--- key: mechanic/puzzle--family-traversal type: mechanic id: puzzle--family-traversal lang: en title: Routes and detours summary: >- The player finds a route subject to limits on visits, turns and available resources. updatedAt: '2026-10-22' status: active url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/puzzle--family-traversal/' jsonUrl: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/puzzle--family-traversal.json markdownUrl: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/puzzle--family-traversal.md aliases: - Routes and traversal tags: - Puzzles - Mechanics catalog sourceIds: - source-a4c131ce094457fb sources: - id: source-a4c131ce094457fb title: Paper Trail url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1889740/' verifiedAt: null relations: [] placements: - catalogId: puzzle id: family-traversal title: Puzzles url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/puzzle/#family-traversal' categoryIds: - section-1 supersededBy: [] attributes: preview: updatedAt: '2026-10-22' title: Routes and traversal description: >- The player finds a route subject to limits on visits, turns and available resources. image: src: images/mechanics/adventure-paper-trail-00.webp width: 1440 height: 810 game: Paper Trail sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1889740/' originalUrl: >- https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/1889740/ss_1469a801a268e771e65b1c58f2930a9b33614e5d.1920x1080.jpg?t=1750783735 credit: Newfangled Games rights: >- Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0. caption: Paths on the paper map connect reachable areas alt: Paths on the paper map connect reachable areas markers: - x: 50 'y': 49 label: The route follows connected areas tips: - Show valid transitions and recheck the route after the board changes. examples: - title: Paper Trail url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1889740/' 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/puzzle --- # Routes and detours id: puzzle--family-traversal type: mechanic key: mechanic/puzzle--family-traversal lang: en status: active url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/puzzle--family-traversal/ The player finds a route subject to limits on visits, turns and available resources. ## At a glance ![Paths on the paper map connect reachable areas](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/adventure-paper-trail-00.webp) [Paper Trail](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1889740/) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0. 1. The route follows connected areas - Show valid transitions and recheck the route after the board changes. - [Paper Trail](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1889740/) ## How it works Find a path with restrictions on visits, turns and resource consumption. ## Variants ### Variants and applications - Exit from the labyrinth. Definition: Find a connected route between the entrance and exit. Conditional example: Go through corridors with dead ends. - Visiting each position. Definition: Go through all the desired cells or vertices without visiting again. Conventional example: Paint the entire floor with one route. Terms: Hamiltonian path. - Passing each edge. Definition: Draw a path using each required connection exactly once. Conditional example: Trace the picture with one stroke. Terms: Eulerian trail; one line. - Checkpoints in order. Definition: Build a route through the required points in a given sequence. Conditional example: Visit runes from the first to the sixth. - Route according to turn rules. Definition: Observe prohibitions and mandatory changes of direction. Conditional example: After each red node, turn left. - One way route. Definition: Consider the direction of transitions and the impossibility of reverse movement. Conditional example: Find an exit in a network of one-way doors. - A route with a budget of turns. Definition: Connect points using a limited number of bends. Conventional example: Connect two tiles with no more than two turns. - Route through keys and locks. Definition: Choose the order of gaining access, taking into account the location of keys and closed passages. Conditional example: Take the blue key before entering the red zone. - Vanishing path. Definition: Take into account the destruction or change of cells after passing. Conditional example: Cross all fragile slabs and exit. - A route of a given length. Definition: Achieve a goal in an exact number of steps or with an exact consumption of reserves. Conditional example: Arrive at the exit exactly at the twelfth step. - Rebuilding the labyrinth. Definition: Changing the passages themselves to create an accessible route. Conventional example: Rotating sections of the corridor before moving. ## Context and limits A wide catalog of mechanics for digital puzzles, paper logic problems and physical puzzles. Each position contains an action or rule and a conditional example of application. ## 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. - [Paper Trail](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1889740/) (id: source-a4c131ce094457fb) CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors