Rules of the Court
1. One Throne, One King
Every category has exactly one live throne. There is no #2. No leaderboard. No ranked list of spenders. Default incumbents start as unpaid kings at $0.
2. The Economy
| Situation | What you pay | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Unpaid default ($0) | $9 first takeover | You become king. Stake = $9. |
| Someone else sits at $N | $N + $1 (full new stake) | New king. Old king is not refunded. |
| You are the sitting king | +$1 or more (defend) | Same king, same campaign. Stake rises. Next steal = new stake + $1. |
| Dethroned former king | Full current stake + $1 again | No credit for previous spend. Full price to reclaim. |
Whole dollars only. No wallets. No refunds. No credits.
3. Dual Asset: Live Throne & Permanent Receipt
Every paid takeover buys two things:
- The live throne: Receives outbound clicks until another competitor pays to dethrone you.
- A permanent reign page: A buyer-owned campaign receipt (
/r/[id]) that always promotes your product, offer, CTA, and social share card forever — even after you lose the live throne.
4. X Authentication Required
Browsing is always public. Taking a throne, defending a throne, creating a new throne, and editing a live offer all require Sign in with X.
5. Starting New Thrones
New categories publish instantly upon first $9 payment with the buyer already sitting. We require naming the default rival plus two other competitors to verify a real multi-player market.
6. Moderation & Review Policy
New thrones publish after payment. We may suspend duplicates, fake markets, trademark impersonation, spam, or off-category products. If we remove a paid throne because our category review failed, we refund its current king.
7. Disclosures & Truth
Traffic and reign duration depend on distribution and future takeovers. Results are not guaranteed. Payments are final.
Unpaid King provides honest recorded visits and outbound click metrics with 24-hour visitor deduplication. No inflated numbers.