Terms of Use

Effective date: October 25, 2026. These terms cover all GridPaw games and pages on gridpaw.com, including Shikaku, Akari, Kakuro, Nonogram, Nurikabe, Pictomino, and the guide and answer pages.

1. Acceptance of Terms

By visiting gridpaw.com, playing any GridPaw puzzle, or using the solver, guides, leaderboards, or badges, you agree to these Terms of Use. If you do not agree, please do not use the site. If you are under 13, please use the site only with a parent's or guardian's permission, and have them read these terms and our privacy policy with you.

2. What GridPaw Is

GridPaw is a free, ad-supported collection of cat-themed logic puzzle games and written guides. Every puzzle on the site can be played without an account, and your progress stays in your browser unless you choose to sign in. We describe exactly what data is and isn't stored in the privacy policy. These terms are about the rules of using the site, not about data.

3. Permitted Use

We grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to play our games and read our guides for your own enjoyment. That means you may:

• Play every puzzle, as often as you like, free of charge
• Use hints, the solver, and strategy guides to learn
• Share links to our pages with friends, in messages, or on social media

You may not:

• Copy, republish, or mirror substantial parts of the site's text, puzzle data, or engine code elsewhere
• Use bots, scripts, or automation to play puzzles, submit scores, or generate leaderboard entries
• Scrape the site at volumes that degrade it for other players
• Use the site in any way that violates applicable law

If you'd like to use GridPaw content beyond these limits (in a classroom, a video, or an article), just ask us. We say yes more often than you'd expect.

4. Accounts, Leaderboards, and Fair Play

Signing in with Google is entirely optional and exists for one reason: syncing your progress and putting your name on the leaderboard. Visitors who don't sign in can still compete: results are displayed under a playful cat name (like "Mochi #42") that is generated on our side from a random identifier, never chosen by the visitor.

A few rules keep the leaderboard honest:

• One person, one entry per puzzle. Don't submit scores on behalf of others
• No automation, macros, or modified clients; we may remove entries that look machine-made
• Names shown for signed-in players come from your Google profile, so keep that name family-friendly; offensive names may be removed without notice
• We may correct or void scores affected by bugs or exploits

Badges and achievements are awarded automatically from gameplay events. They have no monetary value and can't be traded or transferred.

5. Intellectual Property

The GridPaw name, logo, original puzzle layouts, game engines, illustrations, and written guides are the property of GridPaw and protected by copyright. You may reference and link to them freely; you may not present them as your own.

Some pages discuss third-party puzzle games by name (for example, guides for games like Meowdoku, Brain Puzzle 3, or Rotate Rings). Those game names, artwork, and mechanics belong to their respective creators. Our guide pages are independently written fan content: GridPaw is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any of these studios, and our walkthrough boards are original recreations, not official assets. If you are a rights holder and believe something on the site crosses a line, contact us and we will fix it promptly.

6. Chrome Extension

The optional GridPaw Chrome extension syncs your daily streak and puzzle stats locally. Its data practices are described in the privacy policy; by installing it you also agree to treat it under the same fair-play rules as the site.

7. Advertising

GridPaw is free because advertising pays for hosting and development. Some pages display ads served by third-party networks such as Adsterra and, going forward, Google AdSense. Ads are shown on informational pages and beside game boards, never injected into a puzzle itself. What ad partners may do with cookies and identifiers is explained in the privacy policy. Please support us by not clicking ads out of curiosity for our sake: click only when an ad genuinely interests you.

8. Disclaimer of Warranties

GridPaw is provided "as is" and "as available." We work hard to verify that every puzzle has exactly one solution and that every walkthrough matches its level, but we can't promise the site will always be uninterrupted, error-free, or fit for a particular purpose. Guides for third-party games can become outdated when those games are updated by their creators. When we know a page is stale, we fix it, but it's worth double-checking anything you rely on.

9. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, GridPaw and its operator are not liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of the site, including lost data, lost time, or device issues. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited under law.

10. Changes to These Terms

We may update these terms as the site grows: for example, if new games, community features, or account options ship. The effective date at the top will change, and significant updates will be noted on the changelog. Continuing to use the site after an update means you accept the revised terms.

11. Contact

Questions, bug reports, rights concerns, or permission requests:

• Email: hello@gridpaw.com
• About page: who builds GridPaw