HOT CHOCOLATE Terms of Service

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern access to and use of the HOT CHOCOLATE website, game, accounts, online services, digital content, and related services (collectively, the "Services"). The Services are operated by Houlem LLC, referred to as "HOT CHOCOLATE," "we," "us," or "our."

1. Agreement to Terms

These Terms are an agreement between you and Houlem LLC and govern HOT CHOCOLATE, its website, user accounts, online functionality, downloads, and related Services. By creating an account, purchasing or downloading HOT CHOCOLATE, or otherwise affirmatively accepting these Terms, you agree to be bound by them. If you do not agree, do not create an account, purchase, download, or use the Services.

2. Eligibility

You must be legally capable of entering a binding agreement where you live. Where required, a parent or legal guardian must review and agree on behalf of a minor. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 in violation of applicable law.

3. User Accounts

You must provide accurate information, protect your credentials, promptly report suspected compromise, and use only accounts you are authorized to use. Email addresses and usernames may require verification, and incomplete or unverified registrations may expire without permanently reserving an email address or username.

You may not impersonate others, create fraudulent accounts, evade restrictions, or interfere with verification. You are responsible for account activity except where applicable law provides otherwise.

4. License to Use HOT CHOCOLATE

A purchase provides a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license for personal, non-commercial entertainment. It does not transfer ownership of software, artwork, code, characters, music, branding, or other intellectual property.

You may not resell or redistribute protected files or credentials; gain unauthorized access; use cheats, bots, exploits, or disruptive modifications; bypass protections; exploit vulnerabilities; disrupt online systems; or reverse engineer the Services except where the law does not permit that restriction.

5. Purchases

HOT CHOCOLATE is sold as a one-time digital purchase. Purchases may be processed by third-party providers, including Stripe. You represent that purchase information is accurate and that you are authorized to use the payment method. A purchase is complete only after payment is authorized and processed. Houlem LLC does not intend to receive or store complete payment-card numbers when Stripe processes those details directly.

6. Digital Delivery

The game, download, or account entitlement may become available electronically after successful payment through account entitlements, download access, access keys, purchase confirmation, email, or other electronic delivery. You are responsible for a valid email address and account access. If delivery fails because of a technical issue, contact support so we can investigate and restore or provide access where appropriate.

7. Refund Policy

HOT CHOCOLATE is a downloadable digital product. Purchases are generally final once digital access has been provided, except where a refund or other remedy is required by applicable law. Purchases are subject to our Refund Policy, incorporated into these Terms.

8. Game Updates

HOT CHOCOLATE is evolving. Houlem LLC may patch the game; correct bugs; maintain servers; modify balance, levels, equipment, enemies, gameplay systems, interfaces, and online functionality; and add or remove features. Users are not purchasing a guarantee that every current mechanic will remain unchanged forever. Mandatory consumer rights for purchased digital products remain unaffected.

9. Leaderboards and Online Gameplay

We may provide rankings, scores, achievements, challenges, multiplayer, and similar features. To protect game integrity, we may correct, invalidate, remove, or reset results reasonably believed to involve cheating, exploits, modified clients, automation, manipulation, bugs, invalid game states, or fraud. In-game status has no monetary value unless expressly stated otherwise.

10. Prohibited Conduct

You may not cheat or use bots; harass others; hack, exploit vulnerabilities, or access unauthorized accounts or servers; introduce malicious software; attack infrastructure; bypass security; manipulate purchases, payments, or leaderboards; redistribute protected materials without authorization; violate law; or infringe another person's intellectual-property rights.

11. Suspension and Termination

We may restrict or suspend accounts when reasonably necessary for suspected fraud, security risks, cheating, abuse, material violations, unlawful conduct, or threats to the Services or users. Serious or repeated violations may lead to termination. Where required, we may provide notice or a review opportunity. Account enforcement does not eliminate rights provided by law.

12. Intellectual Property

HOT CHOCOLATE's original software, branding, characters, world, content, interfaces, text, audio, and graphics are owned by or licensed to Houlem LLC and protected by law. Third-party libraries and assets remain their owners' property. If you voluntarily provide suggestions, you permit us to use them to improve the Services without compensation; this does not transfer unrelated creative works.

13. Third-Party Services

The Services may use Stripe, hosting providers, email providers, and other infrastructure providers governed by their own terms and policies. We are not responsible for third-party services outside our reasonable control.

14. Service Availability

Internet-dependent services may be interrupted for maintenance, updates, security incidents, outages, infrastructure problems, abuse prevention, or legal requirements. We do not guarantee uninterrupted or 100% availability.

15. Disclaimer

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Services are provided on an "as available" basis and may contain bugs, errors, interruptions, or compatibility issues. We do not exclude warranties or consumer protections that cannot legally be excluded.

16. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Houlem LLC and its owners, employees, contractors, and providers are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from the Services. Where liability may legally be limited, aggregate liability will not exceed the greater of the amount paid for the relevant product or service during the preceding 12 months or US $100. These limitations do not apply where exclusion is prohibited.

17. Privacy

Our collection and use of personal information is described in our Privacy Policy.

18. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms as the Services, laws, or business practices change. A revised effective date will be displayed, and material changes will receive additional notice where required.

19. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Georgia, United States, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles, except where mandatory consumer law provides otherwise.

20. Contact