---
key: mechanic/detective--family-12
type: mechanic
id: detective--family-12
lang: en
title: Timelines and alibis
summary: >-
  The player establishes event order and duration, then checks whether claimed
  actions can coexist.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/detective--family-12/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/detective--family-12.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/detective--family-12.md
aliases: []
tags:
  - Detective games
  - Reconstructing events
sourceIds:
  - source-090ee83445744667
sources:
  - id: source-090ee83445744667
    title: The Operator
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1771980/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: detective
    id: family-12
    title: Detective games
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/detective/#family-12'
    categoryIds:
      - reconstruction
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Timelines and alibis
    description: >-
      The player establishes event order and duration, then checks whether
      claimed actions can coexist.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/narrative-the-operator-03.webp
      width: 1440
      height: 810
      game: The Operator
      sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1771980/'
      originalUrl: >-
        https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/1771980/ss_5f9f8137d263ed2142a81c055aa785a08695e4cf.1920x1080.jpg?t=1778485297
      credit: Bureau 81 / Bureau 81 / indienova
      rights: © Bureau 81 / Bureau 81 / indienova. All rights reserved.
      caption: Time markers on a route and photograph
      alt: Time markers on a route and photograph
      markers:
        - x: 29
          'y': 48
          label: Timestamps allow checking the sequence of movements
    tips:
      - Let players compare travel duration with independently recorded times.
    examples:
      - title: The Operator
        url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1771980/'
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
---
# Timelines and alibis

id: detective--family-12
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/detective--family-12
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/detective--family-12/

The player establishes event order and duration, then checks whether claimed actions can coexist.

## At a glance

![Time markers on a route and photograph](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/narrative-the-operator-03.webp)

[The Operator](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1771980/) · © Bureau 81 / Bureau 81 / indienova. All rights reserved.

1. Timestamps allow checking the sequence of movements

- Let players compare travel duration with independently recorded times.

- [The Operator](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1771980/)

## How it works

The player establishes event order and duration, then checks whether claimed actions can coexist.

## Variants

### Variants

<a id="family-12-branch-1"></a>

- Event ordering: arrange episodes using timestamps and causal constraints. <a id="family-12-variant-1"></a>
- Alibi checking: compare available time, travel duration and independent observations. <a id="family-12-variant-2"></a>
- Clock synchronization: identify time offsets between records before constructing a shared timeline. <a id="family-12-variant-3"></a>

## Design example

Travel between two stations takes ten minutes. Timestamps four minutes apart do not support the claimed route.

## Context and limits

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.

## Connected materials


## Sources and 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.

- [The Operator](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1771980/) (id: source-090ee83445744667)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors