Placement policy
Every payment on a lot adds to a permanent stake for your startup URL. A stake is keyed to the URL host: pay again on the same lot with the same host and your totals add up.
- The biggest total stake receives the 3D building, the map pin, and the holder title.
- Ranks 2–3 receive sidewalk signs beside the building.
- Rank 4+ receive text rows on the lot board and on the public Board page.
Your amount decides the rank. There is no losing payment: a bigger stake by someone else moves your listing down, it never removes it. Every stake keeps a board slot for good.
The minimum stake is $5. Payments are final and are not refunded when a listing is outranked. Because every payer keeps a permanent slot, this is advertising, not a penny auction and not an auction of any kind.
Guests can stake without an account. The receipt email carries a claim link that works for 30 days and attaches the listing to an account. An unclaimed listing stays on the board.
While the town is filling, a signed-in account may take one untouched lot for free. The limit is one free lot per account and one per web address. A free stake counts as $0, so it holds the building only until someone stakes $5 on that lot — top up any time to take it back. Free lots need an account because they are limited; the offer ends once a quarter of the town is claimed. The first 20 free lots also receive a 6-hour highway billboard when a highway frame is open.
Cosmetic boosts are for the claimed crown holder only and do not change rank. Listings with three distinct reports are hidden pending review; we notify the holder. Listings that violate the policy stay hidden without a refund.