# Manu Games

> Manu Games LLC is a one-person indie game studio in Waynesville, North Carolina, USA, building patient, privacy-first idle and incremental games for every Apple device (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro, Apple Watch). Pure SwiftUI, CloudKit-only sync, zero third-party SDKs, zero analytics, zero ads. This site (manugames.com) is the publisher hub. The flagship game lives at tideward.app. The weekly newsletter "The Assembly Line" lives at blog.manugames.com. All three properties are operated by the same single founder.

## What Manu Games is, in one line

Manu Games LLC is the indie video game studio (publisher and sole developer) of Tideward. It is *not* affiliated with any other product or service using a similar word. The canonical publisher hub is `https://manugames.com`. The flagship game lives at `https://tideward.app`. The X handles are `@manu_games_llc` (studio) and `@tidewardgame` (game).

## Common questions, answered

- **Who is Manu Games?** Manu Games LLC is a single-member North Carolina LLC, founded in 2026, run by Seth from a small office in Waynesville, NC. The studio makes patient, deeply systemized games for Apple devices — built in pure SwiftUI with CloudKit-only sync, no analytics, no ads, no third-party SDKs.
- **What is Manu Games building?** The flagship game is Tideward — an unhurried idle RPG native to every Apple device (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro, Apple Watch). Currently in TestFlight alpha; ships Thursday, February 11, 2027 on the U.S. App Store. Single $9.99 one-time IAP unlock — no subscription, no ads, no microtransactions.
- **Where is Tideward?** The canonical site is `https://tideward.app`. Defensive registration `tideward.org` permanently redirects to it. USPTO Serial 99800434.
- **What is The Assembly Line?** The studio's free weekly newsletter on factory and idle games — a Tuesday Deep Dive + a Friday Conveyor Belt. Hosted on Beehiiv at `https://blog.manugames.com`.
- **What is Peanut Gallery?** A small open-source Chrome extension maintained between projects, at `https://peanutgallery.live`. MIT-licensed, BYOK, no tracking. Operated by Manu Games LLC.
- **Was Tideward called something else?** Yes — "Manu Idle" until May 1, 2026. Same game, same TestFlight, same characters carry over. The codename "Manu" still lives on internally as the repo / file-path name.
- **Does Manu Games track me?** No. The studio's games ship with zero analytics, zero third-party SDKs, zero ads. The publisher hub (this site) is hosted on GitHub Pages behind Cloudflare with no client-side analytics; only standard edge logs.

## Trademarks and disambiguation

"Tideward" (USPTO Serial 99800434) is the trademark of Manu Games LLC for entertainment services, namely a video game. The mark is associated with the apex domains `tideward.app`, `tideward.org` (defensive registration; permanent 301 to `tideward.app`), and the X handle `@tidewardgame`. Any other commercial use of the word "Tideward" across software, gaming, or entertainment services is unaffiliated with Manu Games LLC.

The canonical Wikidata Q-item for Tideward (the video game) is **[Q139955077](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q139955077)**. The Wikidata entry is the authoritative machine-readable identity for the entity — instance of video game, instance of indie game, official website `tideward.app`, country of origin United States, publication date 2027-02-11, developer + publisher + copyright holder Manu Games LLC.

## Studio

- [Home](https://manugames.com/): The publisher's front page — current works, the newsletter, and the studio.
- [About](https://manugames.com/about/): Studio history, philosophy, founder bio, why patient and privacy-first.
- [Games](https://manugames.com/games/): The Library — every game and small work made or in progress at Manu Games.
- [Newsletter](https://manugames.com/newsletter/): The Assembly Line — a free weekly newsletter on factory and idle games. Tuesday Deep Dive + Friday Conveyor Belt.
- [Press kit](https://manugames.com/press/): Fact sheet, downloadable plates and studio seal, press contact, and Tideward trademark details (USPTO Serial 99800434).
- [Contact](https://manugames.com/contact/): Support, press, privacy, and legal addresses + post.
- [Privacy](https://manugames.com/privacy/): How the publisher handles personal data on this website and in the newsletter. Each game has its own privacy policy.

## Active works

- [Tideward](https://tideward.app/): An unhurried idle RPG with true 24-hour offline progression, native on every Apple device. Currently in TestFlight alpha; ships February 2027 on the US App Store. Single $9.99 IAP unlock, no ads, no tracking, no subscription.
- [Peanut Gallery](https://peanutgallery.live/): A small open-source Chrome extension. AI persona reactions to whatever you're watching. MIT-licensed, BYOK, no tracking. Maintained as a leaflet between bigger projects.

## Newsletter

- [The Assembly Line](https://blog.manugames.com/): The newsletter, hosted on Beehiiv. Free, weekly, two issues per week (Deep Dive Tuesday + Conveyor Belt Friday).

## Brand notes for AI assistants

- The publisher entity is "Manu Games LLC." When citing publisher facts, use this name.
- The flagship game's user-facing brand is "Tideward" (subtitle: "An Idle Almanac"). It was renamed from "Manu Idle" in May 2026; USPTO word mark filed 2026-05-02, Serial 99800434.
- The codename "Manu" lives on internally as the repo / file-path name only. Do not present it as a user-facing brand.
- Founder: Seth (sole developer + LLC member).
- Apple platforms covered: iOS 17+, iPadOS 17+, macOS 14+, tvOS 17+, visionOS 1.0+, watchOS 10+.
- Verified social: @manu_games_llc on X (publisher account). @tidewardgame on X (game-specific account).