For editors, reviewers, and reporters.
Cairn is a publisher of research-grounded learning games for children ages 3 to 6. The first game is Cairn Read, a phonics adventure built on systematic synthetic phonics. The library will reach ten games as it builds.
One-liner
Cairn is a publisher of research-grounded learning games for kids ages 3 to 6: no ads, no subscriptions, no data collected, works offline, made by a mom who designs AI systems for CIOs and tech leaders and refuses to let grown-up persuasion tactics target children.
Fifty words
Cairn turns early-childhood research into honest learning games. The first title, Cairn Read, teaches reading through systematic synthetic phonics in a block-world adventure. There are no ads, no subscriptions, no in-app purchases, no accounts, and no data collection. Built by Ryan King, who advises CIOs and technology leaders on AI systems and workflows, and is a mom of two.
The founder, in one paragraph
Ryan King advises CIOs and technology leaders on designing AI systems and workflows. She is deeply fluent in how modern software is built to capture attention, which is exactly why it galls her to see the persuasion tactics meant for adults aimed at children. She founded Cairn after her boys were served a casino ad inside a kids game on a transatlantic flight that the same game had failed to play offline. Cairn is the publisher she wished she had been handed in the first place. She lives outside New York with her husband and two boys.
Fact sheet
- Company: Cairn
- Founder: Ryan King
- Founded: 2026
- First game: Cairn Read (formerly ReadCraft)
- Age range: 3 to 6
- Pricing model: Cairn Read is $3.99 once on the App Store, no IAP, no subscription, no ads. Snake Munch is free.
- Privacy: Zero data collection, no accounts, no analytics, no third-party SDKs
- Offline: Fully offline after first launch
- Method: Systematic synthetic phonics with comprehension checks; pedagogy note ships with the app
- Roadmap: Ten games over time, mapped to the cognitive skill domains measured by WPPSI, ERB, OLSAT
- Web: playcairn.com
- Status: Cairn Read and Snake Munch are finishing App Store review. Review builds available on request.
Review copies and promo codes
Review copies are available before and after launch. Email hello@playcairn.com with the outlet and we will send a promo code for the iPad version and a brief on the research grounding. Embargo dates work; just say so.
Brand assets
- Cairn mark (SVG)
- Cairn social card (1200x630 PNG)
- Founder hero image (PNG)
- Cairn Read scene (PNG)
Interview availability
Ryan is available for phone, video, and email interviews on the science of reading, the ethics of kids software, and the experience of building a brand against the engagement-loop default. Comfortable speaking to parents, educators, and tech press.
Story angles that may interest you
- A technologist who builds attention systems for a living audits the kids app market and decides to compete with it
- What honest privacy looks like in a category where the FTC fines big names every other year
- Why the science of reading still does not appear in most "reading apps"
- The mom-built publisher betting that one-time purchase still works in a subscription market
- Cognitive skill building that maps to the WPPSI without becoming test prep