Birchbat

Birchbat is gorodki, a century-old yard game, made for your iPhone. Five wooden pins stand in a chalk square called the town. You throw a heavy birch bat at them from thirteen metres and try to knock every pin out of the town with as few throws as you can. THE BAT SPINS Hold to build power, slide to aim, let go. The bat turns in the air, and the moment you release decides how it arrives: flat, it sweeps a wide strip; end-on, it strikes a single point. A ring shows the spin so you can learn the timing. REAL RULES Every figure starts from the long line. Knock one pin out and you step up to the half line. Pins left in the suburb go back on the face line, and a bat that lands short of the penalty line is spent. The fifteen figures follow the official figure-setting rules, in their traditional order: Cannon, Fork, Star, Arrow, Well and the rest, up to the Letter. WAYS TO PLAY • The ladder: clear the figures one by one for up to three stars. • Partia: all fifteen in a row for one total. • Figure of the day: one figure, slightly nudged, every day. • Two players on one phone, two bats per turn. • An atlas of figures with a short story and a tip for each. CALM BY DESIGN Soft pastel yard at sunset, or a moonlit one in dark mode. No account, no ads, no purchases, no timers. Everything works offline, and your progress stays on your iPhone.