{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/detective--family-22","type":"mechanic","id":"detective--family-22","lang":"en","title":"Inferring hidden rules","summary":"In a speculative or systemic mystery, the player first discovers world rules and then uses them to explain an event.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/detective--family-22/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/detective--family-22.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/detective--family-22.md","aliases":[],"tags":["Detective games","Hypotheses and reasoning tests"],"sourceIds":["source-248d0f12871f66ae"],"sources":[{"id":"source-248d0f12871f66ae","title":"Return of the Obra Dinn","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/653530/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"In a speculative or systemic mystery, the player first discovers world rules and then uses them to explain an event."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Variants\n\n<a id=\"family-22-branch-1\"></a>\n\n- Induction from examples: find a rule that explains several observations. <a id=\"family-22-variant-1\"></a>\n- Counterexample: test a rule on a new case and refine its limits. <a id=\"family-22-variant-2\"></a>\n- Knowledge as a key: apply an understood rule to reach information without acquiring a new item. <a id=\"family-22-variant-3\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"A device marks only one kind of material. Several demonstrations establish whether it could have produced a discovered trace."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"A working map of detective design: 32 families and 96 variants. The core loop is to find information, form a hypothesis, test it and explain a conclusion. Answer formats, hints and investigation structure are treated separately. Families overlap, design examples are hypothetical, and released-game examples cite primary sources without revealing case solutions."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"detective","id":"family-22","title":"Detective games","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/detective/#family-22","categoryIds":["reasoning"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Inferring hidden rules","description":"In a speculative or systemic mystery, the player first discovers world rules and then uses them to explain an event.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/adventure-obra-dinn-01.webp","width":1440,"height":810,"game":"Return of the Obra Dinn","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/653530/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/653530/ss_380dc35237fde7d3863a44270abafc37924d1db4.1920x1080.jpg?t=1686697594","credit":"Lucas Pope / 3909","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"A watch beside the remains opens a scene from the past","alt":"A pocket watch and human remains on the Obra Dinn’s deck.","markers":[{"x":36,"y":66,"label":"The watch opens a memory of the event"},{"x":64,"y":56,"label":"The remains connect the scene to a participant"}]},"tips":["Apply a fictional rule consistently when testing different events."],"examples":[{"title":"Return of the Obra Dinn","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/653530/"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original editorial taxonomy authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-19. Primary developer and publisher sources support specific released-game examples, not the whole classification; design examples are hypothetical.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/detective"}}