---
key: mechanic/shared-family-04
type: mechanic
id: shared-family-04
lang: en
title: Matching and correspondence
summary: >-
  Players identify objects with a shared property and connect them according to
  a rule.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/shared-family-04/'
jsonUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/shared-family-04.json'
markdownUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/shared-family-04.md'
aliases: []
tags:
  - Children’s games
  - 'Perception, attention and information'
  - Educational games
sourceIds:
  - source-39db1f94006d0202
sources:
  - id: source-39db1f94006d0202
    title: Bejeweled® 3
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/78000/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: children
    id: family-04
    title: Children’s games
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/children/#family-04'
    categoryIds:
      - perception
  - catalogId: education
    id: family-04
    title: Educational games
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/education/#family-04'
    categoryIds:
      - perception
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Matching and correspondence
    description: >-
      Players identify objects with a shared property and connect them according
      to a rule.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/adventure-bejeweled3-00.webp
      width: 1440
      height: 900
      game: Bejeweled® 3
      sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/78000/'
      originalUrl: >-
        https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/78000/ss_b2eb4ba6d54f1d7fbff69d7050c6d4eda34767fd.1920x1080.jpg?t=1725652822
      credit: 'PopCap Games, Inc. / Electronic Arts'
      rights: >-
        Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed
        Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: Gems are swapped to form a match
      alt: Gems are swapped to form a match
      markers:
        - x: 54
          'y': 49
          label: Adjacent gems available to swap
    tips:
      - Show which property makes objects a matching pair.
    examples:
      - title: Bejeweled® 3
        url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/78000/'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Play-focused selection adapted from the original children-education taxonomy,
  with original editorial additions dated 2026-10-20. Developer sources support
  specific examples, not the entire classification.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/children
---
# Matching and correspondence

id: shared-family-04
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/shared-family-04
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/shared-family-04/

Players identify objects with a shared property and connect them according to a rule.

## At a glance

![Gems are swapped to form a match](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/adventure-bejeweled3-00.webp)

[Bejeweled® 3](https://store.steampowered.com/app/78000/) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. Adjacent gems available to swap

- Show which property makes objects a matching pair.

- [Bejeweled® 3](https://store.steampowered.com/app/78000/)

## How it works

Match identical objects

## Variants

### Variants

<a id="family-04-branch-1"></a>

- Match identical objects <a id="family-04-variant-1"></a>
- Match an object to its silhouette <a id="family-04-variant-2"></a>
- Match a part to a whole <a id="family-04-variant-3"></a>
- Match words to pictures <a id="family-04-variant-4"></a>
- Match sounds to sources <a id="family-04-variant-5"></a>
- Match numbers to quantities <a id="family-04-variant-6"></a>
- Match symbols to actions <a id="family-04-variant-7"></a>
- Match objects to functions <a id="family-04-variant-8"></a>
- Match causes to effects <a id="family-04-variant-9"></a>
- Match representations of one concept <a id="family-04-variant-10"></a>
- Establish one-to-many correspondence <a id="family-04-variant-11"></a>
- Establish many-to-many correspondence <a id="family-04-variant-12"></a>

## Design example

Connect an animal, its tracks and its habitat.

## Context and limits

An action map for children’s digital, board, active and mixed games. An instructional goal is optional: children can invent stories, explore toys, compete or enjoy play itself. Select age suitability, reading demands, controls and pace separately; different implementations can suit different ages. Learning tasks and instructional support have their own reference.

## Context: Educational games

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

Play-focused selection adapted from the original children-education taxonomy, with original editorial additions dated 2026-10-20. Developer sources support specific examples, not the entire classification.

- [Bejeweled® 3](https://store.steampowered.com/app/78000/) (id: source-39db1f94006d0202)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors