---
key: mechanic/education--family-20
type: mechanic
id: education--family-20
lang: en
title: 'Data, tables and graphs'
summary: >-
  The learner collects observations, represents them in a table or chart and
  uses differences, trends and relationships to solve a task.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/education--family-20/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/education--family-20.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/education--family-20.md
aliases:
  - 'Data, tables and charts'
tags:
  - Educational games
  - 'Quantity, investigation and systems'
sourceIds:
  - source-a088527490edebae
sources:
  - id: source-a088527490edebae
    title: Mini Metro
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/287980/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: education
    id: family-20
    title: Educational games
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/education/#family-20'
    categoryIds:
      - systems
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: 'Data, tables and charts'
    description: >-
      The learner collects observations, represents them in a table or chart and
      uses differences, trends and relationships to solve a task.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/interface-mini-metro-09.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_59eb8258fcfe32686ec98d5ac9fc922cacaca412.1920x1080.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: charts show results changing over days'
      alt: 'Mini Metro: charts show results changing over days'
      markers:
        - x: 47
          'y': 49
          label: Several data series share one time axis
    tips:
      - Link each chart point to a measurement and unit.
    examples:
      - title: Mini Metro
        url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/287980/'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Educational reference expanded from all 64 families and 749 variants of the
  original children-education taxonomy, with original editorial additions dated
  2026-10-20. Sources support specific methods and examples, not the entire
  classification or its effectiveness.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/education
---
# Data, tables and graphs

id: education--family-20
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/education--family-20
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/education--family-20/

The learner collects observations, represents them in a table or chart and uses differences, trends and relationships to solve a task.

## At a glance

![Mini Metro: charts show results changing over days](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/interface-mini-metro-09.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. Several data series share one time axis

- Link each chart point to a measurement and unit.

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

## How it works

Collect observations

## Variants

### Variants

<a id="family-20-branch-1"></a>

- Collect observations <a id="family-20-variant-1"></a>
- Count events <a id="family-20-variant-2"></a>
- Fill a table <a id="family-20-variant-3"></a>
- Read a table <a id="family-20-variant-4"></a>
- Build pictographs or charts <a id="family-20-variant-5"></a>
- Read a graph <a id="family-20-variant-6"></a>
- Compare datasets <a id="family-20-variant-7"></a>
- Find averages and ranges <a id="family-20-variant-8"></a>
- Identify trends <a id="family-20-variant-9"></a>
- Find outliers <a id="family-20-variant-10"></a>
- Choose a visualization <a id="family-20-variant-11"></a>
- Check whether evidence supports a conclusion <a id="family-20-variant-12"></a>

## Design example

Observe a game week's weather and build a chart.

## Context and limits

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.

## Connected materials


## Sources and provenance

Educational reference expanded from all 64 families and 749 variants of the original children-education taxonomy, with original editorial additions dated 2026-10-20. Sources support specific methods and examples, not the entire classification or its effectiveness.

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

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors