---
key: mechanic/point-and-click--family-27
type: mechanic
id: point-and-click--family-27
lang: en
title: 'Rewinding, loops and changing history'
summary: The player rewinds or repeats events using knowledge from earlier attempts.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/point-and-click--family-27/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/point-and-click--family-27.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/point-and-click--family-27.md
aliases:
  - Rewinding and changing history
tags:
  - Point-and-click adventures
  - Extended adventure systems
sourceIds:
  - source-aba2be33e4d64649
sources:
  - id: source-aba2be33e4d64649
    title: Braid
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/26800/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: point-and-click
    id: family-27
    title: Point-and-click adventures
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/point-and-click/#family-27'
    categoryIds:
      - section-4
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Rewinding and changing history
    description: >-
      The player rewinds or repeats events using knowledge from earlier
      attempts.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/adventure-braid-04.webp
      width: 1280
      height: 720
      game: Braid
      sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/26800/'
      originalUrl: >-
        https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/26800/0000007892.1920x1080.jpg?t=1734027955
      credit: Number None
      rights: >-
        Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed
        Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: The hero and an echo of past actions in Braid
      alt: The hero and an echo of past actions in Braid
      markers:
        - x: 40
          'y': 65
          label: Hero’s current position
        - x: 74
          'y': 54
          label: An echo repeats rewound actions
    tips:
      - Distinguish restored state from knowledge retained by the player.
    examples:
      - title: Braid
        url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/26800/'
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
---
# Rewinding, loops and changing history

id: point-and-click--family-27
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/point-and-click--family-27
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/point-and-click--family-27/

The player rewinds or repeats events using knowledge from earlier attempts.

## At a glance

![The hero and an echo of past actions in Braid](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/adventure-braid-04.webp)

[Braid](https://store.steampowered.com/app/26800/) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. Hero’s current position
2. An echo repeats rewound actions

- Distinguish restored state from knowledge retained by the player.

- [Braid](https://store.steampowered.com/app/26800/)

## How it works

The player rewinds or repeats events using knowledge from earlier attempts.

## Variants

### Variants

<a id="family-27-branch-1"></a>

- Undo: return to an earlier state and try another solution. <a id="family-27-variant-1"></a>
- Time loops: replay a period using accumulated understanding. <a id="family-27-variant-2"></a>
- Persistence: carry knowledge, marks, items or changes between loops under rules. <a id="family-27-variant-3"></a>
- Changing the past: alter future objects, people or places. <a id="family-27-variant-4"></a>
- Cross-era transfer: move information and items between linked periods. <a id="family-27-variant-5"></a>
- Parallel timelines: compare event versions and transfer consequences. <a id="family-27-variant-6"></a>
- Recorded actions: interact with earlier playthrough traces or replayed sequences. <a id="family-27-variant-7"></a>
- Causal loops: understand self-sustaining events and contradictions under defined rules. <a id="family-27-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.

- [Braid](https://store.steampowered.com/app/26800/) (id: source-aba2be33e4d64649)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors