Independent game studio

Games that keep your mind in play.

AI can think for us now. So we make simple, joyful games where you do the thinking: timing, planning, outsmarting a friend. For kids, parents and grandparents alike.

Explore our games Why we make them

No accounts
Plays offline
No pressure to keep playing

Illustration: a grandmother, a dad and a young girl laughing as they play a giant puzzle on a floating island in the sky — **Shove Off! is out first**Two more games in the workshop

Our games

A growing shelf of games where you do the thinking.

Shove Off! is our first release, and more TapVibe games are launching soon. Each one is easy to learn in seconds, deep enough to keep you thinking, and made to be played together.

Two mochi on a pancake in a sea of syrup

2 player mode: two friends on one phone, one side each

First release · Android

Shove Off!

One-button party game

Hold to aim, let go to dash, and bump silly mochi off giant desserts into the syrup. Play a 100-level story adventure on your own, or challenge a friend on one phone.

Players: 1–2 on one phone
Ages: 6 and up
Internet: Not needed
Rating: ESRB Everyone · PEGI 3

What your brain does

Timing
Aiming
Planning ahead
Reading your opponent

Explore Shove Off! Coming soon to Google Play

Free with child-safe ads, or Shove Off+ with no ads at all.

In the workshop

In development

Unknot

Calm ribbon puzzles, fair by design. Tap a ribbon to slide it free, plan the right order, and clear the board without a bump.

In development

Moss & Mist

A pocket terrarium that grows in real time, and nothing ever wilts. Plant, mist and wait for curious little visitors, some only at night.

More games are on the way.

Want to hear when the next one lands? Drop us a line and we’ll let you know.

Email us

Why we make games

AI can do the thinking. Your brain still wants a turn.

We love what AI can do. But early research suggests that when we hand it our thinking, our own minds do less of the work. Scientists call this cognitive offloading, and it’s easy to slip into without noticing.

A cheerful cartoon brain in sneakers and a sweatband doing a jumping jack

54students

Less brain engagement when writing with AI

Students wrote essays with ChatGPT, with a search engine, or with nothing at all. EEG showed the weakest brain connectivity in the ChatGPT group and the strongest in the brain-only group.

Kosmyna et al., MIT Media Lab, 2025 (preprint). Read the study

319knowledge workers

More trust in AI, less critical thinking

In a survey of knowledge workers, people who were more confident in AI reported doing less critical thinking; people more confident in themselves did more.

Lee et al., Microsoft Research & Carnegie Mellon, CHI 2025. Read the study

666people

Heavy AI use, lower critical-thinking scores

Across ages and backgrounds, people who used AI tools more often scored lower on critical thinking, linked to offloading their thinking onto the tools. Younger people relied on AI the most.

Gerlich, Societies, 2025. Read the study

To be clear: these are early studies, some small, self-reported or correlational, and none proves that AI harms anyone’s brain. But they point the same way: thinking is a habit worth keeping. Our games are not medicine or “brain training”. They’re just good fun where your own brain gets to do the work.

How we design

Small games. Big thinking. No tricks.

Every TapVibe game is easy to learn in seconds and fun at any age, from 6 to 96. These are the rules we build by.

A happy lightbulb character juggling puzzle pieces

You do the thinking

Every game asks for real decisions: when to let go, where to aim, how to outsmart the other player. No auto-play, and no AI playing for you.

Two round mochi characters high-fiving over a little game board

Better together

Built for sharing one phone: a child and a grandparent, two friends, a family on a rainy afternoon. Face to face, never with strangers online.

A cozy armchair with a sleeping cat, a closed game box and a moon lamp

Easy to stop

No streaks, no timers, no “come back!” notifications. Play for five minutes, then go and live your day. Your progress simply waits.

No loot boxesNothing random to buy, ever.
No pay-to-winPractice wins games, not wallets.
No chat with strangersPlay face to face, in the same room.
As little data as possibleNo accounts. Progress stays on your device.
Plays offlineGreat for car trips and waiting rooms.
Paid versions have no adsPay once, then no ads at all.

About TapVibe

Great games for all ages, then back to your day.

We’re a small, independent studio making games that help you think, laugh and connect, and then happily let you put the phone down.

Explore Shove Off! support@tapvibegames.com