Academics
TradePals
A first deal-making game for ages 6–8: build a FAIR swap from chips — give a good you have to spare, get the good you're missing, and say what it's for. Barter the badger's Fair-o-meter shows if it helps BOTH islanders. Make all 5 deals! On-device, no accounts, no clock — the game rewards fair, not greedy.
▶ Play it nowBuilt for sittings of about 15 minutes on the screen. That is our design budget, not a measurement.
Meet your mentor
Every Spark & Anvil app has a friendly mentor character that demonstrates, asks, and patiently scaffolds learning.
Mentored by Barter
#B45309 Characters who teach
Meet the cast
TradePals's cast are the pals of Barter's Market — Barter the badger runs the market and the pals show fair give-and-get. Each embodies one idea about a fair swap. Illustrated chapters are on the way.
Barter
The badger who runs the market — reads the Fair-o-meter and coaches you toward a swap that helps both islanders
Read chapter →
Vera
Loves to swap — never sits on spare goods; shows how a good trade helps both sides at once
Read chapter →
Rafi
The roamer — shows you to ask for a good the pal has to SPARE, not one they're still saving (or the Fair-o-meter warns you)
Read chapter →
Mason
The keen builder — will take a big offer, so he teaches you to keep the Fair-o-meter fair for YOU too
Read chapter →
Browse all chapters → · What's distributed-narrative methodology? →
What's inside
Learning goal
A first deal-making game for ages 6–8: build a FAIR swap from chips — give a good you have to spare, get the good you're missing, and say what it's for. Barter the badger's Fair-o-meter shows if it helps BOTH islanders. Make all 5 deals! On-device, no accounts, no clock — the game rewards fair, not greedy.
Mentored by Barter — no data leaves the device.
How TradePals handles your kid's data
- ✅ All progress, settings, and AI-generated content stays on the device
- ✅ 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