Pitikan: The Pen-Flick Game from Recess, Now in Beta
Two corners of pad paper, a few soldiers, one ballpen: hold, press, flick. Pitikan brings the recess game to iPhone, with hidden mines and snipers, a Bot to play offline, and online games by code. It's in public beta on TestFlight.
Pitikan: The Pen-Flick Game from Recess, Now in Beta
Before phones, there was pad paper.
Two corners of a page. A few soldiers drawn in each. One ballpen, and a rule everybody knew: hold the pen upright, press, and flick. Wherever the line ended, that was your soldier now. Cross an enemy's line over him and he was gone. Reach the other corner and you won.
Some people called it Lead Wars. In my school it was just pitikan, the flicking game. The whole class knew it, and nobody remembers who taught it to them.
I wanted to play it again. So I built it.
What I Built
Pitikan is that game on iPhone and iPad, kept the way it felt.
- The flick — hold to build pressure, pull back like a slingshot, let go. A quick flick is short and true. A long, hard one goes far but bends and scatters, the way a real pen skids across a desk. Every line stays on the page, and every line you draw is a wall your enemy cannot cross
- The rules you remember — one flick per turn. A soldier caught in the open goes down with an X over him. Win by reaching the enemy corner or by taking every soldier they have. When the enemy gets close, your whole base wakes up and any soldier can take the shot
- The things we added in secret — every player hides a landmine, a sniper and a roll of barbed wire on the page. Your opponent can't see them until they set one off. Place them well and the corner defends itself
- Play anyone — the Bot is always available, no signal needed. Or play online: find a stranger, or send a friend a six-letter code and pass turns back and forth all day. You get a nudge when it's your move
- Keep score — every online game counts toward your record, your streak, and a leaderboard
It looks the part, too: ruled paper, a red margin line, hand-drawn buttons, and the scratch of a dry ballpoint.
Join the Beta
Pitikan is in public beta on TestFlight right now, and I'd love your help breaking it.
- Install TestFlight from the App Store if you don't have it
- Open the invite: testflight.apple.com/join/54CMf14b
- Tap the notebook cover, then hold anywhere on the paper, pull back, and let go
No account, no sign-up. Online play signs you in anonymously in the background, and Game Center is optional.
What I'm looking for from testers: does the flick feel right on your phone, does online play hold up when you and a friend pass turns over a few hours, and does anything about the rules surprise you. Send notes through TestFlight's feedback button or to apps@kantoprojects.com.
Learn more at pitikan.kantoprojects.com.