Academics
BluffForge
The hidden-army strategy game: twenty or forty pieces each, numbers face-down, a Moonstone to find. Every strike reveals just two pieces, so you reason from what you have seen. Mark guesses in the Belief Ledger (a chip only sticks with a real reason) and see at the end which ones warmed up. Sealed setups, both numbering systems, referee mode and Rules Lawyer fairness puzzles. On-device, no accounts. Ages 9-14.
▶ Play it nowBuilt for sittings of about 20 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 Mosswick
#8A5A1F Characters who teach
Meet the cast
BluffForge's tacticians are the Hollowmere Valley grown up: each one's act is a rule or a habit of good play under hidden information. Ursa and Lupa are the two biggest, Puck the smallest can surprise Ursa, Briar never moves and Burdock alone clears her, Skipwell gives himself away by running far. Pricetag pays a small piece to learn a big one, Decoy pretends to guard a Moonstone, Bluster walks small like big, Matchley sends equals home together, Fairwell stops endless chasing, Quillby keeps the Belief Ledger honest and Draftsy varies every setup. Mosswick the owl asks what a still piece is worth knowing.
Mosswick
asks which of their pieces has not moved, and what that is worth knowing
Ursa
The 10 - strongest piece; captured only if Puck strikes her first
Lupa
The 9 - next strongest; only Ursa beats her
Puck
The small one - loses to everyone except Ursa, and only when he strikes first
Briar
The bramble - never moves; sends any attacker home except Burdock
Burdock
The bramble-clearer - the only piece that can clear Briar
Skipwell
The runner - moves any distance in a straight line, so moving far gives him away
Pricetag
Spends a small piece on purpose to learn what a big one is - information has a price
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Decoy
Sits still and guarded like a Moonstone and is not one - mischief inside the rules
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Bluster
Walks a small piece as if it were big - a bluff both players agreed is part of the game
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Matchley
Knows equal numbers both go home
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Fairwell
Stops endless chasing - three trips back and forth between two squares, then no more
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Quillby
Keeps the Belief Ledger honest - a guess only sticks with a reason you actually saw
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Draftsy
Runs the Blueprint studio - varies every setup so no habit can be learned
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Browse all chapters → · What's distributed-narrative methodology? →
What's inside
Learning goal
The hidden-army strategy game: twenty or forty pieces each, numbers face-down, a Moonstone to find. Every strike reveals just two pieces, so you reason from what you have seen. Mark guesses in the Belief Ledger (a chip only sticks with a real reason) and see at the end which ones warmed up. Sealed setups, both numbering systems, referee mode and Rules Lawyer fairness puzzles. On-device, no accounts. Ages 9-14.
Mentored by Mosswick — no data leaves the device.
How BluffForge 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
For you, the grown-up
Spark & Whetstone, our free site for grown-ups, tells what BluffForge teaches in 2 short courses.