Academics
CrossPals
A first crossword-tile game for ages 6–8: two picture-words cross, some squares are blank, and you place letter tiles to finish both words. Hear the words, look at the pictures, and build the crossword. On-device; nothing leaves your device.
#b45309 Distributed-narrative cast
Meet the cast
CrossPals has a tiny friendly crew who show how a crossword is built: Crossley builds the crossword with you (and is still learning words, so you teach it), Rowe is the word that goes side to side, Colm is the word that goes up and down, and Nexa is the crossing square where one tile finishes both words (their illustrated storybooks are on the way).
Crossley
(Guide) builds the crossword with you; still learning words, so you teach it (the protégé you help)
Rowe
The across word — the word that goes side to side (a row)
Colm
The down word — the word that goes up and down (a column)
Nexa
The crossing square — where one letter tile finishes both words at once
What's inside
Learning goal
A first crossword-tile game for ages 6–8: two picture-words cross, some squares are blank, and you place letter tiles to finish both words. Hear the words, look at the pictures, and build the crossword. On-device; nothing leaves your device.
Question kits
16 curriculum-aligned kits × 25 questions = 400 questions per app, mapped to recognized standards.
On-device AI mentor
FoundationModels-powered hints, feedback, and adaptive difficulty — all running locally.
Mentored by Crossley — on-device AI, no data leaves the device.
How CrossPals handles your kid's data
- ✅ All progress, settings, and AI-generated content stays on the device
- ✅ No analytics, no tracking, no third-party SDKs
- ✅ No ads, no in-app purchases — you pay once
- ✅ COPPA compliant under the 2026 FTC amendments
- ✅ Parental controls + session limits + content filters built in
CrossPals runs on ForgeKit — the open-source Swift Package Manager framework that powers every Spark & Anvil app. ForgeKit ensures consistent accessibility, COPPA compliance, and design language across the portfolio, so your kid's progress and preferences feel coherent across every app they touch.
Coming to the App Store
CrossPals is in active development. Email us to hear when it ships — no marketing, no spam, just a one-shot launch announcement.
Email me at launch