Special Interest
RookDojo
A chess study hall for ages 15–18 — play full games against a graded bot and keep a reviewable archive, drill real-game tactics in a calm rated ladder, and reason through real board decisions with a coach that explains in words. On-device; works signed-out; optional sign-in syncs your games and rating across your own devices.
▶ Play it nowBuilt for sittings of about 25 minutes on the screen. That is our design budget, not a measurement.
#8a4b52 Characters who teach
Meet the cast
RookDojo's characters are realistic people, not mascots, and each one stands for one chess idea. Sunder forks two pieces, Fasten pins a defender, Pierce skewers, Unveil uncovers a hidden attack, Bastion guards the back rank, and Compel forces a bad move. Standfast, Curb, Develop, and Outpost cover the opposition in endgames, stopping the opponent's plan, getting pieces into play, and strong squares for a knight. Regent is the mentor who teaches reading before you move, and that a lost game is one lesson, not a verdict.
Sunder
The fork — attack two pieces at once so one of them must fall
Fasten
The pin — freeze a defender against a more valuable piece behind it
Pierce
The skewer — hit the front piece so the one behind it falls when it moves
Unveil
The discovered attack — move one piece to unleash a second behind it
Bastion
The back rank — a king walled in by its own pawns is one check from mate
Compel
Zugzwang — leave the opponent with only losing moves, so it hurts to move
Standfast
The opposition — in king-and-pawn endings, make the enemy king give way
Curb
Prophylaxis — spot the opponent's idea and prevent it before your own
Develop
Development — bring every piece into play before you attack
Outpost
The outpost — anchor a knight on a hole the opponent can't challenge
Regent
read before you move; a lost game is one lesson
What's inside
Learning goal
A chess study hall for ages 15–18 — play full games against a graded bot and keep a reviewable archive, drill real-game tactics in a calm rated ladder, and reason through real board decisions with a coach that explains in words. On-device; works signed-out; optional sign-in syncs your games and rating across your own devices.
How RookDojo handles your kid's data
- ✅ No analytics, no tracking, no third-party SDKs
- ✅ Free — no ads, no in-app purchases
- ✅ No personal information collected from children — in line with COPPA (updated by the 2026 FTC amendments)
- ✅ No chat with strangers — play-together rooms use a short code and preset emotes, never typed messages
RookDojo 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
RookDojo 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