the link in any of them.
• You may ask us what information we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it and close your account. Email team@mcritchie.studio from the address the request concerns.
• You can play the computer and read the public pages without an account, and you can block or clear the Site's cookies in your browser; signing in needs the session cookie.

11. Children

Cyvasse is not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has given us personal information, email us and we will delete it.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top shows when it was last revised.

13. Contact

McRitchie Studio LLC (doing business as McRitchie Studio)
Email: team@mcritchie.studio

See also our Terms of Service.