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Terms and conditions

Last updated: 12 November 2026

These terms apply when you buy from this website or use the Lunchbox Games platform: the game portals, the pages that open when a game piece is tapped, and our support. Please read them before you buy. Nothing in these terms takes away any right you have under the Consumer Protection Act, 2008 or the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, 2002.

1. Who we are

  • Trading name: Lunchbox Games
  • Legal name and registration number: Lunchbox Games
  • Physical address for legal notices: Van Vuuren Street, Littlefalls, 1709
  • VAT number: [add if registered]
  • Email: support@lunchboxgames.co.za

2. Compatible devices

Game pieces contain NFC tags that open a web page when a phone touches them. To play, you need:

  • iPhone: iPhone XR, XS, SE (2nd generation) or any newer iPhone reads the pieces automatically. iPhone 7, 8 and X can read them after the NFC Tag Reader button is added to Control Center and tapped first. Older iPhones cannot read them.
  • Android: a phone with NFC hardware, with NFC switched on in Settings. Not all Android phones have NFC. Please check yours before you buy.
  • An internet connection (mobile data or Wi-Fi) and an up-to-date web browser. Data costs are your own.
  • Not supported: most iPads and tablets, laptops, desktop computers and smartwatches.

Phone cases, especially metal or thick ones, can stop a tag being read. Phone makers can change how their phones handle NFC, so we can’t guarantee that every phone will work. If yours can’t read the pieces, contact us within 7 days of delivery and we’ll help, or refund you as set out in section 9.

3. Your account

  • Hosts and parents need an account. You must be 18 or older to open one and to buy. Players do not need an account.
  • Keep your password private. You are responsible for what happens on your account.
  • Children may play only under the supervision of a parent or guardian, who is responsible for their use of the platform.

4. Lunchboxes, activation codes and ownership

  • Every lunchbox has a unique activation code. Entering it links that lunchbox to one host account at a time.
  • To sell or give away a lunchbox, the current owner must release it from their account first. The next owner then activates it with the same code.
  • If a lunchbox is linked to someone else and they won’t release it, we may move it after checking proof of purchase. We may refuse or reverse an activation that we reasonably believe is fraudulent.
  • Treat the activation card like a key: anyone with the code can activate an unlinked lunchbox. We can replace a lost code once we’ve verified ownership.

5. Saved games (Scavenger Hunt and Murder Mystery)

  • Each Scavenger Hunt and Murder Mystery lunchbox includes 3 saved games: hunts you build, or cases you create with AI or by hand. The built-in mystery cases are free and don’t use a slot.
  • Extra saved game slots cost R100 each (incl. VAT) at the time of writing. The current price is shown before you pay. A price change never affects slots already bought.
  • Saved games and bought slots belong to the lunchbox (its unique code), not to your account. They cannot be deleted or moved to another lunchbox. If the lunchbox is released and activated by someone else, they get all its saved games and slots, and the previous owner loses access to them.
  • A saved game can be edited for 24 hours after it is saved. After that it is locked. You can load it into the builder as the starting point for a new game.
  • A slot is used as soon as you save a game into it. Because you start using it straight away, at your request, the 7-day cooling-off period (section 9) no longer applies to a used slot.

6. Thrivelings Family Plan

  • Hatching, caring for and playing with pets, the Codex, adding children and trading figurines are free. Approving activities, awarding coins, growing pets, and setting activities, quiet times and play limits need an active Family Plan. Quiet times already set stay in force if a plan ends.
  • The plan is prepaid for 1 month (R59) or 12 months (R590), incl. VAT, at the time of writing. Time you buy is added to any time you have left.
  • The plan never renews automatically and we never store your card. We email you before it ends, and you choose whether to buy more time.
  • When a plan ends, the parent area pauses. Your children’s pets, coins and progress are kept, and everything continues when you renew.
  • Blind-bag odds are published on every bag and in the game: 60% Common, 25% Uncommon, 12% Rare and 3% Legendary.

7. Orders, prices and payment

  • Prices are in South African rand and include VAT. Delivery costs are shown at checkout.
  • Payments are processed by Yoco. We never see or store your full card details.
  • An order is accepted when we send the order confirmation. If a price is clearly wrong, or an item is unavailable, we may cancel the order and refund you in full.

8. Delivery

We deliver within South Africa to the address you give us. Delivery times shown are estimates. Risk in the goods passes to you on delivery. Please check your lunchbox when it arrives, and tell us within 14 days if anything is missing or damaged.

9. Cancellations, returns and refunds

  • Cooling-off (ECTA section 44): you may cancel an online purchase of goods within 7 days of receiving them, without giving a reason. Return the lunchbox unused, in its original packaging, with the activation code unused. You pay only the direct cost of returning it. We refund you within 30 days of your cancellation.
  • Defective goods (CPA section 56): if a game piece or tag is defective within 6 months of delivery, we will repair it, replace it or refund you, at your choice, unless the damage was caused by misuse, accident or normal wear.
  • Digital extras (saved game slots and Family Plan time) are refundable within the 7-day cooling-off period only if they have not been used. A Family Plan counts as used once its time has started.

10. Safety

Please read this section carefully.

  • Choking hazard: game pieces, tags and tokens are small parts. They are not suitable for children under 3. Keep them away from babies and toddlers.
  • An adult must supervise children during play, choose safe hiding places, and make sure pieces are collected afterwards.
  • For outdoor and map-based hunts, the host must choose safe locations, get permission for private property, and keep players away from roads, water, heights and other hazards. Players must watch where they are going, not their screens.
  • Murder mystery cases contain fictional crimes. Check each case’s age guide before you play with children.
  • Do not put game pieces in your mouth, near heat, in water, or near pacemakers or other medical devices.

11. Content you create and AI-generated cases

  • You are responsible for the clues, questions, case text and names you enter. Do not enter anything unlawful, hateful or offensive, or personal information about other people.
  • “Create with AI” cases are written by Google’s Gemini AI. AI can make mistakes or produce unsuitable content, so the host must read a case before playing it, especially with children. AI-written cases are fiction.
  • You allow us to store and display your content to run your games, and to fix problems when you ask for support.

12. Children’s information and privacy

We collect only what the platform needs. That includes your account details, and the first names, ages and activity records a parent enters for Thrivelings. A parent or guardian gives consent for any information about a child, as the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 requires. Players who tap pieces are not tracked, and we don’t sell personal information. Our privacy policy explains this in full. You can ask us at any time to see, correct or delete your information.

13. Availability of the platform

The games need our website and services from others, such as your mobile network, Yoco and Google, to be working. We aim to keep everything available, but we can’t promise it will never be interrupted, for example during maintenance, load-shedding or outages beyond our control. We may improve or change features over time, and will not remove a game you have bought without giving you reasonable notice and an alternative.

14. Intellectual property

Lunchbox Games, Thrivelings and Tag Trail, and their names, logos, characters, artwork, game pieces, clues, cases, software and website content, belong to Lunchbox Games and are protected by copyright and other laws. Buying a lunchbox gives you a personal, non-transferable right to use the games for private play. A lunchbox you release may be used by its next owner. You may not copy, sell, scan, clone or reprogram the pieces or their tags, or copy our content, without our written permission.

15. Acceptable use

Do not misuse the platform: no hacking, overloading it, copying or cloning tags, sharing activation codes publicly, reselling access, or using it to harm others. We may suspend accounts that break these terms, after telling you why where it’s reasonable to do so.

16. Limits on our liability

IMPORTANT NOTICE (Consumer Protection Act, section 49): this section limits our responsibility and places certain risks on you. Please read it carefully.

  • You use the games at your own risk, and are responsible for supervising children and choosing safe places to play (section 10).
  • We are not responsible for loss or harm caused by: how a host sets up or runs a game; hiding places or locations a host chooses; content that hosts or AI create; a phone that is not compatible (section 2); interruptions to internet, mobile networks, electricity or third-party services; or events beyond our reasonable control.
  • As far as the law allows, our total liability to you for any claim is limited to the amount you paid for the item or service the claim is about.
  • None of these limits apply to loss or harm caused by our gross negligence or wilful misconduct, or where the Consumer Protection Act or other law does not allow liability to be limited. Your statutory rights to safe, good-quality goods remain in full.

17. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. The version on this page when you buy applies to that purchase. We’ll tell account holders by email about important changes affecting a Family Plan or saved games they already have.

18. Law and disputes

South African law governs these terms. If you’re unhappy, please email us first so we can try to resolve it. You may also contact the National Consumer Commission or the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud.

19. Contact

Support and enquiries: support@lunchboxgames.co.za