Does anyone have a simple method to keep track of time in-game? I'm sure I could find like a "teach your child how to tell time on a clock" type thing but I'm curious if there are ones made specifically for TTRPGs.
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The easiest thing to do is pick up/buy an old mantel clock: if it's just a prop and doesn't have to work, you can buy them cheap and just move th arms yourself. They have ones that have day/night dials that time 24 hrs in addition to the main dial so that can take care of that part too.
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I'm actually kind of surprised this isn't a commonly requested thing for TTRPGs. It would be very useful to keep everyone on the same page in their heads about the time of day and resting and such.
Things like that are more game specific than generic role playing items: Depending on your game and where you are in that game you might not have 24hrs in a day and/or evenly divided day and night. So a generic 12hrs day/12 hrs night doesn't mean a lot in a game where you only get 4 hrs of light or none at all or if there are 30 hrs in the day. You also run into games like pathfinder 2 that have out of combat/encounter time that is less well defined: you can just handwave off multiple hrs days or months so just saying the current date/time is more meaningful than a clock dial.
And in the end, it's mostly just a prop. Generally, the DM will tell you the time and day/night unless you can't keep track of it and if that's the case the prop isn't needed. And for games like pathfinder, often expending your abilities and hp lets you know when the adventuring day is over far better than a clock.
PS: and I'm not sure I understand the "I was sick of telling my players what hour of day it was" comment in the link. You're either telling them or switching the clock the same amount unless their short term memory is shot... :P
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I get what you're saying, but it's about immersion.
I could get the immersion angle if the characters where likely to have watches/clocks available for use: for the pathfinder game I've played in, night/day were plenty and for that you can make due with some note cards with a rising sun [morning], big sun [noon], setting sun [afternoon] and a moon [night]. For myself, I think it'd be worse for immersion as now I know when it's day or night even when I'm underground, in buildings, blindfolded, ect., just like a video game, and for me doesn't scream immersion.
*shrug* to each there own though. If it does it for your group that's all that matters. I'm mainly commenting on why "this isn't a commonly requested thing" from my perspective.