--- title: Squadfather: a full game, built and shipped solo · Pavegrowth description: A football squad game with 1v1 multiplayer, 22 languages and a coach you can customise. Built and shipped solo, with AI doing much of the heavy lifting. url: https://pavegrowth.co/work/squadfather/ --- [← Work](https://pavegrowth.co/work/) · Squadfather ![Squadfather](https://pavegrowth.co/_astro/logo.BEPNxpJv_Z1i9lau.webp) · Built & launched end to end # Squadfather: a full game, built and shipped solo. A fun experiment with a serious question behind it: how far can the newest AI models take a complete game? Everything in Squadfather was built with AI, from the coach mascots and the gameplay to the achievements, the 1v1 multiplayer and the translations into 22 languages. I directed it, set the guardrails and shipped it to the App Store. Product [playsquadfather.com](https://playsquadfather.com/) Platforms iPhone, iPad Services AI development, Game design, Multiplayer backend, Website [App Store ](https://apps.apple.com/app/id6807100255) · [Website ](https://playsquadfather.com/) ![Squadfather website: Become the Squadfather, with the AI-made coach mascot beside the app](https://pavegrowth.co/_astro/home-d.MwBoRatF_1q5P3B.webp) The marketing site, in 22 languages · playsquadfather.com The numbers ## From an idea to the App Store, built by AI. 100% · Built with AI, code, art and copy 22 · Languages, translated by AI 54 · AI-generated coach looks 39 · Achievements to unlock What I built ## Spin. Draft. Compete. A football squad game with a simple loop and a lot underneath it. ### The gameplay loop Spin a wheel for a club, draft your XI from this season's squads across 18 leagues, then play out the whole season and chase an unbeaten record. * A wheel that lands on a real club from your chosen league * Every season simulated and checked on the server * Manager levels, login streaks and 39 achievements ### Coaches with character The Squadfather and his rival were designed with AI image generation as a layered set of outfits, glasses and whistles, giving 54 combinations that players unlock and customise. ### 1v1 multiplayer Challenge a friend live with a six-character code, or get matched by rating and climb six tiers from Bronze to Elite. ### Leaderboards worldwide Weekly ladders for every league, an all-time global board and a 1v1 board, with the game and the website in 22 languages. How it was built ## AI does the work. I set the direction. Not a prototype or a demo: a live game on the App Store, built by AI agents working to a plan. 1. Plan ### Rules and plans first Every feature started as a written plan, with clear rules for the agents on how the game, the data and the brand should work. 2. Build ### AI writes the code AI agents built the app, the match engine, the multiplayer backend and the website, feature by feature. 3. Create ### AI makes the art and copy The coach mascots, achievement badges, store listings and translations into 22 languages were all produced with AI. 4. Check ### Tests decide what ships Hundreds of automated tests and layout checks on phone sizes and languages gate every release. Screens ## The game, the coaches and the site. ![Squadfather home screen: Play Now, 1v1 multiplayer and a list of leagues](https://pavegrowth.co/_astro/home-m.DdDp_eKB_Z1WLCbK.webp) Home ![1v1 multiplayer screen: begin matchmaking or play a friend with a code](https://pavegrowth.co/_astro/multiplayer-m.Cx6nA6gz_ZqifqV.webp) 1v1 multiplayer ![Manager profile: rating, achievements, badges and the customised coach](https://pavegrowth.co/_astro/profile-m.CEMgZiRm_Z1vEcVv.webp) Manager profile ### The AI-made coaches ![The Squadfather coach mascot, arms folded](https://pavegrowth.co/_astro/coach-boss.2ceRjB0S_1BzekT.webp)![The Squadfather lifting a gold trophy](https://pavegrowth.co/_astro/coach-victory.CJR-qWRo_Z1UjJuE.webp)![The Squadfather with a clipboard](https://pavegrowth.co/_astro/coach-rethink.Dx4MP0rD_ZUXPwg.webp)![A coach in a cricket-style jumper with a notebook](https://pavegrowth.co/_astro/coach-professor.Da20s1Xr_Z2hpwx7.webp)![An older coach in a gilet](https://pavegrowth.co/_astro/coach-special.CPa4Mv7e_2873WI.webp) ### The website ![Website section: Settle it with your mates. Prove it to the world.](https://pavegrowth.co/_astro/mates-d.BAJID4Jj_2dJBHI.webp) Settle it with your mates ![Website section: the six-step game loop, from spinning a formation to climbing the rankings](https://pavegrowth.co/_astro/loop-d.5P0b2788_ZskG6Y.webp) The loop, in six steps How it's built ## An AI-built game, held to a human standard. A top-level look at how it's put together. AI agents did the building; the guardrails around them are what made it shippable. See how it's built Optional, for the technically curious Client ### One codebase, iPhone, iPad and web A single TypeScript codebase for the iPhone and iPad apps and the browser game, with smooth native animation throughout. TypeScript, React Native, Expo, Reanimated Backend ### Serverless at the edge 1v1 rooms, matchmaking, leaderboards and scheduled jobs run on a serverless worker with an edge database. Updates ship over the air from a self-hosted, code-signed update server. Cloudflare Workers, D1, R2, Cron Fair play ### The server has the final say The match engine is a pure, seeded function, so the server re-runs every match and season and only its result counts. No result can be faked from the app. Server verification, Seeded simulation, Rating bands Guardrails ### How AI-built code stays reliable Written rules for the agents, numbered plans for every feature and hundreds of automated tests, so each change the AI made had to prove itself before it shipped. Agent rules, Plans, 560+ tests, Playwright About![Josh Pavey](https://pavegrowth.co/_astro/avatar.BbmBhYNK_TT63c.webp) **Josh Pavey** · Founder **Currently** [Get in touch ](#contact) UK time ## Senior strategy. Hands-on delivery. I've spent **7+ years in paid advertising**, agency-side and in-house, most recently as **Head of Paid Search for 3+ years at Soar With Us**, a D2C agency, growing brands to **8+ figures**. I've since started Pavegrowth to continue my love of building and growing brands with that expertise. Alongside the ad accounts I build Shopify themes, iOS apps and software products, including my own. Growth marketing and development under one roof. I utilise AI workstreams to support moving faster & streamlining internal & client workflows to ensure efficiency, whilst the strategy, judgement and accountability are mine. You talk directly to the person doing the work. 7+ · Years in paid ads £10M+ · Ad spend managed 100s · Audits & accounts managed 30-minute intro call ## Let's grow your brand, together. Thirty minutes to get to know your brand, your goals and where the growth is. No pitch deck, just a straight conversation about where we'd take it next. 1. 0–10 · Your brand, goals and growth targets 2. 10–25 · Where I'd look first for growth, and why 3. 25–30 · Fractional, a project, or not a fit [Book an intro call ](https://calendar.app.google/xccypEeR4XJFWLWp6) Email [josh@pavegrowth.co](mailto:josh@pavegrowth.co)