---
key: mechanic/point-and-click--family-05
type: mechanic
id: point-and-click--family-05
lang: en
title: Using items
summary: >-
  The player selects an item and a suitable target to cause a rule-defined
  change.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/point-and-click--family-05/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/point-and-click--family-05.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/point-and-click--family-05.md
aliases:
  - Using inventory items
tags:
  - Point-and-click adventures
  - Core actions and items
sourceIds:
  - source-796ac91c3a695e59
sources:
  - id: source-796ac91c3a695e59
    title: Day of the Tentacle Remastered
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/388210/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: point-and-click
    id: family-05
    title: Point-and-click adventures
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/point-and-click/#family-05'
    categoryIds:
      - section-1
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Using inventory items
    description: >-
      The player selects an item and a suitable target to cause a rule-defined
      change.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/adventure-day-of-the-tentacle-07.webp
      width: 1440
      height: 810
      crop:
        x: 180
        'y': 0
        width: 1080
        height: 810
      game: Day of the Tentacle Remastered
      sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/388210/'
      originalUrl: >-
        https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/388210/ss_9eefffbc6bf66978cb5b8570665b09774d4f604a.1920x1080.jpg?t=1731602439
      credit: Double Fine Productions / Shiny Shoe
      rights: >-
        Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed
        Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: The Use action and separate inventory items
      alt: The Use action and separate inventory items
      markers:
        - x: 42
          'y': 80
          label: Item-use action
        - x: 63
          'y': 81
          label: Inventory item
    tips:
      - 'Connect the selected item, valid target and resulting action.'
    examples:
      - title: Day of the Tentacle Remastered
        url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/388210/'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Original taxonomy adapted from user-selected design discussions; linked
  sources support specific examples, not the whole classification.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/point-and-click
---
# Using items

id: point-and-click--family-05
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/point-and-click--family-05
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/point-and-click--family-05/

The player selects an item and a suitable target to cause a rule-defined change.

## At a glance

![The Use action and separate inventory items](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/adventure-day-of-the-tentacle-07.webp)

[Day of the Tentacle Remastered](https://store.steampowered.com/app/388210/) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. Item-use action
2. Inventory item

- Connect the selected item, valid target and resulting action.

- [Day of the Tentacle Remastered](https://store.steampowered.com/app/388210/)

## How it works

The player selects an item and a suitable target to cause a rule-defined change.

## Variants

### Variants

<a id="family-05-branch-1"></a>

- Item on environment: use a tool, key, material or device on a world object. <a id="family-05-variant-1"></a>
- Item on character: give, show, feed, equip or affect an NPC. <a id="family-05-variant-2"></a>
- Item on self: wear, eat, drink, apply or change the protagonist's state. <a id="family-05-variant-3"></a>
- Item on item: affect another item without necessarily creating a new one. <a id="family-05-variant-4"></a>
- Indirect use: give a tool to another actor or automate its use. <a id="family-05-variant-5"></a>
- Positional use: place an item at a required point, angle or distance. <a id="family-05-variant-6"></a>
- Multiple purposes: find alternative uses or allocate a consumable. <a id="family-05-variant-7"></a>
- Contextual use: outcomes depend on target state, place, time and previous actions. <a id="family-05-variant-8"></a>

## Context and limits

A working classification with 44 families and 355 variants. Families overlap: one puzzle can combine items, dialogue, deduction and a character schedule. Core actions, progression architecture and assistance are separate layers. Sources identify examples from neighboring adventure genres.

## Connected materials


## Sources and provenance

Original taxonomy adapted from user-selected design discussions; linked sources support specific examples, not the whole classification.

- [Day of the Tentacle Remastered](https://store.steampowered.com/app/388210/) (id: source-796ac91c3a695e59)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors