Betas open now

4 titles are open for testing. iPhone runs through TestFlight and takes about a minute. On Android, open betas are one tap; a closed beta needs two steps in a fixed order, and the first one is where everybody gets stuck — so it is explained once, below.

iPhone & iPad — 3 open

Install TestFlight (opens in a new tab) first, then any link below opens straight into its invitation. No group, no waiting, no sign-up.

Android open testing — 3 open

No group, no waiting. Open the link signed in with the Google account on your phone, tap Become a tester, then install from the Play page it hands you.

Android closed testing — 1 open

Google checks Google-Group membership before it will serve a closed-testing opt-in. Tap the Play link first and it tells you you don't have permission, which looks exactly like a broken app and is not one. Join the group first, every time.

The group page looks broken. It isn't. It opens on “You don't have permission to access this content” — that message is about reading the group's posts, not about joining, so ignore it. First tap Sign in at the top right. Once you're signed in, a Join group button appears next to the group name — that's the one you want.
A Google Group page on a phone, signed out, with the Sign in button circled and no Join group button anywhere
First: signed out — there is no Join button yet. Tap Sign in. Opening the link in Chrome rather than an app’s built-in browser makes this easier. Every one of our groups looks like this — only the name differs.
A Google Group once signed in, with the Join group button circled
Then: tap Join group next to the name.

There is one group across these 1 titles, so joining once does not cover all of them — check the group link on each row you want. Use the same Google account that is signed in on your phone.

Already out

SkyCast is public on both stores and needs none of this — it is a normal install from the SkyCast page. Everything else we make is on the games and apps pages.

Something broken?

That is what a beta is for. Tell us — it is the whole point of the programme, and a bug report from a tester is worth more than a five-star review.