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Registered:
Aug 4, 2026
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Looking for beta testers — a Pente app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac
Posted:
Aug 8, 2026, 4:30 PM
Hello all — first post. I checked with rainwolf before writing it.
I've spent the last stretch building a Pente app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It's called Lapilli Stones, because Pente® is Hasbro's trademark and I'm a one-man operation with no appetite for a letter from their lawyers. The game underneath is the real thing: 19×19, pair captures, ten stones to win by capture, plus Keryo and the tournament rule. Gabrel, Tesh, and Braunlich are credited by name on the site — it seemed wrong to build this and not say where it came from.
It's in TestFlight now and I'm looking for testers who will be hard on it — specifically on the computer opponent. Here's my problem: as much as I love this game, I'm not good enough to give Advanced a real run for its money. It plays a genuine search, and I can't tell you how strong it actually is, because I'm not strong enough to find out. That's what I need people here for. "Your Advanced level hangs a capture in this position" is exactly the kind of report I'm after.
There's also two-player on one device, and correspondence play over Game Center if you'd like a game against another tester.
To be plain about it: this isn't a rival to pente.org. No server, no accounts, no ratings, no game database — nothing that competes with what's here. It's a board in your pocket for when you're away from one.
If you're willing: https://lapilli-stones.com/testers.html has the setup steps, or just email lapilli-stones@proton.me and say which devices you play on. Free during testing, and I'll make sure testers end up with a copy of the released version.
There's also a page for what's coming next — recorded games in a notation you can export, a review mode that walks back through a finished game, a practice board. https://lapilli-stones.com/roadmap.html No obligation to care about any of it, but most of what's on that page started as an offhand remark from someone playing the game, so if you look at it and think "that's the wrong thing to build next," I'd want to hear that too.
