Play Responsibly

What Is a Social Game?

The term "social game" describes a broad category of interactive entertainment software where the visuals and mechanics may resemble real-money gaming products — column plays, card draws, dice rolls — but where no real money is ever involved. No stake is placed, no prize is awarded, and no financial outcome of any kind is possible.

On BOK, LLC, you receive virtual credits when your session begins. These credits are fictional tokens with no monetary value. Spending them changes a number on your screen — nothing more. Winning more credits does not earn you anything redeemable. Losing all credits costs you nothing financially. The experience is designed to feel satisfying and visually stimulating in the same way that a puzzle game, a card solitaire app, or a casual mobile game provides satisfaction — through the aesthetics of the interaction, not through financial anticipation.

In Canada, social entertainment games are classified as consumer software, not gambling. The Criminal Code of Canada defines gambling as involving consideration (payment), chance, and a prize. BOK, LLC removes both the consideration and the prize elements. Our platform is governed by British Columbia's consumer-protection legislation, not the Gaming Control Act, because it is entertainment software in the same legal category as any other browser-based game.

It is important to understand this distinction clearly. While the visual format of our game resembles what you might find at a real-money gaming site, the experiences are fundamentally different. At a real-money site, your financial situation changes in response to outcomes. At BOK, LLC, it does not. This distinction matters for how you should relate to the activity emotionally. The wins and losses on screen are not real financial events. If you find yourself feeling as though they are — with the anxiety, excitement, or preoccupation that accompanies real financial stakes — that is an important signal worth paying attention to.

It Is Supposed to Be Relaxing

BOK, LLC was designed to be a low-stimulation, visually calming experience. The BC rainforest aesthetic — muted jade greens, cedar ambers, soft mist tones — was chosen deliberately to create an atmosphere closer to a nature walk than a entertainment platform floor. Bright flashing lights, aggressive sound cues, and high-tempo animations are absent by design.

If you open BOK, LLC and feel your heart rate go up, if you feel a sense of urgency about the outcomes, or if losing virtual credits makes you feel frustrated or anxious — those are signals that your relationship with the activity may be worth examining. Healthy play with a free social game should feel something like reading a book or completing a sudoku: engaging, perhaps absorbing, but fundamentally calm and restorative. It should not feel like a high-stakes event.

We believe the best indicator of whether you are playing well is simple: does it feel good? Not the excitement of a win, which fades quickly, but the overall ambient quality of your time on the site. Are you more relaxed after a few minutes than you were before? Are you choosing to play because you want to, not because you feel you need to? Is the game one activity among several you are enjoying today, rather than the only thing you can think about? If the answers to those questions are yes, enjoy the forest. If they are not, the rest of this page is for you.

Warning Signs to Look Out For

The following behaviours and feelings can indicate that a social game — or any gaming activity — is beginning to have a negative effect on your life. These signs apply to social games even though no real money is involved, because the patterns of thought and behaviour that precede gambling harm can develop in any context that activates similar reward pathways.

If you recognise several of these in yourself, please read the "What to Do If Something Feels Off" section below and consider reaching out to one of the support organisations listed at the bottom of this page.

• Losing track of time. Sessions that were meant to last ten minutes regularly stretch to an hour or more without your realising it. You close the browser surprised by how much time has passed.
• Irritability or restlessness when not playing. You feel uncomfortable, bored, or agitated when you are away from the game. You find yourself thinking about it during unrelated activities.
• Neglecting responsibilities. Tasks at work, household chores, family commitments, or social plans are being skipped or delayed because you are playing, or because you are thinking about playing.
• Using play to escape difficult feelings. You consistently open the game when you feel anxious, sad, lonely, or stressed — and find that play temporarily relieves those feelings. This is a particularly important pattern to notice because it means the game is playing a regulatory role in your emotional life rather than simply being an entertainment choice.
• Overriding your own limits. You regularly decide to stop and then keep going. You set time limits and consistently ignore them when the moment comes. The intention to stop does not translate into action.
• Keeping your play secret. You minimise or hide how much time you spend playing from people who are close to you. This secrecy itself is often a sign that you sense the activity has grown beyond a healthy proportion.
• Mood tied to virtual outcomes. Winning virtual credits makes you feel genuinely elevated; losing them makes you feel genuinely bad. Your emotional state changes in response to fictional events on a screen in ways that persist beyond the session.
• Curiosity about real-money versions. Time spent on BOK, LLC is increasing your interest in or curiosity about real-money gaming sites. The visual format of our game is similar to real-money products, and for some people, extended exposure can blur the line. If you notice this, stop playing and contact the BC Problem Gambling Helpline.
• Playing late at night or when impaired. You regularly play after midnight, or when you have been drinking or using substances. Decision-making impairment and social isolation increase the risk that any engaging activity will exceed healthy boundaries.
• Withdrawal from other activities and relationships. Hobbies you used to enjoy, social time with friends or family, physical activity, or time spent outdoors are decreasing as time spent on digital entertainment increases. Any single activity that consistently crowds out everything else warrants reflection.

What to Do If Something Feels Off

If any section of this page has resonated with you — even gently — here are concrete steps you can take right now. These are not dramatic interventions. Most of them are small, accessible actions that can shift the direction of a pattern before it becomes entrenched.

How BOK, LLC Keeps Play Safe by Design

We believe the most effective responsible-play mechanism is a well-designed product. Below are the specific design choices we have made to reduce the risk of the game becoming a harmful activity.