For parents & carers
The short version
Pugamochi is a calm game about caring for a virtual pug. It is designed to be gentle and safe, and to encourage stepping away from the screen rather than staying glued to it.
There is no social network, no messaging, and no way for players to contact one another. The only content that travels between people is a submitted adventure, and a human moderator reads every one before anyone else can see it.
This page is for the grown-ups. Pugamochi is intended for people aged 13 and over, but because it is gentle and appealing to younger people too, we want to be clear about how it works and what it deliberately does not do.
No social network, no contact between players
There are no direct messages, no comments, no replies, no friend requests, no public profiles, and no live chat. Other players cannot message your child, follow them, or reach them in any way. It is not a place where strangers can make contact.
No contact details are shared
A player’s email address is never shown to anyone else. We ask players not to put personal information into an adventure, and moderators remove anything that includes it. There is more detail in our Privacy Policy.
No advertising
There are no adverts anywhere in Pugamochi, and no advertising trackers following your child around the web. The game is funded, if at all, by entirely optional supporter contributions — never by ads and never by selling data.
No pressure mechanics
Pugamochi is deliberately built against the usual keep-them-hooked tricks. There are:
- no streaks to protect;
- no scores, levels, or leaderboards;
- no daily-login rewards or fear-of-missing-out timers;
- no hunger, decay, or “death” — the pug is fine if it is left alone;
- no penalty of any kind for being away.
The pug is at its happiest when the player goes and lives their life, and every real-world suggestion it makes is optional.
Adventures are moderated by a person
The one social element is the community library of adventures — short, gentle stories a player can choose to write. When one is submitted it goes into a private queue, not straight into the game. A human moderator reads the words, looks at any image, and checks any links before deciding whether to approve it. Nothing reaches another player without a person having looked at it first, and there is a Report control on every adventure. The full rules are on the Safety & Moderation page.
Illegal or harmful content
Some content is never acceptable — in particular anything that sexualises children, terrorist content, or content encouraging suicide or serious harm. Where we find content of this kind we remove it, close the account involved, and where appropriate report it to the relevant authorities. This is described more fully on the Safety & Moderation page.
Questions
If you are a parent or carer and you have a question or a concern, you are very welcome to get in touch at pugamochi@drmsite.com. You may also want to read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.