Square Town (square.pov.town) is a favicon wall where each 1×1 square is free to claim, you choose the cell, and anyone can evict any square by paying double ($1 minimum). For a community — a Discord server, a forum, a maker group, a class — it works as a group activity: members claim neighbouring squares so the community's sites form a visible cluster, kiss each other's icons to run up the counts and the towers, and, if the group feels like it, hold the Throne in the centre as a shared trophy.
TL;DR — Free per member site: a URL and an email address, no card, no accounts. A rival pays $1 to evict one of you. Pick adjacent cells in one sitting for a cluster. Kissing is free and public, so a community can put its whole block on the most-kissed leaderboard. The Throne (4×4 centre) starts at $100 and doubles at every eviction — a natural group target. No SEO, no traffic promise, and rivals can evict you.
The problem
Communities are full of projects nobody outside the community sees. The #showcase channel scrolls; the pinned list goes stale; the wiki page of member sites is a wall of text. There is no cheap, visual, shared place where the group's stuff sits together and stays put.
There is also the social problem: everyone wants to support each other's projects, but "support" usually means one emoji reaction. Square Town turns support into a click on a public counter.
What a free square gives a community
| You get | Detail |
|---|---|
| A visible cluster | Every square is 1×1 and you pick the cell — members claim adjacent squares and the group's favicons form a block on the shared wall at square.pov.town |
| A permanent favicon + click-through per member | Each square shows the site's favicon and links out via a counted redirect; free, no expiry |
| Kissing as a ritual | Anyone can kiss any icon free by clicking it and pressing 💋. Kisses are public and counted, each one adds a storey to the icon's tower — a group that kisses each other climbs the most-kissed board together |
| Per-square counts | Views, clicks and kisses on each member's deed page; $5 one-time for per-day charts |
| A skyline in 3D | Tilt the wall and each favicon is a tower whose height is its clicks plus kisses; a cluster of members becomes a district |
| The Throne as a trophy | The gold 4×4 in the exact centre — one owner, intro price $100, doubles at every eviction, aura ring nobody can build on. Holding it as a group is a flex; losing it is a plot twist |
| Live for everyone | Every claim, eviction and kiss is pushed to all open browsers over WebSockets — a raid shows up in real time |
How to do it
- Agree on a spot. Look at the live area together (only the central 16×16 is live at launch; it grows by 4 in every direction each time it is 75 % full). Pick a corner or an edge of the current live area with enough free cells for everyone.
- Check favicons first. Every member site needs one, or its square shows a clown and the site is listed in the Hall of Clowns. Post how to add a favicon in the channel a day ahead.
- Claim in one sitting. Each member opens square.pov.town, clicks the agreed cell, pastes their URL and their email, and presses Claim. It's free and instant. There are no accounts and no group form — each person claims their own square, so coordinate cell by cell in the channel. There's no checkout to reserve a cell, so call the cell before you click it.
- Save deed URLs. Each person's deed link is the only proof of ownership. Tell everyone to bookmark it or have it mailed to the address they gave. There is no account to recover it from.
- Set up a kiss rota. A pinned message — "kiss the block on the 1st" — is enough. Kissing is one click per icon, costs nothing, and every kiss adds a storey to a member's tower and a tick to a public counter.
- Optionally go for the Throne. One member clicks the gold tile and presses "Claim the Throne" ($100 intro price) and the group treats it as shared. Others can chip in outside Square Town — Square Town itself has no pooled payment. When a rival evicts it, the price to take it back is double what they paid.
- Watch the boards. The side panel shows most-clicked and most-kissed. A community that clicks its own members' squares will show up there.
Tips
- Cluster near the Throne if you can. The camera starts centred, so cells close to the middle are seen first. Early rings fill fast.
- Kiss each other's icons — that's the whole point. A block where every icon has a healthy kiss count and a growing tower reads as an alive community, and the most-kissed board is right there in the side panel.
- Keep favicons. Members who redeploy and lose the favicon get clowned; the "I fixed my favicon" button clears it after a fix.
- Pay for the $5 analytics unlock on the community's own site square if you want per-day charts to share in the channel. Individual members can decide for themselves.
- Save every deed URL somewhere the member controls. Don't collect them centrally — a deed URL is full control of the square.
- Treat the Throne as sport, not investment. Every eviction doubles it ($100 → $200 → $400 → …). Decide in advance how far the group is willing to go, then enjoy the feed.
- Defend by evicting back. If someone evicts a member's free square for $1, it costs $2 to take it back and then $4 for them to try again. Free squares are cheap to steal but also cheap to reclaim.
What it won't do
- No SEO value. The wall is a WebGL canvas and clicks are 302 redirects. A cluster of squares does not build backlinks for anyone.
- No traffic guarantees. Some squares get clicks; many don't. The deed pages tell the truth.
- No group accounts, pooled payments or team features. Every square is claimed by one person with one email and one deed; evictions and the Throne are paid by one card. Coordination happens in your channel, not on Square Town.
- Anyone can evict anyone. A rival community can pay double ($1 minimum) for a member's square, or for the Throne. That is the game; there is no protection or reservation.
- Almost no notifications. A member gets one email when their square is evicted; for everything else, someone in the group has to look, or watch the public API.
FAQ
How does a Discord server put its members' sites on Square Town?
Each member claims their own free square (URL + email, no card, no account) on an agreed patch of adjacent cells, in one sitting so nobody gets sniped. The result is a block of favicons that links to every member's site.
Can we claim squares as a group in one go?
No. Every square is a separate free claim with its own deed URL and its own email. Coordinate cells in your channel and let each member claim theirs. (The Throne is one $100 Stripe payment by one person.)
What does kissing do and why does a community care?
Kissing an icon (click it, press 💋) is free and public, and every kiss adds a storey to the icon's tower. A community that kisses each other's icons racks up visible kiss counts, a taller skyline, and a shot at the most-kissed leaderboard. See kiss the icon.
How does the Throne work as a community trophy?
The Throne is the gold 4×4 at the exact centre, one owner, intro price $100. Anyone can evict the owner for double the last price, and every eviction doubles it again. A group can hold it under one member's name and defend it as a shared game. See The Throne.
What happens if a rival server evicts our squares?
They pay double what each square cost, $1 minimum — so $1 for a free square — and the evictions appear in the live feed for everyone. You can evict them back for double their price, or claim fresh cells for free.
Does a cluster of squares help our members' sites rank in Google?
No. Clicks are 302 redirects from a canvas; there is no link equity. Square Town offers visibility in town, a game, and per-square counts — not SEO.
What if a member's site has no favicon?
Their square shows a clown emoji and the site is listed in the Hall of Clowns until they add one and press the recheck button. Sort favicons out before claiming.