"Welcome to Winster, where friends help
friends win FREE prizes. Try my games now!"
- Winnie Winster, Founder and Host
friends win FREE prizes. Try my games now!"
- Winnie Winster, Founder and Host
| Terms and Conditions |
|
Last updated: August 25, 2010
Use of Winster, Inc. ("Winnie")'s web site is governed by the following Terms and Conditions of Use.
Winnie's web site offers entertaining interactive group activities ("Puzzle(s)") which promote the sale of commercial consumer goods and services ("Prizes"). Unlike conventional sweepstakes -- where some people win prizes but others do not -- all players at Winnie's web site can win prizes. The question is not whether, but when you will win a prize. When someone else wins a prize it does not affect your ability (or that of any other player) to win a prize!
Prizes that you win are paid for in part by promotional consideration and discounts provided by Winnie's Prize suppliers, because it provides a good way for them to advertise their products to players on Winnie's web site. Winnie also gets paid when players choose to join Club Winster, and when players sign up for third-party promotional offers.
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY!
VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW.
Eligibility
To register and play, you must:- Be at least 18 years of age;
- Have an email account through which you can send and receive personal and private email messages;
- Have uninterrupted and unrestricted access to the Internet;
- Be able to run current versions of Javascript and Macromedia Flash programs in Microsoft's Internet Explorer or a compatible browser, and have cookies and popups enabled.
By registering on Winnie's web site, you agree that you meet these eligibility requirements and agree to abide by all other Terms & Conditions of Use. Violating these or other rules may cause the immediate suspension or cancellation of your account(s), and void your right to receive any Prizes you may have earned. Suspension or cancellation of your account(s) does not relieve you of any financial or other obligations incurred prior to such suspension or cancellation.
You are expressly prohibited from creating multiple registrations or accounts for use by the same person. You are also expressly prohibited from colluding with other players to 'feed' pieces from one account to another in order to aggregate points and prizes. Any violation will result in immediate suspension of all your accounts.
USE OF PROFANITY OR RUDE BEHAVIOR WILL RESULT IN IMMEDIATE SUSPENSION OF YOUR PRIVILEGES.
Participation
To play, visit Winster.com and follow the instructions.If you wish additional free play, follow the instructions at Play for Free. Requests for free play that do not comply with these instructions can not be honored.
Requests for free play become Winnie's property after receipt. Winnie is not responsible for lost, late, damaged, incomplete, illegible, postage due, misdirected or misdelivered requests.
Club Winster
You are invited to join Club Winster at any time. Winnie provides a variety of benefits to Club members, including:- Daily spins awarded each day that you log in, up to ten times the daily
allotment.
(the number of spins depends on your membership level - see below) - Four times as many points in the games as non-members, so you can win prizes four times as fast.
- No commercial interruptions.
- The right to create and play in Private Rooms, send Private Messages, and other benefits.
- Basic: Winnie increases your spin balance by 300 each day that you log in up to a limit of 3,000, for a charge of $4.99 per month.
- Silver: Winnie increases your spin balance by 500 each day that you log in up to a limit of 5,000, for a charge of $7.49 per month.
- Gold: Winnie increases your spin balance to 800 each day that you log in up to a limit of 8,000, for a charge of $9.99 per month.
Your spin balance is updated once per day, typically around midnight Pacific time.
Your membership fee will be charged automatically each month according to the method of payment you select, until you change or cancel your membership. (See below for how to upgrade, downgrade, or cancel.)
Note that the Club Winster monthly fees, membership levels, and benefits may change from time to time without prior notice. Continued use of you membership constitutes your agreement to any such changes.
A given payment method (i.e. a particular credit card or PayPal account) can be associated with only one Club Winster account. If you wish to use the same method of payment for a second account, please contact customer service at support@winster.com.
Upgrading, Downgrading, and Cancelling your Membership
To upgrade, downgrade, or cancel your Club Winster membership, click on "My Stuff" (on the menu bar), then "Membership", and follow the instructions.
Upgrades take effect immediately. When you upgrade, you will be charged the difference between your current membership level and your new membership level, pro-rated to the end of your current billing cycle. Your billing cycle is not affected. Your spin balance will immediately be increased to your new membership level. Note that if you use PayPal, you will be asked to approve a new Paypal 'subscription' with a partial payment for the balance of your current month, then a full payment each month thereafter.
Downgrades take effect at the end of your current month. If you pay by PayPal, you will be asked to approve a new Paypal 'subscription' with no payment for the balance of your current month, then a full payment each month thereafter.
Cancellations take effect immediately. Winnie does not refund or pro-rate your last payment, so it is best to cancel just before your next membership billing date. However, upon request Winnie will pro-rate your last payment if she made any material changes to the terms of your membership during that billing cycle. Winnie does not refund or pro-rate your payment(s) if she cancels your account as a result of any violations of her Terms and Conditions.
Earning Prizes
Your chance of earning a Prize is 100%, though the amount of play required to earn a Prize varies depending on the difference between your current score and the number of points required to collect your prize; the statistical distribution of Puzzle pieces that may appear in the center slot of your spinner at the conclusion of each spin; the distribution of Puzzle pieces that appear in the center slots of the other players' spinners; the willingness of other players to trade, give, or receive Puzzle pieces; other results of spins (such as free spins and bonus points); and your skill in solving the Puzzle.Completed Puzzles are worth the following point values:
| Chain Gang (Chain Length) |
Point Value |
| 2 | 25 |
| 3 | 40 |
| 4 | 65 |
| 5 | 110 |
| 6 | 190 |
| 7 | 275 |
| 8 | 375 |
| 9 | 500 |
| Picture Magic (# of Wild Cards Used) |
Point Value |
| 9 | 0 |
| 8 | 5 |
| 7 | 20 |
| 6 | 30 |
| 5 | 55 |
| 4 | 90 |
| 3 | 150 |
| 2 | 210 |
| 1 | 300 |
| 0 | 400 |
| Poker Pals | Point Value |
| One Pair | 35 |
| Two Pairs | 45 |
| Three of a Kind | 60 |
| Straight | 90 |
| Flush | 120 |
| Full House | 140 |
| Four of a Kind | 180 |
| Straight Flush | 240 |
| Five of a Kind | 280 |
| Royal Flush | 300 |
| Spell Squad (# of Letters) |
Point Value |
| 3 | 35 |
| 4 | 60 |
| 5 | 120 |
| 7 | 240 |
| 9 | 500 |
| 12 | 750 |
For Spell Squad, the frequency of occurrence of each letter as a result of a spin varies roughly in proportion to their frequency in English words.
| Bingo Bash (Card #) |
Point Value |
| 1 | 200 |
| 2 | 200 |
| 3 | 225 |
| 4 | 250 |
| 5 | 250 |
| 6 | 300 |
| 7 | 350 |
| 8 | 350 |
| Slot Social | 3x | 4x | 5x |
| Cherries | 35 | 50 | 70 |
| Bananas | 40 | 60 | 85 |
| Grapes | 50 | 65 | 100 |
| Bar | 55 | 85 | 135 |
| Double Bar | 60 | 105 | 165 |
| Triple Bar | 100 | 170 | 250 |
| Diamond | 150 | 230 | 315 |
| Seven | 210 | 315 | 500 |
| Winster Logo ("Winnies") |
500 | 800 | 1650 |
| Wild * | 150 | 230 | 315 |
Examples: 3 Wilds, 1 Cherry and 1 Banana are worth 60 points. 2 Wilds, 2 Cherries and 1 Seven are worth 50 points.
| Burger Buddy | Point Value |
| Single burger | 60 |
| Double burger | 75 |
| Triple burger | 115 |
| Quad burger | 170 |
| Add cheese to any burger | +10 per slice |
| Add lettuce and tomato | +15 |
| Sesame buns | +15 |
| Perfect quad cheeseburger | +30 |
Note that you can only have one Lettuce and Tomato per completed burger, and top and bottom buns must match (either both Plain or both Sesame).
| Match Maker | Point Value |
| 3 Jewels | 8 |
| 4 Jewels | 12 |
| 5 Jewels | 16 |
| 6 Jewels | 20 |
| 7 Jewels | 24 |
| 8 Jewels | 28 |
| 9 Jewels | 32 |
| 10 Jewels | 36 |
| Clear Board | 5 |
If less than three jewels remain on your board, they are automatically cleared and do not score any additional points. Each time you spin, new jewels are selected at random from a subset of the available jewel types that is one less than the number of unique jewels currently on your board. Note that if you make several different matches with a single move or trade, the jewel count is aggregated for the purposes of scoring. However, if these matches occur sequentially - as a result of jewels 'falling' after a match - the jewel count is not aggregated for the purposes of scoring.
For Facets, competed smiley faces with 3-color backgrounds are worth 25 points, faces with 2-color backgrounds are worth 40 points, and faces with 1-color backgrounds are worth 165 points.
For Doku Deluxe, a Sudoku solution is worth 325 points, and a solution where each quadrant contains a single color is worth 650 points.
In all Puzzles, the relative frequency of the result of any spin may vary, and may change from time to time. The first three or more spins for each new player in each type of Puzzle may result in a pre-set sequence of Puzzle pieces.
Prizes
Puzzle Prizes are listed on the prize page. You can change your Prize at any time, and redeem your points for any Prize of equal or lesser value.After you claim a Prize, it may take up to seven days for Winnie to email you a claim code. Prize claim codes will be withheld for members who are not in good standing (due to non-payment or other factors).
Although Winnie takes reasonable care to ensure that the goods and services offered as Puzzle Prizes are accurately described and available, the actual availability may vary as a result of factors beyond Winnie's control. If a Prize is not available, Winnie may substitute a comparable Prize of equal or greater value, or pay you an equivalent value in cash in her sole discretion.
Many Prizes are actually gift certificates that can be used to purchase the Prize described at a third-party vendor. In these cases, the value of the gift certificate is equal to or greater than the cost of purchasing the Prize (excluding any shipping, handling, or applicable taxes) from the designated vendor as of the time you claim your Prize. Winnie is not responsible for subsequent price increases by the vendor for that Prize. Unless otherwise stated, the vendors have no affiliation with Winster, Inc., and are not authorized to act or make representations on behalf of Winster, Inc. You may be required to register and/or create an account with the vendor in order to redeem your certificate and collect your Prize, and you are subject to the vendor's applicable policies, including expiration dates or inactivity charges for their certificates. You are solely responsible for any shipping, handling, taxes or other incidental charges as required by the vendor. Note in particular that many vendors charge sales tax when gift certificates are redeemed, based on your place of residence.
Although non-US players are welcome, please be aware that many of the Prizes cannot be delivered outside of the US, based on the policies of the individual third-party vendors. Winnie is not responsible should you claim a Prize that you cannot receive or use - so please be careful before claiming a Prize!
WINNIE MAKES NO GUARANTEE, WARRANTY, OR REPRESENTATION, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE CORRECTNESS OR SUFFICIENCY OF ANY INFORMATION, OR AS TO THE MERCHANTABILITY, SUITABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OF ANY GOODS OR SERVICES DESCRIBED ON HER WEB SITE.
Prizes are not for resale, and are not transferable.
After you have claimed a Prize, it cannot be returned nor can the points used be credited back to your account.
All Prize Awards Expire in 60 Days
All Prize awards expire 60 days after Winnie emails your claim code to you. This means that you must use your Winster claim code to collect your gift certificate from Winnie's web site and use it or deposit it with the third-party vendor within that 60 day period, or you forfeit your Prize. Note that this policy supersedes any policies offered by the third-party vendor for their gift certificates, unless their expiration period is shorter than 60 days. Expired Prize awards will not be replaced or refunded.
Winnie is the legal purchaser and owner of all third-party gift certificates, and Prize awards confer only the temporary right to use these gift certificates for a limited time.
Note also that you must be 18 years or older to receive any Prize(s).
If Winnie attempts to verify your identity, eligibility, or age, but is unable to do so, she may in her sole discretion withhold your Prize(s).
Points, Spins, and Virtual Items
Points earned in Puzzles must be redeemed for Prizes within six months of the date on which they were earned. Points are forfeited 60 days after you last login, and will be removed from your account. Points are redeemed in the order in which they were earned.Points are not transferable, and may not be combined across multiple accounts to claim Prizes or for other purposes.
Purchased or free spins must be used within six months of the date on which they were purchased, won, or granted.
Spins are not transferable, and may not be combined across multiple accounts.
Virtual items, such as 'hats', may be available for 'purchase' from time to time on the web site, in return for points, spins, or monetary payment. Virtual items are intended purely for entertainment purposes, and the use of terms like 'purchase', 'inventory', 'ownership', 'price', or 'payment' are analogies only, do not imply any property or other rights, and do not convey title or create any continuing interest in virtual items. Winnie reserves the right to revoke your use of virtual items, change virtual items, add or delete 'inventory' of virtual items from the web site at any time without notice to you and/or without your consent and without compensation or refund to you. In particular, cancellation of your membership for any reason may result in loss of use of virtual items.
Points, spins, and virtual items have no cash value.
Taxes
You are solely responsible for any income and/or sales taxes resulting from earning or using Prizes, or from the use of gift certificates to purchase goods and services.Hosts Program
Winnie sometimes invites friendly players to become Hosts. Hosts help other players to learn the games and make new players feel welcome. Hosts are marked with a "Host" badge, and may get other rights and/or visual designators. Hosts are not employees or contractors of Winster, and are not authorized to make rules, commitments, or enter into contracts of any kind on behalf of Winster. Host duties are strictly voluntary, and Hosts are not compensated or required to perform any particular service, except that they may be granted points or spins for helping other players. Winnie reserves the right to revoke Host status at any time with or without cause. Please be nice to our Hosts - they are players just like everyone else, and Winnie appreciates the time and effort they put into helping her make the site fun and friendly!Refer-a-Friend Program
You can earn up to One Million Bonus Points for each friend that you refer to Winster. Friends must not be registered prior to your referral, and must register through a special invitation link that you have sent them for this purpose. (Currently this link may be in a referral email you send, the personal link you can copy from your "Invite More Friends" page, or a Facebook invitation to view one of your Trophies.)Only one player at a time can receive credit for referring a friend, so if multiple players refer the same friend, only the player whose invitation link the friend used to register will receive credit.
Referral Bonus Points are awarded once per day (shortly after midnight Pacific Time in most cases). You will be credited with 5% of all points actually earned by your referrals since the last time your Bonus Points were calculated, or 10% if you are a Club Winster Member at the time the credit is calculated. So if you join Club Winster as a Member, you will receive 10% of all points earned by your referrals from that time on, and if you cancel your Membership, you will only get 5% of all points earned by your referrals from that time on.
Note that you will be earning Bonus Points on your referral's referrals as well. For instance, if you are a Member and one of your referral's makes referrals, you will be earning 10% of the 10% that your referral earns on his or her referrals.
Referral Bonus Points are only awarded on points actually earned by your referrals. If they get a 'head start' toward their first prize when they sign up, you will not receive a percentage of those points.
Interruptions and Malfunctions
Winnie is not responsible for programming errors, hardware failures, network interruptions, infections, tampering, attacks, or other technical malfunctions that may result in the unavailability of Winnie's web site, delays in processing transactions, loss or disclosure of data, or the proper operation of the Puzzles. Winnie reserves the right to suspend, delay, extend, roll back, restart or cancel Puzzles as a result of such interruptions and/or malfunctions, with or without notice to players.Winnie's Decisions are Final
In the event of any dispute, Winnie's decisions are final and binding on all players.Code of Acceptable Conduct
When using this web site you agree to abide by the following code of acceptable conduct:- You will not tamper with, interfere with, or undermine Winnie's web site, data, Puzzles, or operations in any way. You will not attempt to download programs or data from, reverse engineer, or copy Winnie's web site or operations. You will not upload viruses or other harmful components.
- You will not advertise any goods or services, or use Winnie's web site to promote any commercial enterprise including other web sites.
- You will not solicit or disclose personal information about anyone other than yourself.
- You will not use, or permit to be used, any automatic programs to play, upload or download data, open accounts, or otherwise interact with Winnie's web site. You will not use, or permit to be used, any automated programs to send email to any address at the Winster.com domain, to make phone calls or to send faxes to Winnie or Winnie's vendors and associates. This prohibition includes, but is not limited to, the use of "bots", "snipes", and "crawlers".
- You will not upload, type in, copy or otherwise provide infringing, defamatory, obscene, abusive, illegal or improper content, and represent that you have the proper right and authorization to use any information or content that you provide.
- You will behave in a sportsman-like manner at all times, and will refrain from harassing, threatening, or attempting to discern the identities of other players. You will not contact other players outside of Winnie's web site without their consent.
- You will not use the web site to further any illegal purposes. You will not upload or otherwise provide content with a commercial purpose or attempt to solicit funds or advertise goods or services.
- Except as otherwise specifically provided elsewhere on this web site, all comments, data, content, suggestions, ideas, concepts or other information you disclose or offer publicly by or through this web site shall be deemed and shall remain in the public domain. No such information shall be subject to any obligation of confidence, and Winnie shall not be liable for any use or disclosure of any such information, comments, data or content. By uploading or otherwise providing any information, content or data to this web site, you hereby grant Winnie the unlimited right to reuse, redistribute, modify and create derivative works from such information, content or data for any purpose.
Account Termination
Winnie reserves the right, in her sole discretion, to terminate your account and/or limit or prohibit your participation in any part of the web site, for any or no reason.Public Display of Information About You
When you register, you may be requested to enter your real first and last name. Your first name may be visible to other players under certain circumstances. Winnie reserves the right, in her sole discretion, to change, suspend and/or terminate offensive screen names. In addition, you may provide other personal information through your profile which is intended for public display, and certain facts and events pertaining to your membership (such as your membership start date and when you win a Prize or refer a friend) may be publicly displayed. Information intended for public display will be identified as such at the time Winnie asks you to provide it. By providing such information, you agree that Winnie may publicly display it along with your screen name, and include such information in promotional materials, advertisements, and similar uses. Please see Winnie's Privacy Policy for more information.Trademarks and Hyperlinks
"Winnie", "Winnie Winster", and "Winster.com" are trademarks of Winster, Inc. The names of other companies and products mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners. Hyperlinks to other web sites or information sources are provided as a courtesy, and Winnie cannot vouch for or take responsibility for the information contained therein. Hyperlinks to other web sites do not represent or imply Winnie's endorsement. If you access a third party site from Winnie's web site, you do so at your own risk. Additionally, your dealings with or participation in promotions of advertisers found on the Winnie's web site, including payment and delivery of goods, and any other terms (such as warranties) are solely between you and such advertisers. Winnie is not responsible for any loss or damage of any sort relating to your dealings with such advertisers.Some sound effects provided by A1 Free Sound Effects.
Limitation of Liability
In no event shall Winnie be liable for any special, incidental, indirect, punitive or consequential damages, including but not limited to, loss of profits, loss of use, loss of data or information, business interruption, or any other damages whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tortious action, arising out of or in connection with the availability, use, reliance on or inability to use her web site. In no event shall Winnie's total liability for claims, damages and causes of action, whether in contract, tort or otherwise, exceed the amount paid by you, if any, for using her web site.Jurisdiction and Choice of Law
This web site is controlled and operated by Winnie from her offices in San Mateo, California. These terms and conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of San Mateo County and the state of California, without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law.In addition, you are subject to all local laws of the jurisdiction in which you reside and from which you access this web site, and are solely responsible for obeying those laws. You agree that Winnie cannot be held liable if laws applicable to you restrict or prohibit your participation.
Winnie makes no representations or warranties, implicit or explicit, as to your legal right to play, nor shall any person affiliated, or claiming affiliation with Winnie have the authority to make any such representations or warranties.
Terms and Conditions Subject to Change
These Terms and Conditions are subject to change from time to time without notice, so please check back frequently.Copyright © 2005-2010 Winster, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
About Us | Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy | FAQ | NO PURCHASE NECESSARY
About Us | Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy | FAQ | NO PURCHASE NECESSARY
