---
key: mechanic/point-and-click--family-26
type: mechanic
id: point-and-click--family-26
lang: en
title: 'Time, schedules and waiting'
summary: >-
  An action becomes available according to a schedule, duration or chosen
  moment.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/point-and-click--family-26/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/point-and-click--family-26.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/point-and-click--family-26.md
aliases:
  - 'Timing, schedules and waiting'
tags:
  - Point-and-click adventures
  - Extended adventure systems
sourceIds:
  - source-d0f904004e312936
sources:
  - id: source-d0f904004e312936
    title: 'Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective'
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1967430/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: point-and-click
    id: family-26
    title: Point-and-click adventures
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/point-and-click/#family-26'
    categoryIds:
      - section-4
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: 'Timing, schedules and waiting'
    description: >-
      An action becomes available according to a schedule, duration or chosen
      moment.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/adventure-ghost-trick-04.webp
      width: 1440
      height: 810
      game: 'Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective'
      sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1967430/'
      originalUrl: >-
        https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/1967430/ss_efad45bc7110cc77e040b83196ebc6253fe7a525.1920x1080.jpg?t=1787717141
      credit: 'CAPCOM Co., Ltd.'
      rights: >-
        Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed
        Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: Actions are limited to the before-death sequence
      alt: Actions are limited to the before-death sequence
      markers:
        - x: 94
          'y': 52
          label: Timed-sequence indicator
    tips:
      - Show the available window and how time behaves during action selection.
    examples:
      - title: 'Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective'
        url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1967430/'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Original taxonomy adapted from user-selected design discussions; linked
  sources support specific examples, not the whole classification.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/point-and-click
---
# Time, schedules and waiting

id: point-and-click--family-26
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/point-and-click--family-26
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/point-and-click--family-26/

An action becomes available according to a schedule, duration or chosen moment.

## At a glance

![Actions are limited to the before-death sequence](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/adventure-ghost-trick-04.webp)

[Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1967430/) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. Timed-sequence indicator

- Show the available window and how time behaves during action selection.

- [Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1967430/)

## How it works

An action becomes available according to a schedule, duration or chosen moment.

## Variants

### Variants

<a id="family-26-branch-1"></a>

- Real time: the world changes while the player observes and decides. <a id="family-26-variant-1"></a>
- Action-driven time: turns, travel or dialogue advance the clock. <a id="family-26-variant-2"></a>
- Waiting: skip time until meetings, deliveries, growth or target states. <a id="family-26-variant-3"></a>
- NPC schedules: find characters and account for routines. <a id="family-26-variant-4"></a>
- Cycles: act during a phase of repeating mechanisms or behavior. <a id="family-26-variant-5"></a>
- Time windows: act before doors close, owners return or conditions change. <a id="family-26-variant-6"></a>
- Deadlines: allocate limited time among goals. <a id="family-26-variant-7"></a>
- Delayed consequences: start tasks, processes or events with future results. <a id="family-26-variant-8"></a>

## Context and limits

A working classification with 44 families and 355 variants. Families overlap: one puzzle can combine items, dialogue, deduction and a character schedule. Core actions, progression architecture and assistance are separate layers. Sources identify examples from neighboring adventure genres.

## Connected materials


## Sources and provenance

Original taxonomy adapted from user-selected design discussions; linked sources support specific examples, not the whole classification.

- [Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1967430/) (id: source-d0f904004e312936)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors