{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/children--pretend-play","type":"mechanic","id":"children--pretend-play","lang":"en","title":"Symbolic objects and pretend rules","summary":"Players agree that an object or action stands for something else and sustain that convention.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/children--pretend-play/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/children--pretend-play.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/children--pretend-play.md","aliases":["Substitution and pretend rules"],"tags":["Children’s games","Toys, imagination and everyday scenes"],"sourceIds":["source-4ed514cf071a579d","source-ce84c62b65d7ae81"],"sources":[{"id":"source-4ed514cf071a579d","title":"Toca Boca World: characters, homes and self-directed stories","url":"https://www.tocaboca.com/toca-boca-world","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-ce84c62b65d7ae81","title":"Tabletop Simulator","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/286160/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Players agree that an object or action stands for something else and sustain that convention."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Variants\n\n<a id=\"pretend-play-variants\"></a>\n\n- Give an everyday object an imaginary function <a id=\"pretend-play-1\"></a>\n- Declare a place to be another location <a id=\"pretend-play-2\"></a>\n- Invent a rule for a fantasy world <a id=\"pretend-play-3\"></a>\n- Represent an invisible object with a gesture <a id=\"pretend-play-4\"></a>\n- Agree on object meanings with a partner <a id=\"pretend-play-5\"></a>\n- Change roles during play <a id=\"pretend-play-6\"></a>\n- Continue a story proposed by another player <a id=\"pretend-play-7\"></a>\n- Change a pretend rule by mutual agreement <a id=\"pretend-play-8\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"Hypothetical expedition: a sofa becomes a ship and cards stand for islands."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"An action map for children’s digital, board, active and mixed games. An instructional goal is optional: children can invent stories, explore toys, compete or enjoy play itself. Select age suitability, reading demands, controls and pace separately; different implementations can suit different ages. Learning tasks and instructional support have their own reference."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"children","id":"pretend-play","title":"Children’s games","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/children/#pretend-play","categoryIds":["play"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Substitution and pretend rules","description":"Players agree that an object or action stands for something else and sustain that convention.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/general-tabletop-simulator-02.webp","width":1440,"height":810,"game":"Tabletop Simulator","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/286160/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/286160/ss_e1529236d629827c2f6c4b31196260ceaf04b100.1920x1080.jpg?t=1772387518","credit":"Berserk Games / Berserk Games","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed screenshot from Steam; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"Miniatures represent creatures on a game table","alt":"Miniatures represent creatures on a game table","markers":[{"x":41,"y":59,"label":"A miniature represents a character in a shared imagined situation"}]},"tips":["Let participants agree on an object’s meaning and support that agreement."],"examples":[{"title":"Tabletop Simulator","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/286160/"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Play-focused selection adapted from the original children-education taxonomy, with original editorial additions dated 2026-10-20. Developer sources support specific examples, not the entire classification.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/children"}}