{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/shared-family-22","type":"mechanic","id":"shared-family-22","lang":"en","title":"Causes, consequences and prediction","summary":"Players predict an action’s result, test it and refine their understanding of the causal relationship.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/shared-family-22/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/shared-family-22.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/shared-family-22.md","aliases":[],"tags":["Children’s games","Quantity, investigation and systems","Educational games"],"sourceIds":["source-8a3a7e105b6c798e"],"sources":[{"id":"source-8a3a7e105b6c798e","title":"Portal","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/400/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Predict an action's result"},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Variants\n\n<a id=\"family-22-branch-1\"></a>\n\n- Predict an action's result <a id=\"family-22-variant-1\"></a>\n- Choose an action for an outcome <a id=\"family-22-variant-2\"></a>\n- Infer causes from effects <a id=\"family-22-variant-3\"></a>\n- Build causal chains <a id=\"family-22-variant-4\"></a>\n- Identify multiple causes <a id=\"family-22-variant-5\"></a>\n- Account for delayed effects <a id=\"family-22-variant-6\"></a>\n- Test alternative scenarios <a id=\"family-22-variant-7\"></a>\n- Distinguish coincidence from causation <a id=\"family-22-variant-8\"></a>\n- Find side effects <a id=\"family-22-variant-9\"></a>\n- Find feedback in a system <a id=\"family-22-variant-10\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"Predict which garden area loses water after a valve closes."},{"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."},{"id":"context-education","title":"Context: Educational games","body":"A mechanic map for games with explicit learning goals, from first encounters with a topic to professional practice. It covers children, teenagers and adults; choose subject, difficulty, context and controls for the learner. Player actions, subject content, instructional support and assessment are distinct layers. Scores and game completion alone do not establish mastery or skill transfer."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"children","id":"family-22","title":"Children’s games","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/children/#family-22","categoryIds":["systems"]},{"catalogId":"education","id":"family-22","title":"Educational games","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/education/#family-22","categoryIds":["systems"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Causes, consequences and prediction","description":"Players predict an action’s result, test it and refine their understanding of the causal relationship.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/adventure-portal-04.webp","width":640,"height":360,"game":"Portal","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/400/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/400/0000002586.1920x1080.jpg?t=1745368554","credit":"Valve","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"Buttons and indicators control a passage state","alt":"Buttons and indicators control a passage state","markers":[{"x":84,"y":59,"label":"Button in the active state"},{"x":42,"y":25,"label":"Indicator shows the condition result"}]},"tips":["Let players repeat an action and compare its consequences."],"examples":[{"title":"Portal","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/400/"}]}},"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"}}