Hi friends!
Today is a huge day for me — and honestly, a little surreal. After months and months of hard work, late nights, and moments of “wait, can we actually do this?” — our very first mobile game is LIVE: a fresh new spin on classic Solitaire, built with love (and lots of coffee-scratch that, iced tea – if you know you know)
But here’s the twist: I didn’t do it alone.
This project is a collaboration between me and my husband — who just so happens to have 20+ years of experience in the games industry. He’s not just my partner in life, but now, in pixels too. Great, right? Well, maybe.
🎮 A Bit of Backstory
Before I jumped into this wild world of game dev, I knew my husband had done some cool stuff — but I didn’t fully grasp the scale until I started learning from him.
He co-founded PhantomEFX, a studio that was later acquired by Williams Interactive, and then Scientific Games, now known as SciPlay. He was the original developer on one of their biggest titles, Jackpot Party, which continues to be a massive success in the mobile casino space.
So yeah — this guy knows his stuff.
Me? I’m new to all of it. Design, UI/UX, app store guidelines, dev tools, testing, analytics — it’s all been one giant crash course. And let me tell you: watching from the sidelines and doing it yourself are very different things.
😅 Learning the Hard (and Fun) Way
Partnering with someone as experienced as my husband gave me a front-row seat to the inner workings of app development — and a crash course in just how challenging it really is.
Here are a few things I didn’t fully appreciate until now:
App development is never “done.” There’s always another bug, feature, or last-minute tweak.
The tiniest UI decision can spiral into hours of design work.
Testing across devices is maddening. Something that works perfectly on my phone suddenly breaks on his.
Publishing on the app stores is an Olympic-level checklist.
And perhaps most importantly: there’s no shortcut around learning by doing.
Even with all the guidance in the world, I had to get my hands dirty — and wow, did I learn a lot.
💡 The Joy of Building Something Together
Despite the struggles (and a few “why isn’t this button working?!” meltdowns), this journey has been thrilling. Not just because we built a game — but because we did it together.
I brought my own voice, vision, and love for the player experience. My husband brought deep technical knowledge, battle-tested wisdom, and the kind of calm you only get after surviving 20 years of production cycles.
Together, we created something we’re proud of: a Solitaire game that’s elegant, fun, and built with the kind of polish we think players deserve.
✨ The Highs (That Make It All Worth It)
Seeing our game listed on the App Store and Google Play? Totally surreal.
Watching players actually download and play it? Even better.
Getting feedback from friends, family, and total strangers? Incredible.
And honestly? Working side-by-side with my husband on something creative has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
Sto Co. A Games Company the parent company of Far Side Games creator of Solitaire Time Warp
🚀 What’s Next?
We’ve got some fun updates planned — from new worlds, more levels and daily challenges to multi-player features and community events. This is just the beginning for us. And while Solitaire is our first launch together, it definitely won’t be our last.
🎉 A Huge Thank You
If you’ve already downloaded the game — thank you from the bottom of our hearts. If you haven’t, I’d love for you to give it a try. You can find Solitaire Time Warp in the app store here, and google play store here.
And if you’re a new dev, dreamer, or someone sitting on an idea thinking “could I really do this?” — the answer is yes. It might not be easy, but it’s so worth it.
Thanks for coming along on this journey. More to come soon!
With gratitude,
Sarah Stokes
First-Time Dev & Long-Time Gamer ♠️♥️
P.S. If you’ve got feedback, bug reports, or just want to say hi — drop a comment below or message me on socials. We’re building this together!