---
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
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
---
# Symbolic objects and pretend rules

id: children--pretend-play
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/children--pretend-play
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/children--pretend-play/

Players agree that an object or action stands for something else and sustain that convention.

## At a glance

![Miniatures represent creatures on a game table](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/general-tabletop-simulator-02.webp)

[Tabletop Simulator](https://store.steampowered.com/app/286160/) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed screenshot from Steam; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. A miniature represents a character in a shared imagined situation

- Let participants agree on an object’s meaning and support that agreement.

- [Tabletop Simulator](https://store.steampowered.com/app/286160/)

## How it works

Players agree that an object or action stands for something else and sustain that convention.

## Variants

### Variants

<a id="pretend-play-variants"></a>

- Give an everyday object an imaginary function <a id="pretend-play-1"></a>
- Declare a place to be another location <a id="pretend-play-2"></a>
- Invent a rule for a fantasy world <a id="pretend-play-3"></a>
- Represent an invisible object with a gesture <a id="pretend-play-4"></a>
- Agree on object meanings with a partner <a id="pretend-play-5"></a>
- Change roles during play <a id="pretend-play-6"></a>
- Continue a story proposed by another player <a id="pretend-play-7"></a>
- Change a pretend rule by mutual agreement <a id="pretend-play-8"></a>

## Design example

Hypothetical expedition: a sofa becomes a ship and cards stand for islands.

## Context and limits

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.

## Connected materials


## Sources and 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.

- [Toca Boca World: characters, homes and self-directed stories](https://www.tocaboca.com/toca-boca-world) (id: source-4ed514cf071a579d)
- [Tabletop Simulator](https://store.steampowered.com/app/286160/) (id: source-ce84c62b65d7ae81)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors