Ages 5–8Tick-Tock Town — included in Family Plus on TotType
Tick-Tock Town's clock tower needs a new Timekeeper. Your child reads the big analog clock and types the time on the number keys (7, 3, 0 makes 7:30, and the colon places itself), or hears a time like “half past 8” and types it to set the clock. The hands sweep round, the sky turns from night to sunrise to dusk, and the town acts the time out: the rooster crows, the school bell rings, the streetlights glow, the owls wake up. Set a wrong time and the town plays it as a gentle joke, like pancakes under the moon, then shows how the hands work. Six districts lead from o'clock to half past, quarter hours, 5 minutes, any minute with a.m. and p.m., and how much time has passed.
- Ages
- 5–8
- Teaches
- Telling time on an analog clock, from o'clock to the minute, then a.m., p.m. and time passed · Reading the short hand (the hour) and the long hand (the minutes)
- Plan
- Family Plus plan ($9.99/month) — try a free 60-second demo first
- Plays on
- Any browser — keyboard or touch, nothing to install
How to play Tick-Tock Town
Read the town clock, type the time on the number keys and press Enter or the check button: 7, 3, 0 is 7:30, and 7 on its own is 7 o'clock. When Tick the cuckoo says a time, like “Breakfast is at half past 7!”, type it and the hands sweep there. To find the clock that says 3:45, type 1, 2 or 3 (or tap it). In the Night Market, press A or P (or tap a.m. or p.m.) as well, and on Bakery Hill type when the cake is ready or how many minutes are left until lunch. A wrong answer gets a short lesson on the clock, such as which hand shows the hour or counting by fives, and one more try.
What your child learns
- Telling time on an analog clock, from o'clock to the minute, then a.m., p.m. and time passed
- Reading the short hand (the hour) and the long hand (the minutes)
- Half past, quarter past and quarter to, in words and in digits
- Counting the minutes by fives around the clock face
- a.m. and p.m., and the times of a real day
- How much time has passed, in minutes and in hours
Why it works at this age
Between five and eight, children meet the clock at school but rarely practise it at home, and an analog face is hard because its two hands mean two different things. Here every time belongs to a moment of the day (breakfast, the bus, bedtime), so a time means something, and typing the time makes a child commit to a reading instead of guessing between pictures. Wrong times play out in the town, so a mistake shows why it was wrong.
Tips for parents
- Go on the Clock Hunt together: once a session your child is asked to read a real clock at home.
- Quiz the grown-up: your child picks a time on a real clock, you say it, and they check you.
- Print the My Day chart from the Grown-ups corner and read it together at breakfast.
Frequently asked questions
What age is Tick-Tock Town for?
Ages 5 to 8, roughly US grades 1 to 3. The age a grown-up picks sets the starting district: 5 starts on Sunrise Street (o'clock), 6 on Lunch Lane (half past), 7 in Park Plaza (quarter past and quarter to) and 8 in Station Square (5-minute steps). The Night Market (any minute, a.m. and p.m.) and Bakery Hill (time passed) come after. The next district opens when 7 of the last 8 first tries are right.
What does Tick-Tock Town teach?
Your child learns to read and set a clock: to the hour, half hour, quarter hour, 5 minutes and minute, then a.m. and p.m. and how much time has passed (US standards 1.MD.3, 2.MD.7 and 3.MD.1). A skill counts as solid at 7 of the last 8 right. The time skills are on the game's grown-up card; Learning Insights shows the numbers your child answered, such as the hours read off the clock.
Do children drag the clock hands?
No. Tick-Tock Town is played on the keyboard: children type the time they read or hear on the number keys, and the hands sweep to the typed time. On a tablet, the on-screen number keys and big a.m., p.m. and check buttons do the same.
What is My Day?
In the Grown-ups corner you can enter your child's routine from a fixed list (wake-up time, breakfast, school, lunch, dinner, bath, bedtime and more, up to 10). Those times become missions, like “Your bedtime is half past 7!”, and you can print a My Day chart with a clock face for each one, for the fridge.
Is my child's progress saved?
Game progress is saved on this device; learning shows up in your child's Insights. Up to four children can share a device, each with an animal badge, and a child picked with Track as plays under their own profile. Nothing is saved in the free demo.
Is Tick-Tock Town free?
Tick-Tock Town is part of the Family Plus plan. Anyone can play a free 60-second demo of the real game first.
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