Academics
DuskTales
A short bedtime story, read aloud, then three doors: Wee, Little and Big. Open one door a night for one gentle math question — with a line for the grown-up underneath. A wrong answer still opens the door. Then the lantern goes out. Ages 3–9.
Built for sittings of about 10 minutes on the screen. That is our design budget, not a measurement.
#1e3a8a Distributed-narrative cast
Meet the cast
Wickett the lantern lights each story and dims it gently at the end. Latchkin is the brass latch on the three doors. Shadowpip is the paper-cut shadow puppet who counts with you.
Wickett
(Mentor, a small lantern) - lights tonight's story and dims slowly when it ends, never offering a next one
Latchkin
A brass latch - opens whichever door you choose, even after a wrong answer
Shadowpip
A paper-cut shadow puppet - counts the ducks with you, one at a time
What's inside
Learning goal
A short bedtime story, read aloud, then three doors: Wee, Little and Big. Open one door a night for one gentle math question — with a line for the grown-up underneath. A wrong answer still opens the door. Then the lantern goes out. Ages 3–9.
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 Wickett — on-device AI, no data leaves the device.
How DuskTales 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
- ✅ No personal information collected from children — in line with COPPA (updated by the 2026 FTC amendments)
- ✅ Parental controls + session limits + content filters built in
DuskTales 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
DuskTales 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