Calm games & carefully built software.
A one-person studio in the western mountains of North Carolina — a patient flagship game, a workshop hired out, and a few small things made between.
TidewardAn Idle Almanac
An idle almanac for every Apple device. Patient, deeply systemized.
A privacy-first idle role-playing game, native to every Apple device. Twenty-four trades, twenty-four hours of offline progression, twin combat and gathering loops, and a small crafted world to explore at your own pace. Saves live only in the player's own iCloud.
- Launch
- February A.D. mmxxvii
- Devices
- iPhone · iPad · Mac · Apple TV · Vision Pro · Apple Watch
- Engine
- Pure SwiftUI · CloudKit sync
- Price
- Free download · $9.99 unlock · no subscription, no ads
41 small games, free to play in the browser
A candlelit cabinet of small, free browser games — made for the feel of them, by the studio behind Tideward. No installs, no accounts, no ads.
- Wordbloom
- Minesweeper
- 2048
- Concordance
- Lantern
- Sudoku
- Cinderfall
- The Daily Mini
- + 33 more →
Everything under this roof
One studio, three branches. The games it makes, the workshop it hires out, and the bulletin it writes — each its own thing, all kept by the same hand.
Games
- TidewardThe flagship cabinetAn idle almanac for every Apple device — free in open alpha.Alpha
- The Arcade41 small browser gamesFree, vibe-first works in four shelves — Word, Puzzle, Challenge, Trivia.Open
- Peanut GalleryA leafletA small open-source Chrome extension, built between projects.Live
- — sealed —Volume the SecondA second game in early design. More when there is more worth saying.In concept
Cruxsmith
The workshop · a brand of Manu Games LLC- The Cruxsmith practiceWeb · search · custom software · AIThe technical partner a small business does not keep on staff.In service
- The What networkLocal event guidesFranklinWhat & KnoxWhat — a local’s answer to “what is there to do here?”, twice-daily across WNC & East TN.Live
- DomainsThe resale armA small, growing portfolio of brandable names for sale.Open
The Assembly Line
The newsletter- The Deep DiveTuesday · long readOne long-form essay on a system, a design choice, or a quiet trick of the trade.~12 min
- The Conveyor BeltFriday · short readFive to seven things from the week worth your attention.~4 min
Cruxsmith — the other table
The technical partner a small business does not have on staff.
Most of what the studio makes is meant to be lived with slowly. Cruxsmith is the other table: the same hands, hired out. It is Manu Games LLC's software and search practice — the technical partner a small business does not keep on staff.
Cruxsmith keeps its own house at cruxsmith.com, and will grow into its own corporation in time — taking the domain and local-search work with it. For now, it lives under this roof.
The What network
The working model of the local-search presence Cruxsmith builds for clients: a fast, current answer to what is happening in town, in English and Spanish, pulled from 30+ local sources twice a day.
franklinwhat.com ↗Domains
A small portfolio of names, listed and brokered. The side of the workshop that will travel with Cruxsmith when it leaves home.
View the catalogue ↗In-house tools
Proof of craft: a client-reporting cockpit and the studio’s own native-Mac invoicing ledger. The studio runs its own work on the systems it builds for others.
See the work ↗A weekly read for builders
A free bulletin on factory and idle games — a Tuesday Deep Dive and a Friday Conveyor Belt, written by a working developer.
Plainly answered
A short folio of the questions the studio gets most. For App-specific questions, the longer FAQ lives at tideward.app/faq.
What is Manu Games?
Manu Games LLC is a one-person indie game studio in Waynesville, North Carolina, founded in 2026. The studio makes patient, deeply systemized games for Apple devices — built in pure SwiftUI with CloudKit-only sync, no analytics, no ads, and no third-party SDKs.
Who makes Tideward?
Tideward is developed and published by Manu Games LLC, a one-person studio in Waynesville, NC. The official site for the game is tideward.app.
When does Tideward launch?
Tideward is in TestFlight alpha now and ships in February 2027 on the United States App Store, native to iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro, and Apple Watch.
Is Tideward free?
Tideward is a free download with a one-time $9.99 unlock that grants access to the full game on every Apple device you own. There are no subscriptions, no in-game currencies, no ads, and no battle passes. The TestFlight alpha is free to join while the game is in development.
How do I join the Tideward TestFlight alpha?
Open https://tideward.app/install/ on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac running a recent OS. Install Apple's free TestFlight app first if you do not already have it; Tideward will install like any other app.
What is The Assembly Line?
The Assembly Line is the studio's free newsletter on factory and idle games — long-form Deep Dives and curated Conveyor Belt roundups. Written by a working developer; subscribe at blog.manugames.com or via the form on this page.
What other games is Manu Games making?
A second cabinet is in early concept; details will be announced when there is more worth saying. Subscribers to The Assembly Line are told first. The studio also maintains Peanut Gallery, a small open-source Chrome extension at peanutgallery.live.
What is Cruxsmith?
Cruxsmith is Manu Games LLC's software and search practice — websites, AI automation, and custom software for small businesses, built by the same engineer who makes the studio's games. It keeps its own site at cruxsmith.com, and the studio runs its own tools (Sextant and Indenture) on it.
Does Manu Games sell domain names?
Yes. The studio holds a small portfolio of brandable .com domain names for sale to end-users, listed on the major marketplaces and transferred through escrow. The register is at cruxsmith.com/domains.
Where is Manu Games based?
Manu Games LLC is a North Carolina single-member LLC, headquartered at 89 Waynesville Plaza #1028, Waynesville, NC 28786. The studio operates from the western mountains of North Carolina.