Runs and refunds
The short version
- Offline play is free, always.
- One live run is one mission generated by AI while you play. You can try one free without an account, and new accounts get 3 more.
- Packs: 12 runs for US$3, or 25 runs for US$5. Runs never expire.
- Within 14 days of buying, we refund the runs you haven't used, no questions.
- The game shows the cost and your balance before any run is used. A run that breaks on our side comes back to you.
What a run is
Our games have two ways to play. Offline play uses content we made ahead of time and is free, as often as you like. A live run is one mission in which the game is generated by AI as you play, so every one is different.
- Before a run is used, the game asks, for example: "Use 1 live run? You have 6 left."
- Once started, a live mission stays open for up to 2 hours. Refreshing, reconnecting or closing the tab and coming back within that time continues the same mission for free. The game warns you when 10 minutes are left.
- Replaying offline is free. A new live attempt at the same mission is a new run.
- You can have one live mission going at a time. If you open it on another device, the game offers to continue it there, never to start a new one.
Your balance works across every Background World release on this site.
Free runs
- Try one free. Without an account, you can play one live mission free in each browser.
- Welcome runs. Every new account gets 3 free runs, once per person. Accounts made to collect extra free runs may be closed.
Packs and prices
| Pack | Price |
|---|---|
| 12 runs | US$3 |
| 25 runs | US$5 |
Prices are in US dollars. Your bank may add a currency conversion fee. Where we must charge sales tax, it is shown at checkout. Payments are processed by Stripe, which emails you a receipt.
To buy a pack you must be 18 or older, or have a parent or guardian's permission.
Runs never expire while your account is open, and a price change never affects runs you already hold. Runs have no cash value and can't be transferred, sold or swapped.
Refunds
- Unused runs, within 14 days. Email us within 14 days of buying a pack and we refund the runs from it you haven't used, in proportion to what you paid. For example, if you used 5 of 25 runs, we refund 20/25 of US$5, which is US$4. Free runs count as used first. The refunded runs are removed from your balance.
- Closing your account. If you delete your account, we refund your unused paid runs from packs bought in the last 180 days, the same way.
- Charged twice, or charged with no runs added. Email us and we'll fix it or refund you, whenever it happened.
- Anything else. If something went wrong, tell us. We look at each case and refund when it's fair.
Refunds go back to the card you paid with and usually arrive in 5 to 10 business days, depending on your bank.
When you buy, you ask us to add your runs straight away. If you live in the EU or UK, you agree that once you use a run from a pack, the legal 14-day right to cancel no longer applies to that pack. Our own 14-day refund of unused runs still does.
Failed runs
A run fails when our servers or the AI stop responding, so the mission can't continue live. When that happens, the run goes straight back to your balance and the game tells you, for example: "That run failed on our side. 1 run returned. You have 7." If it doesn't, email us with the time and we'll return it.
Quitting, losing a mission, or coming back after the 2 hours are up are not failures, so those runs aren't returned.
Daily limits
- Free live runs share a daily limit. If it's reached, free live runs pause until the next day, while paid runs and offline play keep working.
- Paid live runs also have a daily limit. If it's reached, we stop selling packs for the rest of the day.
- Each account can start one new live run every 30 seconds, and up to 60 a day. Email us if you need more.
- A limit never stops a mission that's already running, and an attempt a limit refuses never uses a run.
- If we have to switch live runs off for a game, missions in progress finish with offline content, and their runs come back.
Chargebacks
Please email us before you dispute a charge with your bank. We'll usually sort it out faster. While a dispute is open, you can't spend runs, and a refund or dispute can take your balance below zero. Spending starts again once the balance is back above zero.
If a game or the service closes
Releases may go off air into our archive. Your runs stay in your balance for other releases. If we close the whole service, we'll give at least 30 days' notice and refund unused paid runs.
Mob Machine
Mob Machine is a separate game with its own payments. This page doesn't cover it. Contact Mob Machine through its own site.
How to ask
Email support@bgworldlab.com from the address on your account, with the date of the purchase. We reply within 2 business days.