Game Rules

EKKO is a weekly savings game. You set a savings target based on your income. Each week you must grow your Arena balance past a new High-Water Mark (HWM). Miss the mark with no lifelines remaining and you are eliminated.

The game is not about luck. It is about consistently saving a portion of what you earn, week after week. The outcome is determined entirely by your balance at 17:30 on Friday — which is determined entirely by your own decisions.

EKKO Gold players contribute to a weekly prize pool. The last player (or players, in team mode) to survive wins the accumulated pot.

Your base weekly savings target is 5% of your Usable Money Income (UMI). UMI is calculated from your connected Akahu accounts as:

Each week, your target increases by a 2% compound multiplier. Week 1 starts at your base. By week 10, the multiplier is approximately 1.19×. This reflects the savings habit getting easier as your discipline builds.

If you missed check-ins last week (checked in fewer than 7 days), a micro-escalation of an additional 2% is added. This creates a small consequence for disengaging from the app.

Your High-Water Mark (HWM) is the minimum your Arena balance must reach by 17:30 Friday. It starts at your Arena balance on day one and grows by your weekly target each week.

Every Friday at 17:30 New Zealand time, EKKO reads your Arena account balance via Akahu and compares it to your HWM.

Every Judgment Day result — the exact balance, HWM, and calculation — is stored in an immutable audit log. You can view it any time and dispute any result within 48 hours.

Every player begins with 3 lifelines. Each lifeline absorbs one MISS without elimination.

• Lifelines cannot be purchased, earned back, or transferred between games.
• Lifelines reset if you join a new game after elimination.
• Surviving an escalation week earns 150 bonus XP but does not restore lifelines.

If EKKO detects a large, unusual deposit into your Arena account that appears to be external income (a gift, windfall, or transfer from someone else), this is a Free Money Violation.

You will be notified and asked to explain the deposit. If the violation is unresolved by Friday 17:30, you receive a forced MISS at Judgment Day — regardless of your balance.

This rule exists because the game is about your own savings discipline. Receiving a large gift to pass Judgment Day defeats the purpose.

Gold subscribers ($20/week) contribute to a weekly prize pool that accumulates in a ring-fenced reserve account held by Immiscible Tech Limited. The prize pool is real money — not in-app currency.

• Who wins: The last surviving Gold player (or the final surviving group in Kotahitanga Mode).
• When it pays: Within 24 hours of game completion, via bank transfer to your nominated account.
• If you cancel mid-game: Your prize pool eligibility ends immediately. Cancelled subscribers cannot win the pool they have stopped funding.
• If EKKO shuts down: The prize pool reserve is disbursed to eligible players before any other creditor. See the Terms of Service for wind-down details.

Kotahitanga is a group mode where teams of 2–5 players compete together. The team wins or loses as a unit at Judgment Day — but each player’s individual target is calculated from their own UMI.

• All team members must HIT for the team to survive.
• If any team member is eliminated, the whole team is eliminated.
• Teams share a leaderboard position.
• Prize is split equally among surviving team members.

Elimination occurs when you miss Judgment Day with no lifelines remaining, or when your team is eliminated in Kotahitanga Mode.

• Elimination ends your participation in the current game only.
• Your subscription continues unless you cancel it separately.
• Your bank balances are not affected.
• You can join or start a new game from the lobby immediately after elimination.
• Your XP and lifetime rank are preserved.

A game is won when one of the following conditions is met:

• Last player standing: Only one player (or team) remains active. They win the accumulated prize pool.
• Finish Line: All remaining players survive the same Judgment Day — a shared victory. The prize pool is split equally. All survivors earn 500 bonus XP.

You can cancel your subscription at any time from your Account page. Cancellation takes effect at your next billing anchor (Friday). No partial-week refunds are issued.

If you cancel while in an active game, your game position is forfeited. The prize pool retains the funds contributed by your cancelled subscription — these go to the remaining players.

Refunds for billing errors can be requested at hello@ekko.nz.

If you believe a Judgment Day result is wrong, you have 48 hours from the result to raise a dispute using the dispute button in your audit log.

EKKO will request the balance data from Akahu for that exact timestamp and compare it to your bank statement. If a verifiable bank error is found, your lifeline is restored and the outcome is reversed. If the balance was genuinely below your HWM, the outcome stands — with the full data provided to you transparently.

For escalation beyond EKKO’s own dispute process, see the Terms of Service (Section 9).