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Learn Counting taught me how fast the AI tools are changing.

I started this as a small toddler math game, but it became a bigger lesson in how fast the apps we use to build products are improving. Runway Calculator was mostly Codex CLI and OpenClaw. Learn Counting was almost all Codex, with Claude Design helping me move much faster on planning and game assets.

Open Learn CountingRead build notes

What shipped

Four small games for early number practice.

The app is intentionally small: simple tap interactions, friendly visuals, gentle feedback, and game modes that a parent can understand quickly while playing with a child.

  1. Counting Garden

    Count a small set of playful items and tap the matching number.

  2. Number Pals

    Practice simple one-digit addition and subtraction.

  3. Finding Fruits

    Find and count the requested fruit in a mixed basket.

  4. More or Less

    Choose which fruit basket has more or less, as the advanced mode.

Build context

What changed from Runway Calculator

  • Development

    Built almost entirely in Codex, after the Codex app became my most natural place for focused product work.

  • Design planning

    Claude Design accelerated the concept, screen planning, and game asset direction when ChatGPT image generation still felt awkward for planning.

  • Stack

    Flutter for the app, with a live web version and a path toward cross-platform toddler games if this product line proves useful.

AI workflow notes

The product was also a test of the builder stack.

The game matters, but the workflow matters too. This build made the difference between Codex, Claude Design, ChatGPT image generation, and my own thinking much clearer.

  1. 01

    The tools changed between products

    When I built Runway Calculator, I was mostly using Codex CLI and OpenClaw, with Codex auth, to tighten copy and improve the product. By the time I built Learn Counting, the Codex app had improved so much that it became the place where I wanted to spend deep development time. I would say this app was built close to 90% in Codex.

  2. 02

    Claude Design unlocked the early game direction

    Image generation in ChatGPT has improved, but design planning still does not feel natural to me inside Codex or ChatGPT. I tried Claude Design at the start by borrowing an account, and it worked so well for concepts, mockups, and asset direction that I subscribed almost immediately. The usage burns fast, but for this game it removed a lot of early uncertainty.

  3. 03

    Flutter became less scary with Codex beside me

    I came into this with limited Flutter knowledge, but Codex made it simple to keep developing, fixing, and improving the app. With better planning and faster iteration, Flutter now feels like a serious candidate if I choose to build more toddler apps as a side income path that could grow into a real business.

  4. 04

    The hard rule: do not outsource the thinking

    The biggest caution is that AI can make it too easy to say yes. A few times, when I was tired or rushing, I basically accepted everything it suggested, almost like agreeing with a boss without thinking. When I came back later, I had no context for why the idea was good or whether it was even mine. That is dangerous, so I need to keep my own judgment in the loop.