Fair play and safety

WAGE games happen in the real world, at speed, with your eyes on a phone some of the time. A little awareness keeps it fun and safe.

Safety first

• Look up. You’re moving through a real space with curbs, cyclists, dogs, and other people. Glance at your phone, then look where you’re going.
• Mind traffic. Don’t chase a tag across a road. Agree with your group on boundaries that avoid streets and parking lots — the gamemaster places the play area, so ask them to keep it sane.
• Watch the terrain. Wet grass, slopes, steps, and roots are the usual culprits. Sprinting backwards to dodge a tagger is how ankles get rolled.
• Weather and daylight. Heat, cold, and dusk all change the game. Bring water; wear something visible if it’s getting dark.
• Play in appropriate places. Parks, fields, campuses, and quiet neighborhoods are ideal. Avoid private property, sensitive sites, and crowds who didn’t sign up to be dodged.

Fair play

Most interactions in the built-in games are honor-system. When you tag someone, the app trusts that a real tag happened — there’s no referee verifying the touch. That makes WAGE fast and low-friction, and it only works if everyone plays straight:

• Own your tags. If you got tagged, you got tagged.
• Respect range. The button only lights up when the server agrees you’re close enough — don’t try to lawyer a tag from across the field.
• Bots don’t argue. In games with bots, the engine plays them fairly; you should too.

Some games use mutual confirmation for interactions, where the other player must accept — that removes ambiguity when it matters.

The server is the referee

Because WAGE is server-authoritative, the server — not your phone — decides what’s true. It validates every tag’s range and eligibility, tracks score, and resolves who got somewhere first. If there’s a dispute about whether an action counted, the server’s record is the answer. This also means you can’t gain an edge by fiddling with your app.

Battery and GPS

• Start charged. Continuous GPS is the biggest drain; a full battery comfortably covers a normal session.
• GPS needs sky. Accuracy is best in the open. Dense tree cover, tall buildings, and being indoors all degrade it — expect your marker to wander a bit near walls.
• Give it a moment. When you first join, your position can take a few seconds to settle. Don’t panic if you start “in the wrong spot”; it’ll snap in.
• Keep the app foregrounded during play for the most reliable location updates.

Have fun out there.