{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/phone-flashlight--family-timing","type":"mechanic","id":"phone-flashlight--family-timing","lang":"en","title":"Rhythm, time and light codes","summary":"Flashes and pauses encode a sequence. Morse-It sends text as Morse code using the screen, sound and the device flashlight where supported.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/phone-flashlight--family-timing/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/phone-flashlight--family-timing.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/phone-flashlight--family-timing.md","aliases":[],"tags":["Phone flashlight interactions","Mechanics catalog"],"sourceIds":["source-47f6341cc0c6a2ab"],"sources":[{"id":"source-47f6341cc0c6a2ab","title":"Morse-It","url":"https://apps.apple.com/us/app/morse-it/id284942940?uo=4","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"The lights and pauses become a sequence to be created or read."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Variants and applications\n\n<a id=\"family-timing-variants\"></a>\n\n- Short and long signal. Action: Transmit two distinguishable types of activation. Application: Binary response, simple commands to a friend, signal training. Requirements: Rear LED and app control. Conditions: The person can read light; The automatic recipient needs a camera or photo sensor. <a id=\"variant-11\"></a>\n- Code number of inclusions. Action: Transmit the number in separate pulses. Application: Door number, selecting an answer option, indicating the number of items. Requirements: Rear LED and control from the application. Conditions: Separate messages with a long pause so as not to confuse adjacent numbers. <a id=\"variant-12\"></a>\n- Morse code. Action: Encode characters with dots, dashes and pauses. Application: Spy quest, communication trainer, short phrase exchange. Requirements: Rear LED and app control. Conditions: This is a training or gaming connection, not a guaranteed emergency channel. <a id=\"variant-13\"></a>\n- Password from durations. Action: Enter a sequence of different holds. Application: Open the virtual lock, repeat the character's knock. Requirements: Rear LED and control from the application; Software game rule. Conditions: Recognize input duration; LED serves as physical confirmation. <a id=\"variant-14\"></a>\n- Password from pauses. Action: Maintain equal pulses by changing the intervals between them. Application: Secret rhythm, time puzzle, musical phrase. Requirements: Rear LED and app control; Software game rule. Conditions: Estimate intervals with tolerance rather than requiring perfect milliseconds. <a id=\"variant-15\"></a>\n- Repeat the shown rhythm. Action: The application or partner shows the drawing; the player plays it. Application: Memory game, light “Simon”, learning to count. Requirements: Rear LED and control from the application; Software game rule. Conditions: The original sequence can additionally be shown with text or sound. <a id=\"variant-16\"></a>\n- Getting on the beat. Action: Turn on the lights at specified moments in the music. Application: Rhythm playing, performance, group score. Requirements: Rear LED and app control; Software game rule. Conditions: Evaluate the command time and separately take into account the delay of the actual light. <a id=\"variant-17\"></a>\n- Reaction to a signal. Action: Turn on or turn off after a valid signal, ignoring a false one. Application: Training of gaming attention, duel for reaction. Requirements: Rear LED and control from the application; Software game rule. Conditions: The competition requires the same delay and device rules. <a id=\"variant-18\"></a>\n- Action in a window of time. Action: Keep the light only in the allowed phase of the cycle. Application: Go through a virtual patrol, activate the rotating mechanism. Requirements: Rear LED and control from the application; Software game rule. Conditions: Phases are set by the game; the real flashlight does not detect the patrol. <a id=\"variant-19\"></a>\n- Delayed playback. Action: Record the light sequence and run it later. Application: Asynchronous riddle, light cue, repeat of the author's drawing. Requirements: Rear LED and control from the application. Conditions: Record commands and intervals; playback does not promise accurate optical synchronization. <a id=\"variant-20\"></a>"},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"Author's working classification for designing games and interactions. Options can overlap and combine; the list is not a generally accepted standard or proven exhaustive list. Application examples are conditional unless a specific verifiable observation is indicated nearby. Sources support individual techniques and technical limitations."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"phone-flashlight","id":"family-timing","title":"Phone flashlight interactions","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/phone-flashlight/#family-timing","categoryIds":["section-1"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Rhythm, time and light codes","description":"Flashes and pauses encode a sequence. Morse-It sends text as Morse code using the screen, sound and the device flashlight where supported.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/flash-morse-encode.webp","width":720,"height":1280,"crop":{"x":0,"y":50,"width":720,"height":650},"game":"Morse-It","sourceUrl":"https://apps.apple.com/us/app/morse-it/id284942940?uo=4","originalUrl":"https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/PurpleSource126/v4/e7/81/95/e7819588-ed18-f189-d310-f9fe38042879/f80c3936-c8ce-4640-bd6a-fd6ad5b820d8_5_-_5.5_-_iPhone_8_Plus-1.png/720x1560bb.jpg","credit":"Francis Bonnin","rights":"© Francis Bonnin. Developer-distributed App Store screenshot. All rights reserved; excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"Morse-It: encoding text as a light-signal sequence","alt":"Morse-It: encoding text as a light-signal sequence","markers":[{"x":50,"y":22,"label":"Two dots and a dash represent the current light-code symbol"}]},"tips":["Limit flashing frequency and offer sound or a static code representation."],"examples":[{"title":"Morse-It","url":"https://apps.apple.com/us/app/morse-it/id284942940?uo=4"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original editorial design catalog consolidated from project discussions on 2026-10-20. Complete discussion item lists and contextual limitations are preserved; linked primary sources support specific techniques, not the entire classification. English translation was prepared with machine assistance and editorial review.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/phone-flashlight"}}