{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/puzzle--family-cooperation","type":"mechanic","id":"puzzle--family-cooperation","lang":"en","title":"Cooperative information tasks","summary":"Participants divide knowledge and actions, sharing information their partners cannot access.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/puzzle--family-cooperation/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/puzzle--family-cooperation.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/puzzle--family-cooperation.md","aliases":["Cooperative information puzzles"],"tags":["Puzzles","Mechanics catalog"],"sourceIds":["source-3217e8fcb703381f","source-909400af9fbfca32"],"sources":[{"id":"source-3217e8fcb703381f","title":"Steel Crate Games: Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes","url":"https://keeptalkinggame.com/","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-909400af9fbfca32","title":"Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/341800/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Distribute knowledge and actions among participants."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Variants and applications\n\n<a id=\"family-cooperation-variants\"></a>\n\n- Separated information. Definition: Exchange descriptions when everyone sees only part of the conditions. Conditional example: One reads the instructions, the other sees the device. <a id=\"variant-asymmetric-information\"></a>\n- Divided control. Definition: Combine actions when different participants control different parts of the system. Conditional example: One changes the power supply, the other connects the contacts. <a id=\"variant-asymmetric-control\"></a>\n- Restoration as described. Definition: Convey the structure in words so that the other participant reproduces it. Conditional example: Describe a layout invisible to the partner. <a id=\"variant-describe-rebuild\"></a>\n- General conclusion from personal facts. Definition: Get an answer that no participant can deduce from their information. Conditional example: Collect a code from intersecting evidence. <a id=\"variant-joint-inference\"></a>\n- Concerted joint action. Definition: To fulfill different conditions in one time interval. Conditional example: To keep two regulators in the target ranges. <a id=\"variant-simultaneous-coop\"></a>\n- Creation of a communication protocol. Definition: Come up with a way to transmit data through a limited channel. Conditional example: Transmit a route with three types of signals. <a id=\"variant-communication-protocol\"></a>\n- Transferring tasks between roles. Definition: Prepare a state that allows the next participant to complete his part. Conditional example: Pass an object through a sequence of different work areas. <a id=\"variant-handoff\"></a>\n- Checking the solution in parts. Definition: Compare local checks of participants to confirm the overall configuration. Conditional example: Each checks its own set of constraints of the overall design. <a id=\"variant-distributed-proof\"></a>"},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"A wide catalog of mechanics for digital puzzles, paper logic problems and physical puzzles. Each position contains an action or rule and a conditional example of application."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"puzzle","id":"family-cooperation","title":"Puzzles","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/puzzle/#family-cooperation","categoryIds":["section-1"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Cooperative information puzzles","description":"Participants divide knowledge and actions, sharing information their partners cannot access.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/adventure-keep-talking-00.webp","width":1440,"height":810,"game":"Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/341800/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/341800/ss_55f22f9996c327c281d241ed09d43c74337d7e30.1920x1080.jpg?t=1699020889","credit":"Steel Crate Games","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"The defuser sees modules that must be described to an expert","alt":"The defuser sees modules that must be described to an expert","markers":[{"x":51,"y":50,"label":"Modules require exchanging precise information"}]},"tips":["Create useful differences in knowledge and a clear way to discuss them."],"examples":[{"title":"Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/341800/"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original editorial design catalog consolidated from project discussions on 2026-10-20. Complete discussion item lists and contextual limitations are preserved; linked primary sources support specific techniques, not the entire classification. English translation was prepared with machine assistance and editorial review.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/puzzle"}}