Pause a puzzle countdown properly when a dialog, an ad and the home button overlap

The timer on a timed puzzle must stop while the player is not playing, but one close button resumes it while another reason to stop is still there, or the game comes back from the phone call with the timer running. Here is a counted set of reasons that settles it.

Why this works

A pause has several independent causes, and each can end on its own. A single on-off switch forgets the others, while keeping a tally per cause means the clock restarts only when every cause is gone, however they overlap.

When not to use it

Skip it when the game is real time and cannot wait, like a live match with others, or when there is only ever one reason to pause. Then a plain on-off switch is enough and easier to get right.

In the full entry

• What to build, step by step
• Starting values and the reason for each
• 4 common mistakes and the fix
• A diagram of every state
• 24 lines of example code with 3 checks that pass
• How your AI shows you that it works

Say this to your AI

Use the Spielerando entry "Pause a puzzle countdown properly when a dialog, an ad and the home button overlap" (read_entry countdown-puzzle-pauses-stack-up) in my game. Build it step by step, and show me how you checked that it works.

Or skip this and connect the MCP: your AI then finds all of this by itself.Connect the MCP