Own the Void (ownthevoid.com) is an infinite grid — 1,000,000 × 1,000,000 cells, a trillion of them — where $1 buys a coloured cell with up to 32 characters of text and an optional link, permanently, via Stripe. Square Town (square.pov.town) is a favicon wall where a square showing your site's icon is free, on a wall that starts at 16×16 and unlocks outward as it fills. The difference: Own the Void sells unlimited space with no scarcity; Square Town gives away scarce space and lets people take it from you for $1 and up.
Square Town vs Own the Void at a glance
| Own the Void | Square Town | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.00 per cell, one-time (as of August 2026) | Free (evict for $1+); Throne starts at $100 |
| What you place | A coloured cell with up to 32 characters of text and an optional link | Your website's favicon, fetched from the URL you paste |
| How you pick a spot | Anywhere on a 1,000,000 × 1,000,000 grid | Click any empty cell in the unlocked area, or evict an occupied one |
| Ownership model | Permanent | Hold the square until someone pays double what you paid |
| Can you lose your spot? | No | Yes — evicted for double, $1 minimum; the evictor's price doubles again |
| Game mechanics | None noted — infinite, permanent | Evictions, the Throne, free public kisses, ring unlocks at 75 % fill, Hall of Clowns |
| Live? | Not noted in our August 2026 check | Yes — WebSockets push every claim, eviction, kiss and unlock |
| 3D? | No | Yes — tilt into a three.js scene where tower height = clicks + kisses + kisses |
| Analytics | Not noted in our August 2026 check | Views, clicks and kisses per deed; $5 unlocks per-day charts |
| Accounts | Not noted in our August 2026 check | None — a secret deed URL is the only proof |
| Payment | Stripe | None to claim; Stripe (card) for evictions, the Throne and analytics |
| Audience | Anyone who wants a permanent $1 mark and doesn't care about position | Indie developers, small sites, anyone with a URL and an email address |
| Launched | 2026 | August 2026 |
| Status as of Aug 2026 | Active | Active, central 16×16 live at launch, grows to 1024×1024 |
What Own the Void does well
It will never run out. A trillion cells means you can always buy one, and nobody can crowd you. There is no ring to wait for, no unlock, no "the centre is taken". Square Town's live area starts at 16×16 = 256 cells and grows in rings of 8 as it fills, to a hard cap of 1,048,576.
Text, not just an icon. 32 characters is enough for a name and a slogan, and you pick the colour. Square Town shows a 16 px favicon and nothing else; the words live on the card when someone clicks.
Nobody can take it. No evictions, no doubling. If you want a $1 mark that stays exactly where you put it forever, Own the Void does what it says. On Square Town, "forever" carries an asterisk: until someone pays double ($1 minimum).
Easy checkout. Own the Void takes $1 by card through Stripe, no sign-up. Square Town has no checkout at all for a square — a URL and an email address — and uses Stripe only when someone evicts. On the no-sign-up axis they are twins; on price Square Town is a dollar cheaper.
What Square Town does differently
Scarcity, on purpose. Only the central 16×16 of square.pov.town is live at launch. Each time the live area is 75 % full it grows by 4 cells in every direction — 16 → 24 → 32 … → 1024. The locked area is never shown, so the wall never looks empty. That means a square near the centre is worth something because there aren't many, and an unlock is news. Own the Void's infinity means every cell is equally available and equally lost in the void — the name is honest.
Someone can take your square. Any square can be evicted by paying double what its owner paid, $1 minimum; the next evictor pays double that. Taking a square costs $1, then $2, then $4. It's the mechanism that gives a free square a price. See the economics of eviction.
A centre. The Throne is Square Town's 4×4 dead centre — one owner, intro price $100, doubling on every eviction, with an unbuildable ring around it. An infinite grid has a centre in theory; nothing happens there.
A favicon fetched from your URL. No text to type, no colour to choose. Paste the URL, Square Town grabs the icon; if there isn't one you get a clown emoji and a spot in the Hall of Clowns until you fix it. Every square is a real site, and every click on it goes there and is counted.
Kisses. Anyone can kiss any icon, free — public, counted, and each kiss adds a storey to the icon's tower. It is a small reason to keep coming back to a one-time-payment wall.
Live, 3D, measured. Every claim, eviction, kiss and unlock is pushed to all open browsers over WebSockets. Tilt the wall and each favicon is a tower as tall as its clicks plus kisses. Every deed shows views, clicks and kisses; $5 unlocks per-day charts.
Who should pick Own the Void
- You want a permanent $1 mark that can't be evicted or moved.
- You want words on the cell, not just an icon.
- You don't care where the cell is, or you specifically want to claim a coordinate that means something to you (a date, a number).
- You want to buy many cells to spell something out on an infinite grid without competing for space.
Who should pick Square Town
- You want position to matter. A square in the live 16×16 at launch is one of 256; the wall grows only as it fills.
- You want the wall to send you visitors and to show you the count: views, clicks, kisses, optional per-day charts for $5. See pricing.
- You want zero setup: paste a URL, click a cell, done.
- You want the game — Throne, evictions, kisses, rings — because a wall people return to is a wall people see. How it works is the whole rulebook.
- You want the wall itself to be a place, live for everyone, rather than a ledger of cells.
Can you use both?
Yes, and for $1 total. Own the Void is a permanent mark; Square Town is a contested spot. If you want the certainty of one and the exposure of the other, buy a cell and claim a square. Square Town has no accounts, so the second costs an email address and a deed URL to bookmark. Both are 2026's "forever" walls — pixel walls ranked 2026 puts them side by side with the rest, and why one dollar explains why the price is common and the game isn't.
FAQ
How big is Own the Void?
1,000,000 × 1,000,000 cells — one trillion — available from day one, as of August 2026. It is described as infinite and permanent.
How big is Square Town?
The grid is 1024×1024 = 1,048,576 squares, but only the central 16×16 is live at launch. Each time the live area is 75 % full it grows by 4 cells in every direction. Locked cells are never shown.
Do both cost $1?
No. Own the Void is $1.00 per cell, one-time, via Stripe. Square Town squares are free; evicting one costs double what its owner paid, $1 minimum, via Stripe. Square Town's Throne (the 4×4 centre) starts at $100.
Can I lose my cell on Own the Void?
No. Ownership is permanent with no eviction mechanic noted as of August 2026.
Can I lose my square on Square Town?
Yes, if someone pays double what you paid ($1 minimum).
Which shows more of my site?
Own the Void shows a coloured cell with up to 32 characters of text and an optional link. Square Town shows your favicon in town, and the site name, views, clicks and kisses on the card when someone clicks it — plus every click goes to your site.
Which is better for actually being seen?
Depends on what you mean. Own the Void guarantees your cell exists forever; Square Town gives you a scarce spot on a live wall with a leaderboard, analytics and reasons for people to keep looking. Neither is a backlink — Square Town's clicks are counted redirects, not link equity.