FAQ
Quick answers, and the few words we use
What is DareDog?
DareDog is where friends challenge each other to friendly wagers using MRTZ (Merits), our Social Stakes in-game currency for keeping score of friendly stakes. It has no cash value and can't be exchanged for money. Send a BARK (a friendly wager), see who BITEs, and keep score with your Pack and your Yards. No real money involved, just bragging rights and the thrill of the game.
We use a few dog-themed words to keep it fun. The glossary at the bottom explains each one in plain words.
Getting Started
What is DareDog?
DareDog is where friendly arguments become friendly wagers. Send a BARK (a friendly wager) to a friend: “100 MRTZ says the Lakers lose tonight” or “100 MRTZ says you can't run 10k this week.” They BITE (accept), and the winner FETCHes (collects) the MRTZ. Sports, fitness, life stuff, anything you can argue about.
Is this gambling? Is real money involved?
No. MRTZ (“Merits”) are our Social Stakes in-game currency for keeping score of friendly stakes. They have no cash value and can't be exchanged for money. You're playing for bragging rights, not dollars. See our Terms for the fine print.
How do I sign up?
Use Google or an email link to save your account. Want to try it first? Try as Guest asks for a nickname and gets 200 starting MRTZ ready so you can BARK or BITE within your available balance. Keep the same account when you sign up later.
How does welcome MRTZ work?
Welcome MRTZ is added automatically as each milestone is confirmed. You do not need to collect each reward:
- Join in: your 200 starting MRTZ counts toward the total.
- Confirm your email.
- Confirm your phone.
- Take your first BITE.
- Send your first BARK.
Your confirmed plan shows the amounts for your account. The total depends on how early you join. Picking your interests is optional. Inviting a friend has its own reward, separate from welcome MRTZ. Guests can save their account later to keep the same nickname, MRTZ and history.
What is my Pack?
Your Pack is everyone you are personally connected with on DareDog: the friends and rivals you have played with. Your Pack can span several Yards. You can challenge anyone in your Pack directly, and they show up by name wherever you play together.
What is a Yard?
A Yard is a bigger group you play in together, like an office pool or a league. A Yard exists as soon as you create or join one, even before anyone has wagered. Open My Yard to see who is in it, what everyone is BARKing and your history together.
Pack and Yard overlap, but neither sits inside the other. In a Yard you see everyone: people in your Pack show with full details, and people you have not connected with appear as semi-anonymous entries with limited details. No Yard yet? Send your first BARK and bring your friends in.
Can I take the tour again or change what I follow?
Yes to both. Tap the ? on any main screen and choose Show me around again. To change the sports you follow, open Your teams. Your interests. on Home. Signed in, your picks follow you to your other devices.
How do I earn more MRTZ?
Win your wagers. Verifying your email and number funds your first BARKs, and every BARK you win moves your opponent's stake to you. Running low? Make smaller wagers and build back up. That's the game.
Why is everything named after dogs?
Because it's more fun this way. BARK, BITE, FETCH, your Pack and your Yards: scroll down to the Glossary for the full list, each in plain words.
Creating a BARK
How do I create a BARK?
Three ways, pick your style:
- Speak it: tap the mic on Speak a BARK and say it like you'd say it to your friend: “Jake, 200 MRTZ says the Chiefs win Sunday.”
- Pick a game: browse Bones (the games you can wager on), tap a matchup, and hit BARK this.
- Type it: go to Create a BARK and describe anything: “Tom shows up late to dinner. Again.”
Either way you land on the same confirm screen: check the details, adjust stakes or deadline, add side stakes, send.
What can I wager on?
Games in the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB, with who-wins, over/unders, and player props. Tours too: disc golf (DGPT) and surfing (WSL) events, where you can call a winner, a head-to-head, or a top five finish.
And life: fitness goals, habits, predictions, whether your friend can go a week without ordering takeout. If you can argue about it, you can BARK it.
Do I have to set stakes?
No. We'll suggest an amount based on your history, but you can change it, or leave stakes open and let whoever BITEs name them. Your stake is set aside (escrowed) when you send the BARK, so you can't promise MRTZ you don't have.
What are side stakes?
Fun extras attached to the main BARK. The classic: the BARK is “Tom will be late to dinner,” and the side stake is “what's his excuse: traffic, work, or forgot?” Everyone picks an outcome, just for bragging rights. No MRTZ moves for a side stake. Add them while creating a BARK, or later from the chat.
Who can I challenge?
A specific person in your Pack, a friend outside DareDog (send them the invite link by text or WhatsApp; they can BITE after signing up), or leave it open so anyone in your Pack can take it.
BITE-ing & Playing
How do I accept (BITE) a BARK?
Open the BARK, from your notifications, your Pack feed, or the link your friend sent, and hit BITE. Your matching stake is set aside too, and the wager is on. First person to BITE gets it; a BARK can't be double-accepted.
What happens if nobody BITEs?
The BARK sits pending until its deadline. After that it expires and can no longer be accepted. During alpha, if your staked MRTZ looks stuck on an expired BARK, tell us and we'll sort it out.
Where does the trash talk happen?
The moment someone BITEs, the BARK page grows a chat thread, participants only. Talk your talk, post updates, and add mid-game side stakes right from the chat (type or say something like “side stake: top scorer, LeBron or Tatum, 5 each”).
Winning & Resolving
How is the winner decided?
Depends on the wager:
- Sports: resolved from the final score or result of the game you picked.
- Tours (disc golf, surfing): the official final placings, including playoffs. A tied fifth counts as a top five finish.
- Life challenges: whatever verification you chose when creating it: honor-system self-report, photo evidence, or a Pack vote.
- Side stakes: just for fun. You and your friends decide who called it; no MRTZ moves.
What if we disagree about who won?
Side stakes are just for fun, so there is nothing to dispute: settle it with trash talk.
For main wagers, if you disagree, the BARK shows Needs your say and your notifications tell you. Both stakes stay set aside. You can ask a friend you both trust to make the call (their call is final), or call it off and get your stakes back. If nobody acts in time, the stakes are returned. Photo evidence or a Pack vote beats the honor system for anything contentious.
When do I get my MRTZ?
The moment the BARK resolves. Winner FETCHes both stakes; your balance updates in the header immediately.
Voice BARKs
How do voice BARKs work?
Tap the mic and say the whole thing naturally. Friend, stakes and deadline are all optional: “Julie, 200 MRTZ says you can't do yoga five times this month.” DareDog structures it, finds tonight's game if it's a sports BARK, and asks about anything missing. Nothing sends until you confirm: you always get a review screen first.
The mic isn't understanding me. Help?
- Check your browser gave the site microphone permission.
- Say team and friend names clearly: “the Lakers,” not “that team from LA.”
- Anything it gets wrong is editable on the confirm screen. Tap any chip to fix it by keyboard or voice.
- Rapid-fire attempts can hit a short cooldown, so give it a minute.
Privacy, Safety & Alpha
Who can see my BARKs?
BARKs are shareable by design: anyone with the link can view one (that's how you challenge friends who aren't on DareDog yet). The chat thread is private to the people in the wager. Don't put anything in a BARK title you wouldn't put in a group chat.
Can I cancel a BARK?
Yes, until a friend BITEs. Open your BARK and tap Cancel BARK, and the MRTZ you set aside come straight back to you. Once someone BITEs, the BARK is ON and it can no longer be cancelled. A BARK nobody BITEs simply expires at its deadline and your MRTZ come back then too.
Something's broken. Where do I complain?
Loudly and directly to us. This is an alpha and your bug reports are worth their weight in MRTZ. Use Send feedback in the menu, or tell whoever invited you. Screenshots help. We ship fixes fast.
Glossary
The words we use
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| BARKa friendly wager | A challenge you send to a friend, like "I bet you 100 MRTZ the Lakers win tonight." |
| BITEaccept a wager | Your friend takes the other side of your BARK. Once they BITE, the wager is on. |
| FETCHcollect your winnings | When a wager is settled, the winner FETCHes the MRTZ. |
| MRTZour Social Stakes in-game currency | MRTZ (Merits) are our Social Stakes in-game currency for keeping score of friendly stakes. They have no cash value and cannot be exchanged for money. |
| Bonesthe games you can wager on | The list of upcoming games and events you can BARK on. Pick one and challenge a friend. |
| Packyour friends on DareDog | Everyone you are personally connected with. Your Pack can span several Yards, and a Yard can hold people who are not in your Pack. |
| Yarda bigger group, like an office pool | A larger group you play in together. Inside a Yard you see everyone: people in your Pack show with full details, and people you have not connected with appear as semi-anonymous entries with limited details. |
Quick Reference
BARK
a friendly wager
BITE
accept a wager
FETCH
collect your winnings
MRTZ
our Social Stakes in-game currency
Still have questions? Reach out to the pack and we'll help you out.