---
key: mechanic/drawing--family-g08
type: mechanic
id: drawing--family-g08
lang: en
title: 'Networks, flows and connections'
summary: >-
  What is important is not the recognition of the drawing, but what exactly the
  strokes connect.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/drawing--family-g08/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/drawing--family-g08.json
markdownUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/drawing--family-g08.md'
aliases: []
tags:
  - Drawing
  - Mechanics catalog
sourceIds:
  - source-a088527490edebae
sources:
  - id: source-a088527490edebae
    title: Mini Metro
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/287980/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: drawing
    id: family-g08
    title: Drawing
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/drawing/#family-g08'
    categoryIds:
      - section-1
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: 'Networks, flows and connections'
    description: >-
      What is important is not the recognition of the drawing, but what exactly
      the strokes connect.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/interface-mini-metro-00.webp
      width: 1440
      height: 810
      game: Mini Metro
      sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/287980/'
      originalUrl: >-
        https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/287980/ss_c7bc5df7e606504709e9f53ff9c7584ac4c01b18.1920x1080.jpg?t=1724386220
      credit: Dinosaur Polo Club / Dinosaur Polo Club
      rights: >-
        © Dinosaur Polo Club / Dinosaur Polo Club. All rights reserved. Excluded
        from MIT and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: 'Mini Metro: colored lines connect differently shaped stations'
      alt: 'Mini Metro: colored lines connect differently shaped stations'
      markers:
        - x: 46
          'y': 47
          label: Connections define train routes and transfers
    tips:
      - Distinguish stroke precision from correct network connections.
    examples:
      - title: Mini Metro
        url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/287980/'
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/drawing
---
# Networks, flows and connections

id: drawing--family-g08
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/drawing--family-g08
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/drawing--family-g08/

What is important is not the recognition of the drawing, but what exactly the strokes connect.

## At a glance

![Mini Metro: colored lines connect differently shaped stations](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/interface-mini-metro-00.webp)

[Mini Metro](https://store.steampowered.com/app/287980/) · © Dinosaur Polo Club / Dinosaur Polo Club. All rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. Connections define train routes and transfers

- Distinguish stroke precision from correct network connections.

- [Mini Metro](https://store.steampowered.com/app/287980/)

## How it works

What is important is not the recognition of the drawing, but what exactly the strokes connect.

## Variants

### Variants and applications

<a id="family-g08-variants"></a>

- Drawing an electrical circuit. Rule: Connect the elements with conductors so that the power reaches the necessary devices. Criterion: Operability of the circuit. Example status: Design pattern. <a id="variant-d069"></a>
- Drawing a water pipeline. Rule: Build a channel that directs fluid to the target. Criterion: Fluid flow. Example status: Design pattern. <a id="variant-d070"></a>
- Drawing air flow. Rule: Define a jet or field that moves objects. Criterion: Movement of the medium. Example status: Design pattern. <a id="variant-d071"></a>
- Drawing roads. Rule: Connect places with a road network, taking into account accessibility and load. Criterion: Connectivity and capacity. Example status: Design pattern. <a id="variant-d072"></a>
- Drawing transport lines. Rule: Connect stations with routes that provide transportation. Criterion: Delivery and load. Example status: Design pattern. <a id="variant-d073"></a>
- Drawing signal connections. Rule: Connect sensors, switches and actuators for the desired reaction. Criterion: Signal logic. Example status: Design pattern. <a id="variant-d074"></a>
- Drawing light guides. Rule: Draw reflective or conducting lines that deliver light to the receivers. Criterion: Optical path. Example status: Design pattern. <a id="variant-d075"></a>

## Context and limits

The author's working classification of mechanics in which the player creates or changes an image, line, outline or stroke, and the game uses the result. Does not claim to be a closed universal list. Catalog unit: player action, drawing interpretation and result. Related options are separated when the rule or outcome criterion changes. A design pattern means that the specific game example in that directory is untested; This is not a statement about the primacy, prevalence or absence of such games.

## Connected materials


## Sources and 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.

- [Mini Metro](https://store.steampowered.com/app/287980/) (id: source-a088527490edebae)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors