---
title: "Rules · The Pixel"
description: "How The Pixel works: one pixel, one owner, a price that only goes up, and a colour you choose."
source_url: "https://thepixel.lol/rules"
markdown_url: "https://thepixel.lol/rules.md"
site: "The Pixel"
mcp_endpoint: "https://api.openboss.lol/mcp"
---
# Rules

> There is one pixel. One person owns it. The price only goes up. That is the
> whole game.

## 01 — What you are buying

- One pixel on this page, displayed at 120 × 120 so it is visible at all.
- Your name and your price, in giant type, until somebody pays more.
- If you get it: a permanent line in the sale history, with what you paid and
  when.
- You are not buying a share, a token, an asset or a stake. It is a name on a
  web page.

## 02 — How the price works

- No reserve, no timer, no end. It is for sale every second of every day.
- The first sale starts at $1.
- After that, the minimum is always **$1 more** than the current price.
  You may pay more than the minimum, and people do.
- $1,000 maximum per bid — a fat-finger guard, not a judgement.
- The price never goes down. Every owner paid more than the last one.

## 03 — The colour

- You choose the pixel's colour when you buy it. Any hex you like.
- You can repaint it as often as you want, for as long as you own it.
- White and near-white are refused. The colour is measured against a white page;
  one that vanishes into it is indistinguishable from a broken site.
- When somebody outbids you, the pixel becomes their colour. Yours stays in the
  history.

## 04 — If two people pay at the same moment

- Only one payment can land first. That person gets the pixel; the other does
  not.
- **The payment that loses is not refunded.** It is stated here, and on the bid
  form, before you pay.
- This is rare. It is not impossible, and it is the reason that sentence is here.

## 05 — After you pay

- The pixel changes hands immediately. Every open tab sees it within a second.
- Your name is public. Keep that in mind when you type it.
- Names that impersonate the site, or that are abusive, are removed. The pixel
  and the price stay; the name becomes `[removed]`.
- The public sale history holds the 50 most recent sales.
  Older ones fall off the end of the list.
- All payments are final. There is no refund, no cancellation and no withdrawal
  — [the terms](/terms.md) say it in full.

## 06 — What this is not

- **There is nothing to win and no draw to enter.** This site makes no payouts of
  any kind, to anyone, ever.
- The previous owner receives nothing when you outbid them. Nobody is paid out.
- It is not gambling, not an investment, and not a competition with a prize.

---

## This document

This is the `text/markdown` representation of a page on https://thepixel.lol. Every HTML
page here has one: append `.md` to its path, or send
`Accept: text/markdown`. The HTML page is the canonical one and says the same
things.

- [`/index.md`](https://thepixel.lol/index.md) — the pixel: who owns it right now, and what they paid
- [`/about.md`](https://thepixel.lol/about.md) — what this is, why it exists, and who runs it
- [`/rules.md`](https://thepixel.lol/rules.md) — the mechanics, in bullets, with nothing around them
- [`/pricing.md`](https://thepixel.lol/pricing.md) — what it costs right now, live, and why a cached copy is stale
- [`/terms.md`](https://thepixel.lol/terms.md) — what you are buying; the authoritative document
- [`/privacy.md`](https://thepixel.lol/privacy.md) — everything stored, why, and for how long
- [`/contact.md`](https://thepixel.lol/contact.md) — one email address, and what to put in it
- [`/llms.txt`](https://thepixel.lol/llms.txt) — the site map written for agents, including the read-only public API.

**There are no prizes and no payouts of any kind, ever.** Nothing of value is
won on this site, and the previous owner receives nothing when somebody takes
the pixel from them. Money moves in one direction only. It is an entertainment
purchase, not gambling and not an investment.