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Pre-1.0 RC — v0.9.9 for Windows

AI strategy second opinions for serious strategy gamers.

Use sample scenarios, manual strategy briefs, and Decision Duel to compare your plan with AI advice. Experimental integrations are clearly marked.

Three dilemmas. Two minutes. One truth about you. No download needed.

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Playing a real strategy game right now? Start with a five-minute strategy second opinion.

3 free turn plans per day — no download, no API key.

BYOK — Bring Your Own AI Key
Discord: https://discord.gg/dmbmG9zN
How It Works

Playing in 4 Steps

Bring your own AI. Each mode is labeled by what it can actually do.

1

Pick Your Model

Choose the model used for advice in supported modes

2

Paste Your Key

Get an API key from your AI provider (takes 60 seconds)

3

Choose a Mode

Pick a labeled wired game, chat mode, or manual advisor

4

Play

For advisors, describe the situation manually; wired and experimental modes show their own setup status

Supported Games

Chess, freeform modes, manual advisors, and gated STS Watch.

We're honest about what works today so you know exactly what to expect.

Ready — works instantly9 games

Chess

Basic chess mode where configured

Tales for Bards to Sing

AI-powered interactive fiction. Play solo or with up to 4 friends. The AI remembers choices within the story session.

Risk

Chat-based

Settlers of Catan

Chat-based

Go

Chat-based

Checkers

Chat-based

Battleship

Chat-based

Connect Four

Chat-based

Tic-Tac-Toe

Chat-based
Experimental / setup required3 games

Slay the Spire Watch

Experimental; requires CommunicationMod and Pan live retest

Battle for Wesnoth

Experimental bridge setup

Pokemon (Competitive)

Experimental Pokemon Showdown setup
Advisor only — manual situation entry7 games

Civilization VI

Manual situation entry

Dominions 6

Manual situation entry

Europa Universalis IV

Manual situation entry

Crusader Kings III

Manual situation entry

Hearts of Iron IV

Manual situation entry

Stellaris

Manual situation entry

Total War: Warhammer III

Manual situation entry
AI Personalities

6 Ways to Lose

Each personality changes how the AI reasons. Same intelligence, different strategy.

Aggressive

Military rushes, dominance through force

Diplomatic

Alliances, trades, cultural victories

Economic

Resource optimization, tech advantage

Turtler

Defensive walls, retaliates only when attacked

Chaotic

Random betrayals, unpredictable decisions

Baseline

Plain

Minimal persona flavor for comparing advice styles.

New in v0.5.0

Tales for Bards to Sing — AI-Powered Interactive Fiction

Master Griphus will tell your story. But it’s your choices that write it. Solo or with up to four friends. The AI remembers choices within the story session.

Research status

Research tools stay under internal review

Research and benchmark surfaces are not part of the public AI-GameFriend release candidate until Pan approves them.

Arena Mode

Experimental chess comparison

Experimental chess spectator mode for comparing models where configured. Other games are not part of the basic release-candidate scope until their adapters are verified.

Clearly labeled

Comparison surfaces stay experimental until verified

Status labeled

Other adapters stay gated until they pass their own release checks.

Commentary

Template-based play-by-play; LLM commentary configurable in Arena setup

Experimental; not the recommended first stop for basic RC testing.

Simple Pricing

You pay for the integration layer. You bring your own AI key and pay your own API costs directly.

Free

$0
  • Pre-1.0 basic access
  • Chess + freeform tabletop games + 10 MindGames + manual strategy advisors
  • All AI providers (BYOK)
  • Cost calculator
Most Popular

Experimental Arena

$4.99/mo
  • Ready modes where configured
  • Advisor mode for Civ VI, Dominions 6, EU4, CK3, HOI4, Stellaris, TW (manual situation entry)
  • Experimental chess comparison where configured
  • Match history where available
  • PGN export and analytics
  • Leaderboards

Founder's Pass

$49 lifetime
  • Current release-candidate surfaces
  • Experimental integrations stay labeled
  • Founder badge
  • Priority feature requests

Estimated API Costs

You pay your AI provider directly. Costs vary by model, prompt size, and mode.

Strategy Brief

1 brief turns

$0.01-0.15

Decision Duel

1 comparison turns

$0.01-0.15

Manual Advisor

1 session turns

$0.01-0.30

Experimental STS

gated turns

TBD

Chess Match

30-60 turns

$0.05-0.15

Board Game

50-150 turns

$0.30-1.00

r/civ — 850K+ members
r/chess — 4M+ members
Civ franchise — 70M+ copies sold
#1 complaint — predictable AI

Ready to Play?

Pre-1.0 Windows release candidate. BYOK. Start with chess or manual strategy advisors.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is AI-GameFriend?

AI-GameFriend connects LLM AI models to honest game surfaces: basic chess where configured, manual strategy advisors, freeform chat games, and experiments clearly marked by status.

What does 'Bring Your Own Key' (BYOK) mean?

You paste your own AI API key (from Anthropic, OpenAI, xAI, or Google). AI-GameFriend is the interface layer for supported modes. Manual advisors use the situation you type; wired games show their own status. You control which AI you use and pay your own API costs directly.

How much does the AI cost per game?

It depends on the mode and model. Manual Strategy Brief and Decision Duel sessions are usually small API calls. Longer configured modes can cost more, and the app should show cost tracking where available.

Which games are supported?

Chess has a full legal board UI. Risk, Catan, Go, Checkers, Battleship, Connect Four, and Tic-Tac-Toe are freeform/chat modes where you describe the board. Grand strategy advisors use manual situation entry. Slay the Spire Watch is experimental and gated until live retest passes.

What is Baseline mode?

Baseline mode uses minimal persona flavor so you can compare advice styles without treating a model as a verified autonomous player.

What is Arena mode?

Arena mode is an experimental chess spectator mode for comparing models where configured. It is not the recommended first stop for the v0.9.9 release-candidate flow.

What's the Founder's Pass?

The Founder's Pass is an optional early-supporter offer. It does not mean every experimental integration is ready today; each surface keeps its own status label.

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