Points and “Saved Time”
Open Tortoise Time’s home screen and you’ll see a few numbers: today’s used time, remaining time, and something like “points” or “coins.” This piece explains what those numbers mean — and what they’re not.
What the numbers are
Children can see two kinds of numbers:
1. Used / remaining time
The most straightforward — in minutes.
- How much time is left today → remaining time
- How much has been used today → used time
This is Tortoise Time’s most basic function. One glance tells the story.
2. “Saved time” (points)
This number reflects how much the child has chosen to show restraint. For example:
- The child had 60 minutes available today but only used 50 → saved 10 minutes
- The child exits voluntarily during the Serious Warning stage → bonus points
- When Time’s Up arrives, they accept the block calmly without negotiating → bonus points
These saved minutes accumulate into a kind of “points,” used in Turtle Island exploration — dispatching the turtle costs a small amount of points.
What they’re not
They cannot be exchanged for screen time.
To be explicit: a child cannot use “I saved 30 minutes today” to extend their allowed time tomorrow. Points only work inside Turtle Island — they give the turtle a reason to go exploring, nothing more.
Why did we design it this way? If “saved time” could be redeemed for “more time tomorrow,” the mechanic would effectively become a roundabout way to encourage more usage — “use less today so I can use more tomorrow.” That’s not the goal.
What we want to convey is: pacing yourself has value — but that value shows up as stories and adventures, not as more screen time.
Will the numbers make kids obsessive?
We thought about this too.
Our design restraints:
- Numbers don’t show decimal places — you’ll never see “47.3 minutes remaining,” just “47 min”
- Points don’t show an all-time high — there’s no “your best day was 28 minutes saved” message. Children aren’t nudged toward chasing a record.
- The exploration doesn’t show drop rates — rare items appear when they appear. There’s no “3 more trips until a rare” hint.
These choices exist to keep the numbers from becoming a source of stress. We don’t want Tortoise Time to become another scoring system that makes children anxious.
Tips for parents
- Don’t treat the numbers as a report card — they reflect behavior, not the child’s worth
- Don’t reward saved time externally — that turns “saving time” into a new pressure
- If points are high, a simple “you slowed down today” is enough — acknowledge the feeling, not the number itself
Why the adventure gamification works this way → Why We Made Kids Wait What your child can actually do in the game → Turtle Island Adventure (for kids)