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Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Rune?​

Rune is a social gaming app with millions of people playing games together across iOS and Android. Here's a quick video to give you a sense of how our app works.

Players can discover and play amazing HTML5 games built by indie game developers from around the world. They can do this right inside the Rune app in a seamless TikTok-style interface. They can compete with their friends on the leaderboards, play together on voice chat, and much much more!

Our mission is to make mobile gaming more social and enable indie game developers to get their games in the hands of millions of players.

What Are Rune’s Features?​

Here’s some of the many features Rune provides:

  • Leaderboards
  • Voice Chat
  • Messaging
  • Commenting
  • Daily Challenges
  • Push Notifications
  • Offline Support
  • Rich Game Share Links

Who Are We?​

We’re a small passionate team who love making and playing games together. Rune was founded by Bjarke and Sanjay, who were doing their PhDs together at MIT, but thought it would be more fun to drop out and build something together instead. They decided to start Rune one night at Sanjay’s apartment while playing board games (we were playing Codenames if you’re curious).

What Is the Benefit of Submitting My Game to Rune?​

Rune has 5+ million players so you’ll get tons of people playing your game and giving you feedback. Building a game is fun, but having tons of people actually playing your game makes it 10x more fun. We promote your game for free on our social channels and also provide valuable analytics and use feedback on your game. And don’t forget the bragging rights — Rune shows that you created the game and displays your stats. Next time you meet your friends, you can show them how you built a game with millions of plays.

Rune also helps you make your game amazing by providing social features like leaderboards, daily challenges, offline support, etc. for free. These features take only a few minutes to add with the Rune SDK.

Which Game Engines Does Rune Support?​

Rune supports any game that can be exported as HTML5. Almost every game engine exports to HTML5, including Unity, Godot, Defold and all JavaScript game frameworks of course! One of our goals is to let everyone use their favorite engine for Rune!

Your game just needs to integrate Rune’s minimal SDK written in JavaScript. We’re working on extensions for Godot, Unity, Defold, and many other engines, to make it even easier to integrate! If you don’t know how to use Rune with your favorite engine, then just ask us!

What Is the Rune SDK?​

The Rune SDK is a small JavaScript library that you can use to make multiplayer HTML5 games for mobile.

Does Rune Host the Games?​

Yes, we host the games for free. The games are hosted and cached all over the world to ensure the games load super fast!

What Are Daily Challenges?​

You may have heard of Wordle, a game which makes players guess a new word every day. Rune’s daily challenges are similar, but much more flexible! They allow you to ensure that everyone in the world plays the same “challenge” in your game each day.

Daily challenges are optional, but a great way to make your game have something new and exciting every day. Different colors / maps / physics — it's completely up to your creativity! If your game supports daily challenges, Rune will automatically add daily leaderboards. Players love having a fresh leaderboard to compete on every day!

Should My Game Support Both Mobile and Desktop Input?​

You don’t have to worry about desktop input. Anyone opening a link to your game on desktop will be directed to play the mobile version.

How Do You Handle Inappropriate Content?​

We want to let you unleash your creativity while still avoiding content inappropriate for the players in the Rune community. As a start, we’re following the Google Play Store Policy, but we’re working on making our own guidelines and age verification. Until then, please make sure that your game adheres to Google’s guidelines on “Inappropriate Content”.

How Do I Make the Best Possible Game on Rune?​

We’ve talked with a lot of players in the Rune community and accumulated their feedback in Best Practices. Make sure to check it out!

Who Makes the Game Logo and What Should It Look Like?​

You can upload your own logo or we can help you make one. The logo should be a PNG with 600×600 pixels resolution, no transparency, and no text. You can see examples of the awesome game logos in Rune’s Explore tab and on the player profiles. If you’d like, we would love to help you for free make an amazing logo for your game!

How Do I Upload My Game?​

See Publishing docs. We'll keep improving the upload and update process with a focus on making it as easy as possible for you to upload and update your game!

What Is the Size Limit?​

We support games up to 25MB when unzipped. However, it’s worth making your game small as it’ll load faster for your players!

How Long Does It Take for My Game to Be Reviewed?​

We'll try to do our best to review your game quickly and it should normally take less than 2-3 weekdays.

Can I Upload My Game to Other Platforms Than Rune?​

Definitely. It's your game and you can do whatever you like with it.

Can I Upload More Than One Game to Rune?​

Yes! You can upload as many games as you like to Rune.

How Much Does Rune Cost to Use?​

Rune is free for all players and game developers.

Is There Any Way to Monetize My Game Through Rune?​

We're working on ways to help indie game devs monetize, but want to make sure we do it right. For now, you can win cash prizes in our game jams. Later on there’ll be more opportunities to monetize your games on Rune.

Of course, anyone uploading their game early will have a huge head start in building a global hit game. We will be promoting your game for free, both inside the app and on our social media channels.

Do You Have Game Jams?​

Yes! We host fun community events for all indie game developers regardless of experience level. Some of these events will also have prizes. See announcements channel on Discord or follow us on Twitter for the latest game jam.

Does Rune Have Ads?​

We don't show any ads and don't have any upcoming plans to add ads.

Does Your Platform Integrate With Blockchain or NFTs?​

We don't integrate with blockchain or NFTs and have no upcoming plans to do so.

Is There a Benefit to Uploading a Game to Rune Right Away?​

Yes, like other social apps, it’s a massive benefit to be early. If you upload your game early, it’ll be much easier for you to make an awesome game that goes viral! We will be promoting your game for free, both inside the app and on our social media channels.

Can I Add Network Requests Into My Game?​

We don’t allow network requests of any kind. This protects players' privacy and allows seamless gameplay regardless of internet connection.

I Found a Bug or Have Suggestions for a New Feature. How Do I Tell You?​

We’d love to hear from you! Let us know what you think in the feedback-for-rune channel on Discord.

I Need Help / Have a Question. Who Do I Ask?​

See the Help section.