magic telephoneA LITTLE WORLD ON THE OTHER END
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A LITTLE INTRODUCTION

Pick up the phone.
Step into a story.

A familiar telephone becomes a doorway to stories, silly characters, and games. Dial two digits, listen, and press a button to choose what happens next.

Try an experience What you’ll need

A hands-on DIY project for screen-free play.

THE HANDSET DEMO
Demo coming soon
A real phone, a two-digit number, and a little adventure.
We’re saving this spot to show you the whole thing.

ON THEIR SIDE OF THE LINE

Simple enough to get lost in.

  1. 01 / PICK UP

    A familiar beginning.

    Lift the handset and hear the dial tone. Dial a two-digit number to reach a story or game.

  2. 02 / LISTEN & CHOOSE

    They lead the adventure.

    A recorded voice sets the scene. The telephone buttons choose a path, answer a question, or reveal something silly.

  3. 03 / PLAY AGAIN

    Another call, another world.

    Try a different choice or visit another experience. Hanging up ends the call, ready for the next adventure.

* Repeat what you just heard# Return to the operator00 Dial the operator for help
Captain Peel answers a banana telephone while a sleepy banana waits in pajamas.

NO TELEPHONE REQUIRED TO TRY

There’s someone
on the other end.

Curious what a call feels like? Open an experience in the collection, press Play story, and use the on-screen keypad.

The browser preview follows the same story and choices as the telephone. Try a branch, repeat a line, or hang up and start again.

Explore the collection

BEHIND THE LITTLE BIT OF MAGIC

Three pieces. One home network.

This is a DIY setup: you bring the hardware and install the telephone software. Here’s what the current system uses.

THE PART THEY HOLD

A touch-tone phone

A compatible analog telephone with a handset and push-button keypad. The buttons are the controls; the receiver is the speaker.

THE BRIDGE

A telephone adapter

The Grandstream HT802 V2 connects the phone to your home network and provides its telephone line and ringing signal.

THE STORY KEEPER

A Raspberry Pi

Our setup uses a Raspberry Pi 5. It stores the installed stories and audio, and runs the software that responds to every choice.

The phone plugs into the adapter. The adapter and Pi connect by Ethernet to the same home network. Keep both powered for play.

A GROWN-UP’S PART

A new adventure,
a new number.

Once the hardware and telephone software are set up, you can add experiences through the local dashboard.

  1. Find an experience.

    Preview a story or game on this website, then download its content pack. The pack contains the audio and choices it needs.

  2. Add it at home.

    Open your telephone’s dashboard on your home network and import the pack. Review it before enabling it.

  3. Give it two digits.

    Assign an available two-digit number and enable the experience. It’s ready to call, with the recordings stored on your Pi.

A FEW GOOD QUESTIONS

Before the first ring.

Does it need the internet?

This website needs internet access to browse and download experiences. Once installed on your Pi, telephone experiences run locally: keep the Pi, adapter, and home network powered. The phone does not stream stories from this website.

Does it listen to my child?

Experiences use prerecorded audio and keypad choices. The telephone software does not recognize speech or record microphone audio.

Can it call real telephone numbers?

All play stays inside your home network. This is a play telephone; it cannot make outside calls or emergency calls.

Can I create my own stories?

Yes. Creators with an invitation can use the Story Builder to connect scenes, attach recordings, and choose what each button does. Preview your experience, export it for your phone, or submit it for review before it appears in the public collection.

YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE IS CALLING

Start with a little listen.

Find a story, press play, and see where the buttons take you.

Find an experience