General Questions

I'm planning to play in an upcoming hosted hunt that uses ClueKeeper. What do I need to do right now?

Create a ClueKeeper account for yourself, and have your teammates do the same. You'll get further instructions from the hunt coordinators as the event gets closer.

I'd like to create a hunt with ClueKeeper. How can I get started?

Visit the create page, fill out the form to tell us a little about your plans, and then get started creating. Also see the Creating Hunts section below for more specific questions.

Playing Hunts

What are the minimum requirements for my mobile device?

We currently support iOS 12.0 or newer for iPhone and iPad, and Android 7.0 (Nougat) or newer for Android phones and tablets.

How does forming a team work?

When you download a hunt onto your phone, you will have the option to create a team name and add members to your team. You can only add team members that also have ClueKeeper accounts, so be sure to have them sign up before you add them. The results of the hunt will be available online for all team members, not just the one who was using the ClueKeeper app.

Does everyone on my team need the mobile app in order to play?

No, your team only needs one player logged in to the ClueKeeper mobile app to play in a hunt. In some hunts, as determined by the hunt creator, only one player will be able to submit answers or change the state for your team during the hunt itself. Other players with the app may log in and see the clues, though, which can definitely be useful. In other hunts, all players can submit answers, but players must be connected to the internet in order to do so.

In some hunts, why is only one player on the team allowed to submit answers, buy hints, or start clues?

For fairness. ClueKeeper was designed from the start to support offline play. One side effect of this is that teammates won't always see a consistent view of the world while the devices are offline. If we did allow different players on the same team to submit answers offline, it would make it trivial to cheat. If the hunt creator chooses, they can run their hunt in online mode, which relaxes this restriction, but requires that players must be online in order to submit answers and perform other state-changing operations.

Does my phone need to have an internet connection throughout the hunt?

It depends. If the hunt you are playing is using online mode (as determined by the hunt creator), than it will be necessary for any player that wants to submit an answer or perform any other state-changing operation to be connected to the internet. However, if the hunt you are playing is not using the online option, then as long as you have a connection at the beginning of the hunt (to download the clues) and at the end of the hunt (to upload your hunt data), everything in between works fine without a connection. If you are playing a hosted hunt in this mode, though, the organizers will appreciate it if your device is online, since it will periodically update them with your progress. Also, if you reboot your phone, you'll briefly need a data connection to resync with our server.

Can I host my own event or party using an existing self-guided hunt?

Yes! Check out our group planning page that goes into detail on how to make this happen.

When is the Windows Phone version going to be available?

We currently have no plans to support Windows Phone, but are willing to consider it if and when there is sufficient demand.

I'm trying to play a hunt I downloaded a while ago, but now it says I'm in read-only mode. Help!

We know this situation can be extremely frustrating. This can happen if you are not using the same device that originally purchased or downloaded the hunt, and sometimes can even occur in cases where you upgraded the operating system on your device in such a way that it now appears differently to our system.

If this is the first scenario and you are trying to use a new device, but still have access to the original device, simply launch the hunt on the original device and select "Release team leader role" from the options menu. Then choose "Claim team leader role" on your new device and you'll be good to go.

For all other cases, call 1-844-99-CLUES (1-844-992-5837) or email admin@cluekeeper.com and we will be happy to assist you in transferring control of your hunt to your new or upgraded device.

I am outside the U.S. and my credit card was charged more than I agreed to pay. You monsters!

If you purchased the hunt using a credit card outside the United States, we have found that some credit cards will add a foreign transaction fee in the range of up to 5% of the purchase price, even if you're buying a hunt in your local currency and from a local creator. Often this shows up as a separate charge that is clearly labeled as a foreign transaction fee, but we have seen some cases where it appears the charge came from ClueKeeper or even misleadingly added to the total itself. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do about this, and we encourage you to first contact your bank to see if the charge was their doing.

On the other hand, if you made the purchase with a U.S.-based card or if you're certain that it wasn't something your bank added, that should never happen! If it does, call 1-844-99-CLUES (1-844-992-5837) or email admin@cluekeeper.com and we will investigate and make it right.

What if there is an issue with the hunt I'm playing?

You should contact the creator or organizer of the hunt you are playing. If you don't know who that is or how to get in touch with them, call 1-844-99-CLUES (1-844-992-5837) or email admin@cluekeeper.com.

Creating Hunts

How much does it cost to create hunts with ClueKeeper?

It is free to build and test your hunt, which is especially useful to evaluate the system to see if it meets your needs. Then when you are ready to publish your hunt, there are two pricing options, depending on the specifics on your hunt.

For private or hosted hunts, we charge a flat rate of $10 per team. Discounts are available for non-profit organizations or charity events.

For public self-guided hunts, we charge a variable rate based on the cost you set for your customers, up to a max of $5 per team, plus fees imposed by the payment processor. See our pricing matrix for details.

We also offer a way to create hunt codes for free, but then only pay when they're used. We call this Pay As You Go, and you can read more about it below.

Fees imposed by the payment processor? How much are those?

We use Stripe as our payment processor for all self-guided hunt sales, which charges 2.9% plus $0.30 for USD sales, and similar rates for non-USD sales. For a full breakdown of fees and profits for self-guided hunt sales in all the currencies we support, check out the pricing matrix.

How does a Pay As You Go subscription work?

Pay As You Go is a way to create as many hunt codes (i.e. teams) as you like, free of charge, and then only pay for the codes that are used.

To get started with Pay As You Go, you're going to need a brand. To get a brand if you don't have one already, email admin@cluekeeper.com and let them know you'd like a brand account, and they'll set one up for you.

Once you have a brand, go to your brand page, and in the section marked "Pay As You Go Subscription", you can set up an account using a credit card that can be automatically debited at the end of each weekly period. Don't worry, you won't be charged anything until players use the hunt codes you create.

Once you have a Pay As You Go subscription set up, any brand owner can then enable any published hunts that use that brand with this feature by visiting the Manage Hunt page for the hunt and selecting "Enable Pay As You Go". Once enabled on a hunt, you can create as many hunt codes as you like, free of charge initially, but then whenever a player redeems a hunt code, the cost of that hunt code, as specified on that hunt's Manage Hunt page, will be billed to your Pay As You Go subscription.

Your account will be billed every 7 days, starting from the day you subscribe on your brand page. If no hunt codes were redeemed during the previous 7 days at the end of a period, you will not be charged anything at all.

If you have any brand or hunt credits, those will be used to pay for any codes that are redeemed before your subscription is charged. If a player enters a hunt code, but then is unregistered without playing the hunt (whether by their own doing, or through the admin interface), it is not possible to reverse the charge to your subscription, however, you will be immediately credited back in the form of brand credit that will then be used for the next hunt code that is redeemed.

You can cancel your Pay As You Go subscription at any time, or disable it on any hunt, but you will be responsible for paying for any hunt codes that were redeemed up until you cancel, so it is your responsibility to safeguard any codes you create. Also note that if there are any issues with your subscription or your payment method, no hunt codes can be redeemed using Pay As You Go until it is resolved.

If you have any questions about this feature or need help getting set up, send email to admin@cluekeeper.com.

Why do you have a review process for self-guided hunts and how does it work?

Because we provide a point of sale that can be used for self-guided hunts, we require some form of review before we are comfortable processing money from end users.

As such, when you submit your hunt for review, you can choose between two types of reviews: a cursory review or a detailed review. A cursory review is for those who are confident in the creation process and are not looking for any feedback from the ClueKeeper team prior to publication, and this type of review should take no longer than 24 hours and will basically make sure your hunt isn't violating any rules that might get us kicked off the App Store. A detailed review is strongly recommended especially for first-time creators, as in this type of review, one of our expert creators will go through your hunt with a fine-toothed comb to see if there are things big or small that might make your hunt better, whether that's pointing you towards a feature or option that you may have missed or helping you avoid any common pitfalls that you may have overlooked. Because detailed reviews are time-consuming and we need to schedule time to do them, we ask that you allow up to 3 business days for this type of review, but we do feel it is well worth the wait for the quality of feedback that we can provide.

Also note that you are welcome to ask for reviews earlier in the process if you like - just send an email to reviews@cluekeeper.com at any point in the process and let us know what sort of feedback you'd like, and we'll be happy to take a look.

How much should I charge for my hunt?

During the review process, we can give you feedback on your starting price to give you a sense for how it relates in quality and content to the other hunts at that price range. That said, however, the price you choose is ultimately up to you, and you can even modify your price as often as you'd like. If you are selling through us, be sure to check out the pricing matrix as well in case your profit margin is a factor in your decision.

If I write a self-guided hunt, how will players find it and play it?

While we are happy to announce your hunt launch and amplify your social media posts through our own social media accounts, the advertising and getting the word out on the hunts you create is primarily up to you.

If you haven't already, be sure to join the ClueKeeper Developers Facebook group to share and learn from other ClueKeeper creators facing this same question.

I want to run a hosted hunt on ClueKeeper. How do I get started?

Fill out our creator request form and get started! Join the ClueKeeper Developers Facebook group where you can discuss your plans with other creators, request new features, and ask questions of the ClueKeeper Team. If you are new to writing hunts, we recommend you first run a private hosted hunt for a small group of family and friends. All creators that are new to creating hunts on ClueKeeper should also check out the best practices page.

How can I test my hunt?

To test your hunt as you develop, use the "Test Hunt" interface to create a test registration that you can use on your own mobile device. This allows you to see what the players will see and make sure that everything is showing up as you intend. Test registrations also have the ability to reset the hunt from the options menu at any time, allowing you to start over from the beginning for testing as many times as you like.

To run a playtest (or dry run) with real teams, you should simply run it as you would a normal hosted hunt.

For more on testing your hunt, be sure to check out the best practices page.

I have created and published a hunt. How do the teams register?

Using our "Manage Hunt" interface, you will generate "hunt codes" for each team that is playing in your event, and then distribute those to the teams at some point before the hunt begins. Teams must enter their hunt code to download the clues used for your hunt, so you'll want to be sure that this is done where they've got a reliable internet connection. This can be done on the day of the event, but you may want to do it the day before or earlier to allow time for any troubleshooting.

Can you give me targeted advice on how to make my hunt better?

Absolutely! We have a dedicated team of expert hunt reviewers that is happy to give you feedback on any hunts you are working on at any stage of the process.

To make use of this service, contact us by email at reviews@cluekeeper.com, and be sure to provide details on the specifics of your hunt, including its name if you've already started on it, and the type of feedback you're after. Please allow up to 48 hours to get a detailed response.

Is there a badge I can put on my hunt's website to show that it uses ClueKeeper?

Absolutely! Go to this page to get the official ClueKeeper badge, including a code snippet for displaying it on your hunt's website.

I'm trying to create a hunt that has red bells and blue whistles, but you don't seem to have those colors available.

We've tried to anticipate a wide range of options to cover many possible use cases, but there are always more things the system could have. Join the ClueKeeper Developers Facebook group, email us at admin@cluekeeper, or call us at 1-844-99-CLUES (1-844-992-5837) if you have feature requests or can't figure out how to implement something. Often there will be good solutions using the features we already have!

Account Questions

Why do I need a Google/Facebook/Apple account?

ClueKeeper uses Google, Facebook, and Apple accounts for account verification and for connecting you to your ClueKeeper data. We ask only for access to your email address from these services, which we then use as your primary account identifier, as well as to send transactional emails and occasional email updates (to only those who have opted into receiving them).

Signing in with these services actually provides more security for you than if we were to have our own login and password system, as this way we have no access to your password, and you can even revoke our access to your account at any time! This allows Google, Facebook, or Apple to take care of your account security, while we can focus on building a better platform.

What if I don't want to use my Google/Facebook/Apple account?

If you still don't want to use any of your existing accounts for any reason, that's fine! It's easy to create a new account on any of those services just for ClueKeeper that has no connection to your primary account, or better yet, you can simply play as a guest in the mobile app without creating an account at all.

What is the downside of playing as a guest?

If you play a hunt as a guest, you will only have access to that hunt from the device you played on, and you will not be able to access your results on the website unless the hunt coordinator decides to share a public link to the results after the hunt. We believe there is a lot to be gained by having a complete record of your hunt history, so we recommend creating a ClueKeeper account unless you have a particularly good reason not to do so.

Policies

What is your refund policy?

We really want you to be happy with any purchases you make on the ClueKeeper platform, so if you are unhappy with your purchase and believe you should get a refund for any reason, before or after playing or creating a hunt, we will do everything possible to make it right.

If you purchased a hunt as a player, please contact the hunt creator or organizer first. If you can't get in touch with them, are unhappy with their response, or if you are a creator yourself, contact us at admin@cluekeeper.com and let us know how we can make it right.

Please also note that as a creator, we automatically credit your account when you close a hunt for any team registrations that you purchased that were never claimed by a team, and these credits can be used towards any future hunts you run.

What is your privacy policy?

We use the accounts systems of Google, Facebook, and Apple as the basis for your ClueKeeper account and we store the associated email address on our backend to identify your account. This email address is used to send transactional mails when hunts are purchased (as described below), and if and only if you explicitly opt in, occasional newsletters sent no more than once per quarter.

If you purchase a hunt, we will either use the email address associated with your account or request that you provide a contact email address to be associated with that purchase. In those cases, the email address provided will be used for communication specifically about the hunt you purchased, including a receipt of purchase, any information or materials deemed necessary to play the hunt, or later, any updates about the hunt that may affect your game play. In support of this use case, we may in some rare cases share your address with the hunt creator to provide support and updates for their hunt directly, however hunt creators are strictly forbidden to use any email addresses given for this purpose for anything not directly related to the hunt you purchased.

If you are a hunt creator, we will also collect mailing and payment information so that we can pay you for any hunt proceeds you earn. This information is kept strictly confidential and won't be shared with anyone outside of ClueKeeper for any reason, nor used for any use cases beyond that just described.

If you wish to have your data deleted, please contact admin@cluekeeper.com with the specifics of your request.

Other Questions

I have a feature request or a question that is not listed.

We enthusiastically welcome feedback from players and creators at any time! Email us at admin@cluekeeper.com or call us at 1-844-99-CLUES (1-844-992-5837) and let us know what you think. If you are a hunt creator, be sure to join the ClueKeeper Developers Facebook group where you can discuss the platform with other creators as well as members of the ClueKeeper Team.