{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/point-and-click--family-27","type":"mechanic","id":"point-and-click--family-27","lang":"en","title":"Rewinding, loops and changing history","summary":"The player rewinds or repeats events using knowledge from earlier attempts.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/point-and-click--family-27/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/point-and-click--family-27.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/point-and-click--family-27.md","aliases":["Rewinding and changing history"],"tags":["Point-and-click adventures","Extended adventure systems"],"sourceIds":["source-aba2be33e4d64649"],"sources":[{"id":"source-aba2be33e4d64649","title":"Braid","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/26800/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"The player rewinds or repeats events using knowledge from earlier attempts."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Variants\n\n<a id=\"family-27-branch-1\"></a>\n\n- Undo: return to an earlier state and try another solution. <a id=\"family-27-variant-1\"></a>\n- Time loops: replay a period using accumulated understanding. <a id=\"family-27-variant-2\"></a>\n- Persistence: carry knowledge, marks, items or changes between loops under rules. <a id=\"family-27-variant-3\"></a>\n- Changing the past: alter future objects, people or places. <a id=\"family-27-variant-4\"></a>\n- Cross-era transfer: move information and items between linked periods. <a id=\"family-27-variant-5\"></a>\n- Parallel timelines: compare event versions and transfer consequences. <a id=\"family-27-variant-6\"></a>\n- Recorded actions: interact with earlier playthrough traces or replayed sequences. <a id=\"family-27-variant-7\"></a>\n- Causal loops: understand self-sustaining events and contradictions under defined rules. <a id=\"family-27-variant-8\"></a>"},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"A working classification with 44 families and 355 variants. Families overlap: one puzzle can combine items, dialogue, deduction and a character schedule. Core actions, progression architecture and assistance are separate layers. Sources identify examples from neighboring adventure genres."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"point-and-click","id":"family-27","title":"Point-and-click adventures","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/point-and-click/#family-27","categoryIds":["section-4"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Rewinding and changing history","description":"The player rewinds or repeats events using knowledge from earlier attempts.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/adventure-braid-04.webp","width":1280,"height":720,"game":"Braid","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/26800/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/26800/0000007892.1920x1080.jpg?t=1734027955","credit":"Number None","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"The hero and an echo of past actions in Braid","alt":"The hero and an echo of past actions in Braid","markers":[{"x":40,"y":65,"label":"Hero’s current position"},{"x":74,"y":54,"label":"An echo repeats rewound actions"}]},"tips":["Distinguish restored state from knowledge retained by the player."],"examples":[{"title":"Braid","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/26800/"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original taxonomy adapted from user-selected design discussions; linked sources support specific examples, not the whole classification.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/point-and-click"}}