EpicTable Licensing

“Kitchen Table Licensing”

EpicTable is licensed a little differently from what you might be used to. We call it the “kitchen table” licensing model. You buy EpicTable, and it’s just like you went out and bought a table. It’s yours. You own it. You don’t have to tell us when you invite new people to sit down at your table. You don’t have to buy a new “chairs” every time someone new shows up to play or tell Aunt Edith that she can’t sit there, because that’s Uncle Bob’s chair. In other words, there are no “player licenses”. Whoever wants to play can play. The only rule is, if you’re the licensed user, it’s your table. You have to be there for the game to happen. Otherwise, it’s like someone came into your house while you were away and started playing on your table—and that’s just creepy.

Why is EpicTable licensed like this?

First, it’s just simpler. Neither you nor I want to keep track of how many player licenses you have, who has which license, and all that. Second, the whole point of EpicTable is bringing gaming groups together—either gaming groups that have drifted apart due to time and distance, or new groups formed around common interest in a game. That purpose is put at risk if you have to buy licenses for everyone or convince your whole group to buy EpicTable. So, you don’t. If you decide EpicTable is right for you, you buy it and your group plays on that license. If you want to use it with multiple groups, that’s okay too—it’s your table. Detect a pattern here?

Is this a subscription? Are there monthly fees?

No. You bought it, you own it. EpicTable is under active development, and so your table might get a little nicer from time to time. Minor updates like that will typically be free. At some point, there will be a set of updates substantial enough to warrant a major new release. That won’t invalidate your investment in EpicTable, but I sure hope to make it enticing enough that you’ll pay to upgrade. Will there ever be a subscription model? Not for what you have here. It may be that, at some point, EpicTable will have some features that make a subcription make sense, but my plan would be to make those optional features, so if you don’t want to subscribe for them, you wouldn’t need to do so to continue using EpicTable.

Can I use EpicTable on multiple machines?

Absolutely. It’s your table, right? As long as it’s you using it, go nuts. There’s a limit on the number of machines on which you can activate your license, but that’s just a safeguard against a license key getting loose in the wild. If you run into issues with activation because of this limit, send an email to support@epictable.com and we’ll get you fixed up.

There’s someone else in my group who wants to GM. Can I share my license key with them?

No. EpicTable is licensed to you. On an “Open Table” (you can set this under Game Options), anyone can do anything, so someone else could take over GM duties without a license. However, you need a license to create new games or host a game, so the licensed user needs to be there for anyone to have access to the game. That makes prep difficult if you’re not the licensed user, so if you’re GM’ing regularly, you probably want a license. If you have a large group and you all want licenses, let me know. We might be able to work out a bulk purchase discount.

Can I use EpicTable in a commercial setting?

No, you can’t. EpicTable is for you and your gaming group. You can’t, for instance, buy a few licenses and setup an online gaming cafe. Not that I’m against that idea, but if you want to do something like that, get in touch. We’ll work something out. It’s not covered under the normal license, though.

Everything Else

I hope that covers most of the questions that most of you have about EpicTable’s licensing. If I’ve missed something, please let me know. Just post on the support site or send me an email.

John Lammers
john@epictable.com