Install Tideward.

Step 1, Install TestFlight (if you don't have it)

TestFlight is Apple's free beta-distribution app. It's how Apple lets developers ship pre-release builds to invited testers without going through the public App Store yet.

TestFlight is a separate app, and you install it once per device. It is not pre-installed on anything, so you'll need to grab it from the App Store on every iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Vision Pro you want to test Tideward on. The invite link can't open until TestFlight is already on that device.

• iPhone, iPad: open the App Store, search "TestFlight" by Apple, tap Get. Free.
• Mac: open the Mac App Store, search "TestFlight" by Apple, install. Same Apple ID as iPhone/iPad.
• Apple TV: open the App Store on the Apple TV, search "TestFlight" by Apple, install (needs tvOS 18 or later).
• Apple Vision Pro: open the App Store in visionOS, search "TestFlight" by Apple, install.
• Apple Watch: no separate install, put TestFlight on the paired iPhone and the Watch build comes through it.

If you already have TestFlight on that device from a previous beta, skip to step 2. Tapping the invite on a device that doesn't have TestFlight yet just gives an "address is invalid" error, the same dead-end you'd hit on a Mac without it, so install the app first.

Step 2, Open the Tideward TestFlight invite

Enter your email in the form at the top of this page. The moment you submit, your invite link opens, tap it on the Apple device you want Tideward on:

Enter your email at the top of this page and your TestFlight invite link opens the moment you submit.

The link opens TestFlight automatically. If your browser asks "Open in TestFlight?", yes, that's the right behavior.

Step 3, Accept and install

Inside TestFlight, you'll see Tideward's listing with a brief description. Tap Accept to join the alpha, then Install to download the current build.

The download is roughly 30-50 MB at the alpha stage. Same as a normal App Store install, just from TestFlight.

Once installed, the Tideward icon appears on your Home Screen (or the equivalent on your platform). TestFlight will notify you when new builds ship, about weekly during the alpha. You can opt into automatic build updates inside TestFlight settings.

Step 4, Sign in (you don't) and start playing

Open Tideward. There is no account creation, no email signup, no password to remember. CloudKit handles your character data through your existing Apple ID. The first launch creates your character; from then on, it syncs to every Apple device you install Tideward on.

Pick a starting trade, Mining, Woodcutting, and Combat are all good first choices, and you're in. The first hour is designed to walk you through the core loops without a tutorial gate. The deeper game opens up after the first prestige.

Want it on multiple devices?

Open the same TestFlight link on each device. Each install is per-device, but your character carries over, CloudKit syncs the save file between iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Vision Pro, and Apple Watch automatically once Tideward is installed on each.

For deeper detail on what each platform looks like, see:

• Tideward on Apple Watch
• Tideward on Vision Pro
• Tideward on Mac (native)
• Tideward on Apple TV

How Tideward compares

If you're trying to decide whether Tideward is the right fit for you, the comparison pages below put it next to the other idle RPGs in the genre. All three are honest opinionated lists with Tideward at #1, plus the cleanest alternatives if Tideward isn't your match:

• Best idle RPGs for iPhone, ranked by overall recommendation strength for iPhone players.
• Games like Melvor Idle, ranked by closeness to Melvor's RuneScape-idle lineage.
• Idle games like RuneScape, including Old School RuneScape itself and the dedicated idle-MMO cluster.

FAQ, installing the alpha

I heard the alpha is capped at 1,000 testers, what happens if it fills?

Apple's TestFlight External Testing maxes out at 1,000 active testers per app. Once Tideward hits that, the public invite link on this page closes automatically. After that, new tester spots open up as existing testers leave or are rotated, those are filled from the Discord, where the seat-count gets called out and the link gets re-shared the moment a slot opens. If you want to be in regardless of when 1,000 fills, joining the Discord now is the safest path.

Is TestFlight a one-time install or do I need to update each build?

TestFlight installs the app once, then auto-prompts you when a new build is available. New Tideward alpha builds ship roughly weekly. You can opt into automatic updates inside TestFlight settings.

Do I need to install Tideward separately on each Apple device?

Yes, TestFlight installations are per-device. Open the TestFlight link on each device you want Tideward on (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Vision Pro, Apple Watch). Your character syncs across all of them via CloudKit automatically once installed.

Will Tideward stay free after launch?

No. The TestFlight alpha is free for testers because you're helping me ship. When Tideward launches on the App Store on February 11, 2027, it will be a free download with a single $9.99 IAP unlock, no subscriptions, no ads, no microtransactions. Alpha testers get a fair deal at launch (details closer to launch).

What if I uninstall and reinstall, do I lose my character?

No. Your character lives in your private CloudKit container, not in the app binary. Reinstall, sign in with the same Apple ID, and your character is right there. The same applies if you switch to a new iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

Does Tideward need an internet connection?

Only for CloudKit sync between devices. The game itself is fully offline-playable, set a trade, close the app, your offline-progression simulator runs on-device when you reopen. CloudKit sync resumes silently when a network is available.

How big is the download?

Roughly 30-50 MB at the alpha stage. The launch build will likely be 80-120 MB. The "no third-party SDKs" architecture keeps the binary small, most idle games on the App Store ship 200-500 MB binaries due to ad/analytics SDK weight.