Welcome, Tester

Thank you for helping test Lapilli Stones — a board game of five-in-a-row and captures, played with glass beads on a Roman wooden board. This page walks you through everything, step by step. No technical experience needed.

First time hearing about Lapilli Stones? Read the story of the game — where it comes from, how it's played, and how it outlived a volcano.

Contents

What you'll need
Step 1 — Send me your email address
Step 2 — Get TestFlight (the beta app store)
Step 3 — Accept the invitation and install Lapilli
Step 4 — Turn on Game Center (for online play)
Step 5 — First launch
What to test
How to report problems, questions, and ideas
If something's not working

1. What you'll need

An iPhone or iPad running iOS 17 or newer, or a Mac running macOS 14 (Sonoma) or newer. Any of the three works; if you have more than one, you can install on all of them.
Your Apple Account (the email and password you already use for the App Store and iCloud). You're signed in already if you can download apps.
About ten minutes for setup, and then however long you enjoy playing.

Everything is free. Testing costs nothing and nothing you do can break anything on my end — that's the point of testing.

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2. Step 1 — Send me your email address

I need to add you to the tester list by email. Send me:

The email address of your Apple Account. To find it: on iPhone or iPad, open Settings and tap your name at the very top — your email shows under your name. On a Mac, open System Settings and click your name at the top of the sidebar.

Send it to: lapilli-stones@proton.me — a short note saying you'd like to test is plenty. Mention which devices you play on (iPhone, iPad, Mac), and if you found your way here from a forum or a friend, say hello; every tester so far has shaped the game.

Once I've added you, Apple will send you an invitation email titled something like "Eddie Merkel has invited you to test Lapilli Stones." It can take a few minutes to arrive. Check spam if it doesn't.

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3. Step 2 — Get TestFlight

TestFlight is Apple's official app for testing apps before they reach the App Store. It's made by Apple, it's free, and it's safe.

iPhone / iPad
Open the App Store, search for TestFlight, and download it (blue icon with a white propeller).

Mac
Open the App Store app on the Mac, search for TestFlight, and download it.

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4. Step 3 — Accept the invitation and install Lapilli

Open the invitation email on the device you want to play on.
Tap or click the View in TestFlight button in the email.
TestFlight opens and shows Lapilli Stones. Tap Accept, then Install.
When it finishes, tap Open — or find Lapilli on your home screen / in your Applications folder like any other app.

Installing on more than one device? Just open TestFlight on each device (signed in with the same Apple Account) — Lapilli will be there waiting. No need for a second invitation.

When I release a new test version, TestFlight will notify you. Open TestFlight and tap Update — your saved games survive updates.

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5. Step 4 — Turn on Game Center

You only need this for online play — playing me (or another tester) remotely, one move at a time, like chess by mail. Solo play works without it.

iPhone / iPad
Open Settings, scroll down and tap Game Center, and turn it on. It uses your Apple Account; you can pick a player nickname.

Mac
Open System Settings, type Game Center in the search box, and sign in there.

Online games between us need a Game Center friendship first — and the email you sent in Step 1 is all it takes. I'll send a friend request to that same Apple Account; accept it when it arrives (as a notification, or under Settings → Game Center → Friends on iPhone/iPad). A nickname alone isn't enough — Game Center has no name search; friendships travel by invitation.

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6. Step 5 — First launch

Open Lapilli. A short interactive tutorial appears automatically and walks through every rule — placing stones, winning with five in a row, capturing pairs, the rule variants, and online play. It takes about three minutes and you can bring it back any time from Settings → Show Tutorial.

Then play! Start with a game against the computer on Beginner (the gear icon opens Settings, where you pick your opponent), and work up from there.

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7. What to test

Play however feels natural — the most valuable thing you can do is simply use the app and notice when something surprises, confuses, or annoys you. If you want a checklist, here's where fresh eyes help most:

The tutorial

Did any step confuse you? Could you play after finishing it?
Is anything explained in the wrong order, or not at all?

Playing the game

Play the computer at all three difficulty levels. Does Beginner feel beatable? Does Advanced put up a real fight? Does the computer ever do something obviously stupid?
Try the Hint button when stuck. Is the suggestion sensible?
Do your taps land where you meant? (Especially on iPhone — stones are small.)
Use Undo. Does the game rewind the way you'd expect?
Try a two-player game with someone beside you, passing the device.
Try the other rule variants in Settings (Keryo, Tournament) after reading their tutorial pages.

Online play

Start an online game with me: first accept my Game Center friend request (see Step 4 — it goes to the email from Step 1). Then in the app: Settings → Opponent → Online → Play Online → Invite Friends, and pick me from your friends list. Prefer a stranger? Auto-Match seats you with whoever's waiting, no friendship needed — though during the beta, "whoever" means our handful of testers. Your game may sit at "Waiting for an opponent…" until another tester tries the same; that's normal, the seat stays open for days, and leaving one open is itself a useful test.
Notice the Send Move button: your move isn't final until you send it. Try placing a stone, undoing it, placing it somewhere else, then sending.
While waiting for your opponent, try Play Solo While Waiting in Settings — then jump back to the match when the banner appears.
Set the Move Time Limit slider before starting a game and tell me if the pacing makes sense.

Look and sound

Rotate your device. Does the layout still look right in both directions? Anything cut off, overlapping, or oddly placed?
Try the sound toggles in Settings — music, nature sounds, effects. Anything grating or too loud/quiet?
Watch the animations when placing stones and capturing. Smooth? Distracting?

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8. How to report problems, questions, and ideas

Everything is welcome — bugs, confusion, wishes, complaints about the bird sounds. Small observations included; "this felt weird" is a useful report.

The best way: through TestFlight

iPhone / iPad
While you're in Lapilli, take a screenshot (press the side button and volume-up together). Tap the little preview in the corner, and you'll see a Share Beta Feedback option — it sends the picture straight to me with your comments attached. You can even draw on the screenshot to circle the problem.

Or: open TestFlight, tap Lapilli Stones, and tap Send Beta Feedback.

Mac
Open TestFlight, select Lapilli Stones, and click Send Beta Feedback. Attach a screenshot if you can (press Shift-Command-3 to take one).

If the app crashes

TestFlight will notice and offer to send the crash to me automatically, with a box for you to say what you were doing. Please write even one sentence — "I had just captured a pair and hit Undo" turns a mystery into a fix.

Or just email

lapilli-stones@proton.me — for anything, any time, in any format.

What a great report looks like

1. What you did 2. What you expected 3. What actually happened.
"I tapped Play Online, expected something to open, and nothing happened at all" is a genuinely excellent bug report. (It's also a real one — a tester's report exactly like it caught one of our best bugs.)

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9. If something's not working

No invitation email? Check spam, and double-check with me that the email you sent is the one on your Apple Account.
"View in TestFlight" says the beta isn't available? Make sure you're opening the link on the device you want to play on, with TestFlight already installed, and that you're signed in with the same Apple Account the invite went to.
Play Online does nothing, or complains about Game Center? Sign in to Game Center (see Step 4), then quit and reopen Lapilli.
TestFlight says the build "expired"? Test versions last 90 days. Open TestFlight and install the newest version — there will almost certainly be one.
Anything else: email me. Nothing you can do is a silly question — every question tells me where the app needs to be clearer.

Thank you. Genuinely. Every game you play makes this one better.
— Eddie

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