Terms of Service

Last updated 9 October 2026

These terms are the agreement between you and us for playing Empire of Golden Sails and buying anything in it. By making a captain or making a purchase, you agree to them. If you don't agree, please don't play.

Our Privacy Policy explains what information we keep about you, and it is part of these terms.

1. Who we are

Empire of Golden Sails (“the game”, “we”, “us”) is run from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, at egs.ca. You can reach us at brandom.designer@gmail.com.

2. Who can play

You must be at least 13 years old to play.
If you are under the age of majority where you live (18 in Saskatchewan), you need a parent or guardian's permission to play, and any purchase must be made by them or with their permission. A parent or guardian who allows this accepts these terms for the child.

3. Your captain and your account

You sign up with an email address and a captain name. Your email is never shown to other players. Your captain name is.
There is no password. Your account is tied to the browser you signed up on by a sign-in key stored in that browser. Anyone who can use that browser can play your captain, so keep your device to yourself. If you clear your browser's storage or change devices, contact us and we'll help you get back to your captain where we reasonably can.
One account per person and per email address. Accounts are personal: don't sell, share or transfer them.
Captain names, pirate names, phrases and crew names must not be offensive, hateful or sexual, must not impersonate anyone, and must not contain anyone's personal details. We may change or remove a name that breaks this.

4. Test builds

We sometimes open test versions of the game (for example egs.ca/dev). In a test build, accounts, currencies and progress can be wiped at any time without warning, and the shop takes no real payment. Nothing earned or “bought” in a test build carries over to the released game.

5. Currencies and items in the game

The game has its own currencies: Golden Pearls, Black Pearls, Golden Crown Pearls and Wood. It also has items: ships (hulls), guns, upgrades, refits and anything else you earn or buy in it. We call all of these “virtual items”.

You get a licence, not ownership. Buying or earning a virtual item gives you a personal, non-transferable right to use it in the game. You do not own it.
No cash value. Virtual items can't be exchanged for real money and can't be refunded for money, except where these terms or the law say otherwise.
No selling or trading outside the game. Buying, selling or trading captains, currencies or items for real money or anything else outside the game is not allowed.
Exchanges inside the game (for example Black Pearls for Golden Pearls) follow the rates shown in the game at the time.
We may change how virtual items work, what they cost in game currency, how often they drop and what they do, to keep the game fair and balanced. We won't take away something you paid real money for without a good reason, such as a breach of these terms.

6. Buying things

Prices are shown in the shop in Canadian dollars (CA$) before you pay, and you are charged in Canadian dollars. If your card is in another currency, your bank converts the amount and may charge its own fees. Taxes are added where the law requires.
At checkout you are asked to agree to these terms and to confirm that the item is delivered straight away, so that you give up any right to cancel once it is delivered (see section 7 and section 15).
Payment is handled by a third-party payment processor. We never see or store your full card number.
Delivery is immediate. The item or currency is added to your captain when the payment is confirmed.
Timed upgrades (“1 month”, “3 months”) are one-time purchases that run out at the end of the period. They are not subscriptions and never renew or charge you again. The countdown runs whether or not you play.
“Forever” upgrades and bought hulls last for as long as your account is active and the game is running.
Used up when you use them. Currencies you spend and items you lose through play (see section 7) are gone once spent or lost.

7. Refunds

Because virtual items are delivered right away, purchases are final and you can't cancel them once delivered, except:

if you paid and the item never arrived, or you were charged twice: we'll deliver the item or refund you;
if a fault on our side took away something you paid for: we'll restore it or refund you;
wherever the consumer protection law that applies to you gives you a right to a refund. Nothing in these terms takes away those rights - section 15 sets out the main ones by country.

Contact us within 30 days of the purchase. If you start a chargeback instead of contacting us, we may pause the account while it's sorted out, and remove the items it paid for if the money is returned.

8. Chance, competition and what you can lose

Some rewards are random, for example pearls and upgrades that drop after a race or a battle. An upgrade that improves your odds makes a reward more likely, but doesn't guarantee it.
Versus can cost you a gun. When you lose a Versus match, you may forfeit one of your fitted guns. The chance depends on where you finish, and the game shows it. The heaviest gun lost may go to the winner, and any others are lost. This is a rule of the game, not a fault: we don't replace or refund guns lost this way. Versus insurance upgrades lower the chance; they don't remove it.
Leaving a Royale or a match early can lose you its prizes, as the game explains when you enter.
Prizes, leaderboards and weekly rewards are paid in game currency only, never in money.

9. Playing fair

You agree not to:

cheat, change the game's code or saved data, use bots or scripts, or use bugs to gain an advantage. If you find a bug, tell us;
run several accounts to farm rewards, or play someone else's account;
harass, threaten, bully or abuse other players, or post hateful, sexual, violent or illegal content in chat or anywhere else in the game;
share anyone's personal information, including your own, in chat;
spam or advertise;
attack, overload or try to get into the game's servers, or into parts of the game you aren't meant to reach.

The game filters some words in chat and names. It is a filter, not a promise that you will never see something unpleasant.

10. What you write in the game

Your names, crew names, phrases and chat messages remain yours. You let us store them, show them to other players and use them to run and moderate the game. We may hide or delete anything that breaks these terms.

11. Suspending or closing accounts

If you break these terms, we may warn you, remove items or currency gained unfairly, reset progress, or suspend or close your account. Where the breach is serious (cheating, fraud, chargeback abuse, harassment), we may do this without warning and without a refund. You can stop playing at any time, and ask us to delete your account as described in the Privacy Policy.

12. Changes to the game, and if it closes

The game is a live service and will change: modes, prices, balance, rewards and art may be added, changed or removed. It may sometimes be unavailable for maintenance or because of problems we can't control. If we ever close the game for good, we'll give at least 30 days' notice in the game and on egs.ca, and we'll stop selling items when we announce it.

13. Our content

The game, its art, ships, characters, music, code and name belong to us or our licensors. You may play it and share screenshots and videos of your own play, but you may not copy, resell or redistribute the game or its parts.

14. Warranty and liability

We work hard to keep the game running and fair, but it is provided “as is”, and we don't promise it will be free of bugs or always available. To the extent the law allows, we aren't liable for indirect or consequential losses. Our total liability to you is limited to what you paid us in the 12 months before the claim. None of this limits anything that can't legally be limited, including your statutory consumer rights.

15. Law, disputes and your rights where you live

These terms are governed by the laws of the Province of Saskatchewan and the federal laws of Canada that apply there. If something goes wrong, please contact us first. Most problems can be sorted out quickly that way. If you're a consumer living elsewhere, you keep any protection the law where you live gives you, and nothing in these terms takes it away. The main ones:

United Kingdom

Cancelling. You normally have 14 days to cancel a purchase made online. For digital content that is supplied straight away, that right ends once supply begins, if you asked for it to begin immediately and acknowledged that you would lose the right to cancel. You do both by ticking the box at checkout (Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013).
Faulty digital content. What you buy must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. If it isn't, you're entitled to a repair or replacement, and if that isn't possible, to some or all of your money back (Consumer Rights Act 2015).
Courts. You can bring a claim in the courts of England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, wherever you live.

European Union and the European Economic Area

Cancelling. The 14-day right of withdrawal does not apply to digital content supplied immediately with your express consent and your acknowledgement that you lose the right - given by the box at checkout (Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU).
Faulty digital content. Digital content must match what was described and work as it should. If it doesn't, you're entitled to have it brought into line, or to a price reduction or a refund (Digital Content Directive (EU) 2019/770).
Courts. You can bring a claim in the courts of the country where you live.

Quebec

If you live in Quebec, the Consumer Protection Act (Quebec) applies to you, and any part of these terms it does not allow - for example a limit on our liability or on your remedies - does not apply to you.

Australia and New Zealand

Our services come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law and the New Zealand Consumer Guarantees Act 1993. For a major failure you're entitled to cancel and get a refund; for other failures, to have it put right.

United States

Some states don't allow limits on implied warranties or on liability for some kinds of loss, so parts of section 14 may not apply to you. You may also have other rights that vary from state to state.

Children and parents

Wherever you live, if a child made a purchase without a parent or guardian's permission, contact us. We will look at it fairly, and the law where you live may give you a right to a refund.

16. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. The date at the top shows the latest version. If a change matters, we'll tell you in the game before it takes effect. If you keep playing after that, you accept the new terms.

17. Contact

Empire of Golden Sails · Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada · brandom.designer@gmail.com