Chalk

You throw. We'll do the math.

Chalk keeps score so nobody has to do 501-minus-arithmetic in their head three drinks into the evening. Type what each dart was worth and it does the rest — including telling you what to aim for when a finish is on.

  • Nothing to sign up for, and no account to make.
  • Nothing is saved. Play, celebrate the winner, start over.
  • Works with any number of teams, or everyone for themselves.
  • Three themes, and you can name the board after whoever's house you're at.

Three games

501

Count down from 501 to exactly zero. Double out, or straight out — your call before you start. Also plays 301 and 701.

Cricket

Claim 15 through 20 and the bull, then score on them until everyone else catches up. The pub standard.

Around the Clock

Hit 1, then 2, then 3, all the way to 20. The gentle one — nobody can bust, and it's the easiest to hand to a beginner.

Getting it on your phone

Installing Chalk on an iPhone

Chalk isn't in the App Store yet, so it takes one extra app and about two minutes. Here's the whole thing.

This is a test build, and it behaves like one.

It may have rough edges, and it will stop working after 90 days until Jeff sends a fresh version. That's normal for TestFlight, not a sign anything is broken.

Before you start

You need an iPhone running a reasonably current version of iOS, and the invitation Jeff sent you — either an email from TestFlight, or a link in a message.

That's it. Chalk itself never asks you to sign in to anything.

Getting it installed

  1. Install TestFlight

    Open the App Store, search for TestFlight, and install it. It's made by Apple and it's free — it's the app Apple uses to hand out apps that aren't published yet.

    If the App Store won't let you install it, your iPhone is running an iOS version that's too old. Updating iOS in Settings will fix it.

  2. Open Jeff's invitation

    Tap the link he sent, on your iPhone — not on a laptop. It won't work anywhere but the phone you want Chalk on.

    If it came by email, the button says View in TestFlight. If it came as a message, it's just a link. Either way it opens TestFlight.

  3. Accept, then install

    TestFlight shows you Chalk with an Accept button. Tap it, then tap Install on the screen that follows.

    The first time you ever open TestFlight it also asks you to agree to Apple's terms and whether you want notifications. Notifications are worth saying yes to — that's how you find out a new version has landed.

  4. Find it on your home screen

    Chalk installs like any other app. You'll see a small orange dot beside its name — that just means it came from TestFlight rather than the App Store.

    Open it and you're done. Pick a game and start throwing.

When there's a new version

You don't reinstall anything. TestFlight notifies you, and updating is one tap — either from inside TestFlight, or from the notification itself.

If Chalk ever refuses to open and says the build has expired, that's the 90-day limit. Open TestFlight and take the newest version.

On Android instead?

Much simpler — none of the above applies. Jeff sends you the app file directly and you open it. Android will ask whether you trust the source, and you say yes.

If something goes wrong

The link says the invitation isn't valid

Almost always because it was opened on a computer, or on a different iPhone than the one it was sent to. Open it on the phone you want Chalk on. If it still fails, the invitation may have been used its maximum number of times — ask Jeff for a fresh one.

TestFlight opens but Chalk isn't listed

Pull down to refresh the list. If it's still not there, you've likely accepted the invitation with a different Apple ID than the one signed in to TestFlight. Check which account is signed in under Settings, and tell Jeff which email you'd like the invitation sent to.

The app quit on me mid-game

It happens in test builds. Reopen it — nothing is stored anywhere, so you'll start a fresh game rather than picking up where you were. Tell Jeff what you were doing when it happened; that's genuinely the most useful thing you can send him.

How do I send feedback?

Take a screenshot while Chalk is open, and iOS offers to share it with TestFlight along with a note. Or just text him — he'd rather hear it than not.