Smove started out as a checkers prototype. While sitting at home messing around with the idea of a small simple checkers game I became enamored with the idea that this little dot could move around the board so fast.

After a few hours, I had what felt like a really fun and simple game. The 3x3 grid made the terrain so simple for people to feel like the should master, but as the dots change their patterns and it becomes increasingly more difficult to stay alive, players realize there is so much more here than what’s presented.

The development of Smove came at an interesting time. At the end of 2014 I announced to my team that I had only a few more months of money to keep Simple Machine’s lights on. This would mean everyone would be let go except for two. For the next 3 months we grinded on Smove and nothing else. I played top mobile games everyday to learn monetization and successful strategies for release.

When I launched it, I half expected it to be the very end of Simple Machine. Instead, it picked up 2 million downloads over the next 30 days.

I had effectively found the recipe that had eluded me for so long.

Smove still remains a game many players enjoy and someday I hope to update it because it truly is such a fun and gorgeously simple game.