◆ The Catalog · Three iOS titles ◆
i.

Ninekeep.

A meticulous Sudoku. ◆ In development iPhone · iPad ii.

Glyphrail.

A calm word relay. ◆ In development iPhone · iPad iii.

Gridlark.

A tactile grid puzzle. ◆ In development iPhone · iPad
◆ An iOS atelier · Solo founder · Made in USA · Chicago, IL
II.
— On intention
A short manifesto.

A game ought to feel like a held object — small, deliberate, made by hand.

I want these games to earn the things a design award is meant to reward: interaction that means something, sound that was chosen rather than dropped in, onboarding that gives you room, accessibility that was in the plan from the start. Not to win anything. Those are just what separates a game you keep for years from one you delete in a week.

So I hand-tune every level. Each title is drawn for iPhone and iPad from the first sketch, not ported from one to the other. I skip the tricks that look fine in a trailer and feel hollow by the third evening. And every screen has to work for someone using VoiceOver, large text, or a single thumb.

III.
— The catalog
Three titles.

Each one cut for the two screens I ship to — iPhone first, iPad in parallel.

i. In development iPhone · iPad MMXXVI

Ninekeep.

Classic rules, nothing bolted on. The Sudoku app for people who keep coming back to Sudoku.

Opens straight to a board you can trust and then stays out of the way while you solve it — no pop-up events mid-solve, and any ads sit between sessions rather than inside them. Hand-tuned, faithful to classic rules, built for iPhone and iPad from the first sketch. The timer stays quiet, and clears you finish without hints are marked as such.

StageIn development
FormiPhone · iPad
DifficultyFour tiers
AdsBetween sessions · removable
Full details →
Ninekeep icon
Ninekeep gameplay
iPhone · play
Ninekeep ledger
iPhone · ledger
ii. In development iPhone · iPad MMXXVI

Glyphrail.

One connected run instead of one disposable board. Word deduction without the daily rush.

Three five-letter words share one line of ten guesses. Play today's relay, or work through the bundled practice puzzles, which never touch your streak. Built for iPhone and iPad, not shrunk from one to fit the other. A run a day, and no guilt if you miss one.

StageIn development
FormiPhone · iPad
CadenceDaily relay
PracticeArchive shelf
Full details →
Glyphrail icon
Glyphrail home
iPhone · today's relay
Glyphrail gameplay
iPhone · live board
iii. In development iPhone · iPad MMXXVI

Gridlark.

A tactile grid puzzle about keeping the center open and finding tempo on a small board.

Place pieces, clear lines, and reach the score target in a single run. The chapters are tuned by hand, the combo system pays off real tempo instead of luck, and the difficulty climbs without turning into a grind. On iPad the extra room goes to breathing space, not a denser board.

StageIn development
FormiPhone · iPad
ChaptersHand-authored
ModeCalm · Endless
Full details →
Gridlark icon
Gridlark home
iPhone · home
Gridlark gameplay
iPhone · level run
IV.
— On craft
Four principles.

I aimed for every quality that makes a game worth keeping on a phone for ten years.

i.
— Form factor

Designed for iPhone and iPad.

Every title is sketched on both screens from day one. The iPad version isn't a blown-up phone screen, and the phone version isn't a leftover. Neither one is the afterthought.

All titles · No ports
ii.
— Method

No shortcuts.

I hand-author every level, tune every haptic by hand, and use sound that was chosen rather than pulled from a stock pack. Nothing here is procedurally generated in a spot where a designer's eye would have done better.

Hand-built · End to end
iii.
— Reach

Made accessible.

Full VoiceOver, dynamic type from the smallest to the largest, color-vision modes, reduce-motion that actually reduces motion, one-handed reach on every critical route. Accessibility is in the brief, not the polish phase.

Apple A11y · Day one
iv.
— Attention

Detail, all the way down.

The kerning on the menu, the easing on the back swipe, the way the loading screen breathes when you've been away three days. The small things you stop noticing — those are the things I work hardest on.

Pixels · Frames · Milliseconds
V.
— The studio
Who runs it.

One person, one bench, no roadmap deck.

Velcairn is a one-person studio in Chicago, started in 2026. Design, engineering, sound, and support all happen at one desk. I only make iOS games, and keeping the scope that narrow is how I keep the quality up.

There are no investors and no roadmap deck. What there is: a drawer of test devices in every size I support, and a rule that I don't ship a release I wouldn't hand to a friend.

The name comes from the small stone stacks — cairns — that hikers leave to mark a trail for whoever walks it next.

Ifounder
Solo studio
Design · Engineering · Sound
IIItitles
In development
Ninekeep · Glyphrail · Gridlark
USAmade
Chicago, Illinois
Single-member LLC · Independent
0crunch
No crunch · No grind
No dark patterns · No fake deadlines
VI.
— On promises
Quiet commitments.

Kept in writing, not in marketing copy.

— Promises keptQuiet commitments, in writing.
◆
No mid-game ads
When present, between sessions only
◆
Privacy on Apple's terms
ATT honored · Velcairn never sells data
◆
Long-term support
Patched while in catalog
◆
Full accessibility
VoiceOver · Dynamic Type · A11y
◆
Made in USA
Chicago, Illinois
— A short closing —

I could ship faster, and I could ship more. I'd rather get the small things right — the loading screen that settles instead of stalling, the kerning on the menu, the haptic that lands on the beat. I hope you notice them, even if you can't quite say why.

— John C., founder · Chicago, Anno MMXXVI