When we started Respite, the goal was simple: a short, kind pause between you and the app you open on autopilot. It works, but a pause is quiet. Nothing tells you it is working, and a week of good days can feel exactly like a week of nothing. So we added a small game on top. It is called the game layer, it is free, and it lives in the Journey tab of the iPhone and Android apps.

What is new in Respite?

Here is the full list, with the fine print in how acorns, streaks and streak freezes work:

  • Acorns. Earn them for days you keep within your limits and for choosing to walk away at the pause. Acorns are also your XP, so they raise your level.
  • Three daily quests. Small goals like walking away a few times, opening your insights, or staying well under one app’s limit.
  • Streak milestones and a weekly chest. Bonuses at 3, 7, 14, 30 and 100 days of kept days, and a chest at the end of a good week.
  • Streak freezes. Three free every month, to protect a day on purpose.
  • A shop. Spend acorns on garden items, outfits for Biscuit the mascot, and extra freezes. Some app themes are on the way.
  • Friends and weekly leagues. Optional, small groups, ranked on days kept within limits. See Respite leagues and friends.

Why add a game to a wellbeing app?

Because the hard part of cutting back is not the first day; it is the third week, when the novelty has gone and nobody is clapping. Streaks and small rewards help people repeat a habit while it is still fragile. We wrote about both the promise and the pitfalls in gamified screen time apps: do streaks and rewards help?, and we built the layer around that thinking:

  • It rewards less. Nothing pays you for opening an app or staying in it.
  • It forgives. A freeze turns a bad day into a pause in your streak, not a reset.
  • It stays small. You look at it for a few seconds, claim, and get on with your day.
  • It is never a requirement. The pause, the limits and the usage tracking work exactly the same whether you play or not.
  • Competition is optional. You can use friends, join a league, or hide.

Is it really free?

Yes. The game layer is free for everyone, with no ads and no sign-up fee. There is nothing to buy with money in it: acorns are earned, never purchased. Respite Plus is a separate, optional upgrade for syncing across all your devices, unlimited schedules, longer focus sessions and richer insights.

What do I need to play?

A free sign-in with Google or Apple. We keep your acorns on Respite’s server, not just on your phone, so your balance, streak and quests stay right if you change phone or use two devices, and so a freeze cannot be spent twice. That is also why you do not need to do anything to “sync” the game. If you have been using Respite without an account, the app shows a single “sign in to earn acorns” card in Journey, and nothing else changes until you tap it.

On the web side of things, the Respite browser extension has the same game pieces built in, but its sign-in arrives in a later extension update, so for now the game is for iPhone and Android.

How do I try it?

  1. Update Respite on iPhone or Android.
  2. Open the Journey tab and sign in when the card asks.
  3. Make sure at least one app has a daily limit. Days are only counted as kept when you have a limit to keep.
  4. Check your three quests, then carry on with your day. Acorns for a day arrive when the day closes.
  5. Visit the shop when you have saved a few acorns.

New to Respite? Download it first and set a limit on your most automatic app. Our guide to how to reduce screen time has ideas for choosing it.

What is next?

The browser extension will join once its sign-in update ships. App themes are listed in the shop and will unlock when they are ready. We will keep the What’s new page up to date as things land.

Next step

Download Respite and open the Journey tab. If you want the fine print first, start with how acorns work.