Perthro is now open to TestFlight. If you've been waiting for a calmer, more honest way to keep track of the games you play, without the algorithmic noise of the big platforms, this is the build for you.
This is the first post on the Perthro blog. We'll use it to share what's new in each build, what we're working on next, and the occasional note about what we're learning along the way. Short, useful, no hype.
What's in the beta
The current build covers the core loop end-to-end:
- Track the games you're playing, have played, plan to play, or shelved.
- Rate games on a five-star scale and write reviews as long or short as you like.
- Backlog & wishlist with native reordering and a "next up" view.
- Lists: make your own (year-end favourites, roguelikes you actually finished, etc.) and share them.
- Friends & feed: follow other players, see what they're rating and reviewing, react and reply.
- Library import from Steam, PlayStation Network, and Xbox Live (achievements/trophies where the platform allows).
Game metadata comes from IGDB. If a title is missing, request it there and it shows up in Perthro within about a day.
How to join
The TestFlight invite is open: <https://testflight.apple.com/join/XVxCdRcK>. Install TestFlight first if you haven't already (it's a free Apple app), then tap that link on your iPhone. Perthro requires iOS 16 or later.
The beta is free. There will be a Pro tier later, but everything that's in the app today will stay free; Pro is for the optional power-user pieces we haven't shipped yet.
Why we made this
The honest answer: we wanted it for ourselves. Steam keeps a list, sure, but only of Steam games. PSN, Xbox, Nintendo, GOG, Itch, Epic; they all keep their own little gardens. None of them know about the months I spent on a handheld in 2019, or the indie thing a friend recommended that I forgot to write down, or the JRPG I bounced off and want to give another shot in five years.
The other apps that exist either treat games like content to grade and rank, or like a productivity backlog to clear. Both feel wrong. Games are an experience and a diary entry. We wanted something that felt closer to keeping a journal: a calmer, more honest record of what you actually played and what it meant to you, with friends nearby if you want them.
So that's the brief. Less algorithmic, less scoreboard, more diary.
What comes next
We're not going to publish a roadmap and then pretend to keep it. The way we work is small, weekly-ish drops to TestFlight with whatever feels most worth shipping. When something meaningful lands, we'll write about it here with the actual notes, not a wishlist.
What we can say: iPhone is the focus. iPad and macOS aren't on the near-term plan. Android is even further out. We want to get one thing right before we widen the surface.
How to send feedback
Inside TestFlight, you can shake your iPhone or tap the "Send Beta Feedback" button to send a screenshot and notes straight to us. That's the highest-signal channel and the one we read first thing every morning.
For longer thoughts, ideas, or "I think this is a bug, here's what I did," email <contact@rune.art>. We reply within two business days. The community guidelines apply to in-app feed and reviews; the support page has answers to the questions we get most often.
Thanks for being here
Perthro is built by a very small team in Alberta, Canada. We've been working on it quietly for about a year. Having real people use it, finding the bugs we missed, asking for the features we hadn't thought of yet, is the part we've been waiting for.
See you in the feed.
The Perthro team