How it works
- Leave the app empty to react to any full-screen app, or pick one specific app or game.
- Turn on "games only" to ignore browsers, video players and launchers and only count apps that look like games.
- It uses Windows' own full-screen state and window size, so it opens nothing inside the game and never touches a protected game.
- In a Wait until it wakes on focus, minimize and restore events; an app switching to full screen in place is caught by a safety check every few seconds.
Routines that use it
Hold notifications during games
Before Show banner, an If skips the message whenever a full-screen game is in front, so reminders wait until you're back.
Don't sleep during a movie
A late-night routine checks this condition and only runs Sleep when nothing is playing full screen.
Game lighting
Wait until a full-screen game is in front, then Set brightness dims the screen a little and Quiet mode holds back notifications.
Good to know
- It's a heuristic based on Windows' full-screen state and window size; an unusual app may not be classified the way you expect.
Questions
- How do I stop automations from interrupting my games?
- Add an If with Full-screen app in front at the start of the routine and skip the noisy steps when it's true. Turn on "games only" if full-screen browsers should still count as normal use.
- Does checking for a full-screen game risk anti-cheat problems?
- No. The check only reads Windows' own state and window list; it doesn't open the game's process or send it anything.