---
key: mechanic/shared-family-05
type: mechanic
id: shared-family-05
lang: en
title: Sorting and classification
summary: >-
  Players distribute objects into groups by selecting or inferring a
  classification rule.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/shared-family-05/'
jsonUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/shared-family-05.json'
markdownUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/shared-family-05.md'
aliases: []
tags:
  - Children’s games
  - 'Perception, attention and information'
  - Educational games
sourceIds:
  - source-95d2f8a833d53db8
sources:
  - id: source-95d2f8a833d53db8
    title: A Little to the Left
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1629520/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: children
    id: family-05
    title: Children’s games
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/children/#family-05'
    categoryIds:
      - perception
  - catalogId: education
    id: family-05
    title: Educational games
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/education/#family-05'
    categoryIds:
      - perception
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Sorting and classification
    description: >-
      Players distribute objects into groups by selecting or inferring a
      classification rule.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/adventure-little-to-left-03.webp
      width: 1440
      height: 810
      game: A Little to the Left
      sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1629520/'
      originalUrl: >-
        https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/1629520/ss_fd61e2eff377c9ecae9ea5ade13876d88eef9e47.1920x1080.jpg?t=1791454263
      credit: Max Inferno / Secret Mode
      rights: >-
        Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed
        Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: Container shapes and heights suggest an order
      alt: Container shapes and heights suggest an order
      markers:
        - x: 52
          'y': 63
          label: Object properties suggest a sorting criterion
    tips:
      - Keep the sorting criterion consistent within a task.
    examples:
      - title: A Little to the Left
        url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1629520/'
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
---
# Sorting and classification

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

Players distribute objects into groups by selecting or inferring a classification rule.

## At a glance

![Container shapes and heights suggest an order](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/adventure-little-to-left-03.webp)

[A Little to the Left](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1629520/) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. Object properties suggest a sorting criterion

- Keep the sorting criterion consistent within a task.

- [A Little to the Left](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1629520/)

## How it works

Sort by one property

## Variants

### Variants

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

- Sort by one property <a id="family-05-variant-1"></a>
- Sort by several properties <a id="family-05-variant-2"></a>
- Find an outlier <a id="family-05-variant-3"></a>
- Find a shared category <a id="family-05-variant-4"></a>
- Place objects at category intersections <a id="family-05-variant-5"></a>
- Build nested categories <a id="family-05-variant-6"></a>
- Change sorting rules <a id="family-05-variant-7"></a>
- Invent a rule <a id="family-05-variant-8"></a>
- Accept several justified classifications <a id="family-05-variant-9"></a>
- Resort after a property changes <a id="family-05-variant-10"></a>

## Design example

Sort shapes by color, shape and then both properties.

## 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.

- [A Little to the Left](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1629520/) (id: source-95d2f8a833d53db8)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors