The Hero of Hearthvale is made by Gina Makes, a brand of Gina Makes LLC (Altoona, Iowa). The Hearthvale Chamber of Commerce is part of the game's story: it is not a real chamber of commerce and is not connected to any real one.
The support package
- $10 for two weeks. You pay when you send your sponsorship.
- If we can’t accept it, we refund the $10 in full.
- Two rounds of changes included, free.
Packages
Pick the package that suits you. Every package is labelled as a paid sponsor, reviewed by hand, and refunded in full if we can’t accept it.
🌾 Friend · $5
Your name and one friendly line in the Chamber of Commerce for two weeks. No picture or website needed.
🥉 Bronze · $10
The support package below: your picture, name, line and website in a gold frame, on the marquee, and named by the town crier, for two weeks.
🥈 Silver · $25
Everything in Bronze, plus your name on a banner on Main Street, and the town crier names you first. Two weeks.
🥇 Gold · $50
Everything in Silver, plus a brass plaque on the bench in the village square, and festival days are “brought to you by” you. Four weeks.
What you get
A gold frame in the hall
Your picture hangs in one of four polished gold frames inside the Chamber, labelled SPONSOR. Players walk up to it to open your card.
Your own sponsor card
Your picture, name, one friendly line (up to 140 letters) and a Visit button to your website.
The marquee sign out front
Your picture takes its turn on the theatre-style marquee in front of the hall: NOW FEATURING, framed in chasing lights and labelled PAID SPONSOR. The sign shows you for 8 seconds, then a short "Your ad here" sample for 4, and repeats.
Named by the town crier
While you run, Hearthvale's town crier names this fortnight's sponsors, always marked as paid sponsors.
Visits you can measure
Your Visit button adds utm_source=hearthvale to your link, so visits from the game show up in your own website stats.
You help restore the hall
Each sponsor fixes up one part of the Hollow Oak that leads to the hall (its lanterns, the fog, the doorway's stone arch, the nameboard), up to a grand reopening. When sponsorships end, the hall slips back into disrepair.
Players are invited to find the Chamber in a quest, and get a small gift for visiting each day. If several sponsors run at once, the frames take turns every hour and the clerk lists everyone. Your frame is always labelled as a paid sponsor, with a note that you paid to appear and are not part of the game. Players who bought Remove ads see the hall’s sponsor frames the same as everyone else (Remove ads only hides ads that pop up during play). We do not promise any number of players, views or clicks. We never share players' personal information with sponsors, and the game has no ad trackers.
How it looks
A 2-by-1 picture in a gold frame, lit by candlelight in the hall. Tapping it opens your card with your name, line and Visit button.
Sponsor anonymously
Rather not be named? If you are 18 or older, give any amount from $1 with the anonymous sponsor link (Stripe). There is no form and no picture: for two weeks a frame in the Chamber reads “A friend of Hearthvale”, labelled as a paid sponsor, with no name or website. Your name and email are kept privately by Stripe and us only for the payment and our records; they are never shown in the game. You must be 18 or older.
How it works
- Apply in the game. Tap Become a sponsor (or ask the clerk in the Chamber). Fill in your name or business name (up to 24 characters), your one line (up to 140 characters), your website, your start date and your email, and upload your picture. You see a preview of your picture in its gold frame before you send it.
- Pay securely. Right after you apply, pay $10 with Stripe. Your payment carries your application's reference, and your sponsorship is reviewed once it is paid.
- Hand review. We check your picture, words and website by hand, usually within a few days, and then either:
- Approve it: it runs for 14 days from the agreed start date. Dates follow UTC (world time), so in the Americas your frame appears and ends on the evening before each date.
- Ask for a revision: we tell you what to change (up to two rounds, free).
- Decline it: we tell you why and refund the $10 in full.
- You go live. We email you when your frame is in the game and again when your two weeks end.
Picture specifications
| Size | 1200 × 600 px (2:1), recommended for sharp phone screens. Smallest accepted: 600 × 300 pixels. Any exact 2:1 size from 600 × 300 up is accepted; larger pictures are scaled to 1200 × 600. |
|---|---|
| Safe zone | Keep your logo and words inside the middle 1080 × 480 px (60 px clear on every side), so nothing feels cramped next to the gold frame or at small sizes. |
| File | PNG or JPG, sRGB color, under 300 KB. Use a solid background (no transparency). |
| Motion | A still picture only: no animation, GIFs or flashing. This keeps the game safe for players with photosensitive epilepsy. |
| Words | 6 words or fewer in the picture. Smallest text at least 48 px tall on a 1200 × 600 picture (24 px on 600 × 300). Strong contrast, like dark text on a light background. Your full message goes in your card's line, not the picture. |
| Where it shows | Your sponsor card (about 340 × 170 on a phone), a gold frame on the hall's back wall, and the marquee sign out front, where it is small: a bold logo reads best there. |
| Leave out | Borders or frames (we add a gold one), the word "Sponsor" (we add it), fake buttons (Play, Download, a close X), QR codes, prices that may change, and logos or brands you don't own. |
| Text fields | Name or business name up to 24 characters. Card line up to 140 characters. Website must start with https://. |
| Rights | Something you own or have the right to use, and suitable for players aged 13 and up. |
Download the 1200 × 600 template (with the safe zone marked). We may resize your picture to fit and add the Sponsor label. The form checks your size for you and shows a preview before you send.
Who can sponsor
People, families, clubs, events and family-friendly businesses, suitable for players aged 13 and up. We do not accept sponsors promoting:
- alcohol, cannabis, CBD, tobacco, vapes or nicotine;
- gambling, betting, sweepstakes or loot-box style games;
- weapons or ammunition;
- adult, dating or mature content;
- political candidates, parties, causes or ballot measures;
- crypto, investments, loans or "get rich" offers;
- health claims, diet pills or anything that needs a prescription;
- anything false, misleading, hateful or illegal, or that copies someone else's name or trademark.
Your website must start with https:// and be suitable for the same audience. We may say no to any sponsor, and we may take a frame down if it or the website it links to breaks these rules.
Questions
Refunds and changes
Declined sponsorships are refunded in full. If you cancel before your two weeks start, or we cannot show your frame, we refund you in full (or move it to new dates if you prefer). If we take a frame down because it or its website breaks these rules, we may refund the unused days at our discretion.
How many people will see my frame?
We can't promise a number. The game is new and independent. The utm_source=hearthvale tag on your link lets you see real visits from the game in your own website stats.
Do you track players for sponsors?
No. The game has no ad trackers, and we never share players' personal information with sponsors. Your website's own privacy policy applies once a player visits it.
Your responsibilities
You confirm that you have the right to use the name, words, picture and website on your frame, that what your frame says is true, and that you (and any group or business you name) and the website follow the law. You are responsible for your own website and anything it offers.
Responsibility for your sponsorship (indemnity)
You (or the group or business you sponsor for) are responsible for your picture, words, name and website, and for anything offered there. If anyone makes a legal claim against Gina Makes LLC because of your sponsorship or your website (for example, that it copies someone's trademark or makes a false claim), you agree to cover the LLC's reasonable costs of that claim, including legal fees. This is called indemnifying us.
Limit of liability
We do our best to show your frame as described, but the game is offered as it is, and players, reach and the game being online are not guaranteed. To the fullest extent the law allows, the most Gina Makes LLC owes you for anything to do with your sponsorship is the amount you paid for it ($10), and we are not responsible for lost profits or other indirect losses. Nothing here limits rights you have under the law that cannot be limited.
Questions before you apply? Email hello@ginamakesbread.dev.
By sending an application you agree to these terms, including the indemnity and the limit of liability above. These terms are a plain-language draft and may change; the version shown when you pay applies to your booking. Questions: hello@ginamakesbread.dev. See also About & Legal.