STEM
MachineForge
Build extreme machines from simple components — levers, pulleys, gears, and wheels — then test them in a physics sandbox, design vehicles, launch catapults, and demolish structures by exploiting mechanical weak points.
Meet your mentor
Every Spark & Anvil app has a friendly mentor character that demonstrates, praises, and patiently scaffolds learning. On-device AI personalizes the mentor's responses to your kid's progress — never connecting to a server, never collecting data.
Mentored by Cog
#29B6F6 MachineForge is a mechanical engineering lab where you build awesome machines! Combine levers, pulleys, gears, and wheels to create contraptions, then test them in a physics sandbox. Launch catapults, design vehicles, and demolish structures by finding their weak points. It is engineering made fun and explosive!
Distributed-narrative cast
Meet the cast
MachineForge's 6-character cast embodies the canonical simple machines — each character IS one mechanism made friendly. Cast is non-human + non-gendered. Cog (mentor) frames the engineering-mindset and introduces them. Four new members add the next layer of mechanisms: the gear train, the spring, the cam, and the ratchet.
Pry
Lever — push longer to lift heavier; the trade between force and distance
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Hoist
Pulley — pull down here and watch it go up there; redirecting force
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Ramp
Inclined plane — climb the long slow way; less force, same work
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Spoke
Wheel-and-axle — one turn of the hub, many turns of the rim
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Auger
Screw — round and round becomes step and step; spiral inclined plane
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Cleave
Wedge — push forward and split it apart; force concentrated to a sharp edge
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Pinion
A gear train: meshing teeth trade turning-speed for turning-force and pass the motion along, faster or stronger as you choose.
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Flex
A spring: bend it to store your push, let go and it gives every bit back — energy held, then returned.
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Lobe
A cam: a spinning shape with a bump that turns steady spinning into a repeating push, like a music box keeping a beat.
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Ratchet
A ratchet: lets motion go forward freely but locks when it tries to slip back, holding every bit of progress, click by click.
Read chapter →
Browse all 10 chapters → · What's distributed-narrative methodology? →
What's inside
Machine Builder
Drag and connect components like gears, levers, pulleys, and wheels to build compound machines. Each piece does something different -- gears change speed, lever
Physics Sandbox
Test your machines in a realistic 2D physics simulation. Will your catapult launch far enough? Does your vehicle climb the hill? Watch the physics play out and
Catapult Range
Design and fire catapults to hit targets at different distances. Adjust the arm length, counterweight, and launch angle to get the perfect shot. Physics meets t
Demolition Lab
Study structures and find their weakest points. Then use your machines to take them apart! Learn why some structures are strong and others fall easily.
Mentored by Cog — on-device AI, no data leaves the device.
How MachineForge handles your kid's data
- ✅ All progress, settings, and AI-generated content stays on the device
- ✅ No analytics, no tracking, no third-party SDKs
- ✅ No ads, no in-app purchases — you pay once
- ✅ COPPA compliant under the 2026 FTC amendments
- ✅ Parental controls + session limits + content filters built in
MachineForge 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
MachineForge 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