Developmental (FEDC-informed)
DialPals
“Nobody EVER lets me go first!” Dinah the dormouse turns ALWAYS and NEVER into sizes — how much, really? Then two people with one swing, one cookie or one TV find the middle: you first then me, half and half, trade, or wait and both. Big buttons, read-aloud help. For ages 6–8. On-device, nothing saved.
▶ 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 Gorse
#be123c Characters who teach
Meet the cast
DialPals's crew each embody one way to make a big feeling fair. Dinah the dormouse turns ALWAYS and NEVER into sizes, and Toggle, Halfpenny, Swapsy and Lindy are the four kinds of middle two people can find. Gorse asks what each person really needs.
Dinah
turns ALWAYS and NEVER into how much, really
Read chapter →
Toggle
A goat who takes turns - you first, then me
Read chapter →
Halfpenny
A hedgehog who splits it in half - one cuts, the other picks
Read chapter →
Swapsy
A magpie who trades something so both get a good thing
Read chapter →
Lindy
A lamb who waits so both can have a turn together
Read chapter →
Gorse
asks what each person really needs
Read chapter →
Browse all chapters → · What's distributed-narrative methodology? →
What's inside
Learning goal
“Nobody EVER lets me go first!” Dinah the dormouse turns ALWAYS and NEVER into sizes — how much, really? Then two people with one swing, one cookie or one TV find the middle: you first then me, half and half, trade, or wait and both. Big buttons, read-aloud help. For ages 6–8. On-device, nothing saved.
Mentored by Gorse — no data leaves the device.
How DialPals 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
The grown-up side of DialPals on Spark & Whetstone, our free site for grown-ups: How to Listen. They turn ALWAYS and NEVER into sizes; you listen for the size before answering.
DialPals 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
DialPals 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