Terms of use
Last updated 4 November 2026
By playing Erstwhile you agree to these terms. They're short on purpose.
A game, not advice
Erstwhile is entertainment. Nothing in it is financial, investment or tax advice, and past performance (the whole point of the game) tells you nothing about the future.
The data
Prices and headlines come from public sources named on the site. We work to keep them accurate but can't promise they're free of errors.
Supporter subscription
- What it is. An optional subscription, $2.49 a month or $8.99 a year (checkout shows the price in your currency). If the price goes up, current supporters keep the price they signed up at. Erstwhile has no ads; supporters keep it running ad-free. They get the perks listed on the supporter page: a weekly streak save (one missed day a week keeps your streak), the full archive, Unlimited mode, certificate styles, extra stats and a supporter mark. Today's puzzle stays free for everyone.
- Who sells it. Subscriptions are sold through Link, part of Stripe, which acts as the reseller and handles payment, tax, receipts and billing questions. Link's terms also apply at checkout.
- Renewal. Your subscription renews automatically at the end of each month or year until you cancel. If the price changes, you'll be told before it applies to your next renewal.
- Cancelling. Cancel any time from the supporter page (Manage subscription) or through Link. You keep the perks until the end of the period you've paid for. Deleting your account cancels your subscription straight away.
- Refunds. Payments aren't refunded for part-used periods, except where the law gives you a right to one. If you're in the UK or EU you may be able to cancel within 14 days of buying; Link handles those requests.
- Changes. We may add or change perks. If a change significantly reduces what supporters get, we'll tell you first, and you can cancel.
Fair play
- Play each daily puzzle once, as yourself. Playing it first in another window, browser or device to see how the years turn out, and then playing it again, is cheating. So is using bots, scripts, AI tools or the site's code to work out the best moves.
- How we check. We look for signs of cheating in results, such as a near-perfect result straight after another game from the same connection, or near-perfect results day after day. A person reviews every case; nothing is decided automatically.
- What can happen. If we find cheating, we may warn you in the game, halt your ticker's trading for a few days, or remove it from the Erstwhile Market and stop you listing a company again. Your daily results still count on the scoreboard unless we remove them.
- The site itself. Please don't flood the scoreboard or try to break or overload the site. We may block access that does.
Your account
Sign-in is optional, but you need an account to become a supporter. You can delete your account at any time from My profile. See the privacy policy for what we keep.
Changes and availability
We may change, pause or end the game or these terms. The game is provided as it is, without guarantees, and to the extent the law allows we aren't liable for losses arising from using it.