A downloadable tool

There was a time when train stations announced the next departure with a clatter of flipping panels, a cascade of little black cards turning over, each one a beat of mechanical music. Tock Flap brings that feeling to your Playdate.

What it is

Tock Flap is a countdown timer you set the old-fashioned way. Roll the crank between your fingers and feel the minutes tick by, one notch at a time, with a soft click for every step. Press start, and watch them fall away on four big split-flap cards. Every flip lands with a satisfying click and a low thunk you can feel.

It's a small piece of analog joy on a tiny yellow handheld.

How it works

  • Turn the crank to dial in 00 to 99 minutes, just like an old kitchen timer. Each minute is a tiny detent under your thumb.
  • Press A to start. The cards begin their countdown.
  • Press A again to pause. The display breathes gently while you're away.
  • Press B to cancel and return to the dial.

You can also use the d-pad. Hold Up or Down to scroll faster and faster across the dial.

Features

  • Hand-tuned animations. The cards fall with gravity, bounce on landing, and even quiver on the way down, the way a real split-flap board does.
  • Crafted sound. Each flip is a layered click and thunk. The final alarm is a single confident pip.
  • Dark or light mode. Switch between the classic black-on-white station look and a softer inverted theme.
  • Remembers your last time. Pick up right where you left off.
  • Stays awake while counting. Your Playdate won't auto-lock mid-timer.
  • Made with care. Every spacing value sits on a 4-pixel grid. Every animation curve was tuned by hand. It's a small app that wants to feel exactly right.

Built for the kind of waiting worth listening to.


Made by Patrik Stenberg · Aftercompute

Tock Flap collects no data. It runs entirely on your Playdate and never connects to the internet.

Download

Download
TockFlap.zip 30 kB

Install instructions

Tock Flap is a Playdate app. You'll need a Panic Playdate to run it.

Install

  1. Unzip the download.
  2. Go to play.date/account/sideload and sign in.
  3. Drag the TockFlap.pdx folder onto the sideload page (or zip the .pdx and upload it — both work).
  4. Your Playdate will sync the game over WiFi the next time it's online.

The game then appears in your Playdate's launcher under Games.

What's in the download

  • TockFlap.pdx — the app itself
  • LICENSE.txt — license terms
  • PRIVACY.txt — privacy notice (spoiler: nothing is collected)

Requirements

  • Playdate console (firmware 2.0 or later recommended)
  • A play.date account (free; comes with your Playdate)

Notes

  • This build is for Playdate hardware only. The Mac/Windows/Linux Simulator binaries are not bundled.
  • Tock Flap runs entirely on your Playdate. No data is collected or transmitted.

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