asked and answered.
friends, the birthday person, hosting, money. if it isn't here, it's probably on how it works.
the basics
what is birthdayland?
a birthday website your friends fill together. everyone leaves a card (a note, doodles, photos, a video, a selfie), and on the day each friend is a little character on a 3d island the birthday person walks around. there's a scrapbook board of every card and a festival of 12 mini-games too.
who is it for?
friend groups, partners, siblings, long-distance people and anyone with a milestone coming up: the 18th, the 21st, the 30th. it's made for teens and adults, not for kids under 13.
can i see one first?
yes. the demo island is a finished site for a made-up friend called sam. walk around, read the cards, play the games. it's look-only, so nothing you do there sticks.
when can i start one?
very soon. we're taping the last bits down. no waitlist, no email list: come back and the start button will be live.
for the friends
do friends need an account?
no. they open the link, leave a card and they're done. only the host signs in.
what can friends leave?
a note (up to 1,500 characters), marker doodles, photos and a video (film up to 30 seconds in the browser, or upload one up to a minute), plus a selfie so their blob has a face. up to 12 photos, doodles and videos per card.
can a friend change their card later?
yes, from the same phone or laptop they made it on. the card remembers the browser that stuck it.
does it work on phones?
yes. leaving a card, the board and the island all work on a phone, with touch controls on the island.
do friends show up in the games?
once three or more friends have left cards, yes: they become the rival in the dance-off, the crowd at karaoke, the friends behind the fence at the water-balloon toss, and the blobs you must never bonk in whack-a-gnome. with four or more notes in, karaoke even sings lines from their messages.
the birthday person
what does the birthday person actually do?
three things, in any order: read every card on the board, walk the island and hug each friend (their doodles fly, their message types out, a candle lights on the cake), and play the 12 festival games.
do they need to be good at games?
not at all. arrow keys or WASD on a laptop, big touch buttons on a phone. most rounds take about a minute (the longest is 90 seconds), and nobody loses anything. if motion is too much, the whole site respects reduced motion and has a calmer mode.
when do they see it?
whenever you send them the link. a surprise reveal that opens it at midnight in their time zone is coming to the Party plan.
is there sound?
an original little soundtrack, made in code. it stays off until they tap it on, and there's a mute everywhere.
for the host
can i hide a card?
yes. you can hide or delete any card before they see it, one at a time or in bulk.
who can see the site?
anyone you give the link to. birthday sites are unlisted: they're kept out of search engines, and only the storefront you're reading now is meant to be found.
how long does it stay up?
on Sketch, 30 days after the birthday. on Party, it takes cards for a year and then stays up as a read-only archive. Milestone keeps it open two years, then archives it.
can i download everything?
yes, on Party and up: every card and video in one zip.
money
how much is it?
Sketch free, Party $19, Milestone $39. one payment per birthday site. Sketch takes 5 friends' cards; Party takes 50 and opens every game.
is it a subscription?
no. you pay once per celebration and that's it.
do friends pay anything?
never. friends always join free.
can i upgrade later?
yes, and you only pay the difference: Party to Milestone is $20.
can you make a custom look?
a theme made by hand for one person is possible. it isn't sold at checkout; write to k.bowen.liu@gmail.com.
still wondering? the demo island answers most things in about a minute.