Playing safe

Nothing here rewards drinking or drugs

Not one built-in rule awards points for drinking or for using any substance — not by amount, not by frequency. That includes the night-out template, which scores social things: getting everyone dancing, finding the food place, looking after a friend who is struggling.

The app will never suggest a rule of that kind, never autocomplete one, and never put one in front of you.

Your own rules are your own

You can write whatever rules your group agrees on. We do not censor them — and we are not going to pretend that makes them our idea. If a rule in your group is pushing somebody to drink more, or to do something risky for points, the fix is to change the rule. It takes one vote.

Nobody has to be in the game

Any member can switch themselves to "cannot be picked" and stay in the group as a manager. Any member can leave at any moment. Neither needs anybody’s permission or explanation.

If a fine in your group has stopped being funny for the person receiving it, it has stopped being funny. Take it off the list.

If something goes wrong

If someone is in immediate danger, call your local emergency number — 112 across the European Union, 999 in the UK, 911 in the US and Canada. Do not wait to see how a night turns out.

If you are worried about a friend’s drinking or drug use, your national health service will have a confidential service for exactly that conversation. It is free, it does not go on anybody’s record, and it is a better place to start than a group chat.

You do not have to be sure it is serious before you ask. "I am not certain there is a problem" is a normal way to begin one of those calls.