Terms of Use
Be kind.
That is the heart of how this game should be used. Be kind to other players. Be kind to ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi and to the people who carry it. Be kind to the makers and translators who put their care into building this. Everything else on this page is just the detail.
Using the game
Rootz is free to play. You do not need to sign up, sign in, or pay anything. Your daily progress and stats live in your own browser.
The puzzles, code, and content are yours to use for learning Hawaiian. The whole project is open source under the MIT License on GitHub.
What we ask of you
Treat the game and the people who use it with kindness. Do not abuse the service or try to break it for others. Do not scrape or mirror the daily puzzles in a way that takes credit for the work.
Treat the language with kindness. ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi belongs to a living community. Learn it as a guest, not as a conqueror.
Accuracy of the words and groupings
We work hard to make every puzzle correct, with proper ʻokina and kahakō, and groupings that hold up. Hawaiian is a living language with regional variation and ongoing scholarship, so there may be entries you would translate, spell, or group differently. If you spot an error, please let us know.
We are not native speakers of Hawaiian and we do not claim to be. Rootz is a vocabulary game for fun and study. For deeper learning, work with a kumu, attend a class, or read works by ʻAha Pūnana Leo, the University of Hawaiʻi Hawaiian Studies department, and other community sources.
No warranty
The game is provided as is. We do our best, but we cannot guarantee it will always work, that your stats will never be lost, or that every grouping is perfect. Use it as one tool among many in your learning journey.
If we ever shut it down
If for any reason this site goes away, we will give notice on the site beforehand. The puzzle data and source are open on GitHub, so the game itself can outlive any single hosting choice.
Changes to these terms
If anything here changes, we will update this page and note the change at the bottom. If a change matters to you, we will say so directly on the home page.
Questions or feedback
Send a message on LinkedIn for anything. Translation corrections, puzzle ideas, bug reports, or just to say hello are all welcome. You can also open an issue on GitHub.