---
key: mechanic/shared-family-06
type: mechanic
id: shared-family-06
lang: en
title: Comparison and ordering
summary: >-
  Players compare objects by a chosen property and order them by size, sequence
  or priority.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/shared-family-06/'
jsonUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/shared-family-06.json'
markdownUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/shared-family-06.md'
aliases:
  - Comparing and ordering
tags:
  - Children’s games
  - 'Perception, attention and information'
  - Educational games
sourceIds:
  - source-d19ac324bbb4d83d
sources:
  - id: source-d19ac324bbb4d83d
    title: Final Fantasy XIV
    url: >-
      https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/playguide/contentsguide/goldsaucer/chocoboracing/
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: children
    id: family-06
    title: Children’s games
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/children/#family-06'
    categoryIds:
      - perception
  - catalogId: education
    id: family-06
    title: Educational games
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/education/#family-06'
    categoryIds:
      - perception
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Comparing and ordering
    description: >-
      Players compare objects by a chosen property and order them by size,
      sequence or priority.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/rpg-ffxiv-racing-38.webp
      width: 594
      height: 297
      game: Final Fantasy XIV
      sourceUrl: >-
        https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/playguide/contentsguide/goldsaucer/chocoboracing/
      originalUrl: 'https://lds-img.finalfantasyxiv.com/h/r/_K9jg5on9ZoPq0xFhcGFPqf1j4.jpg'
      credit: Square Enix; official guide screenshot
      rights: >-
        Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Official game guide or
        publisher-distributed screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT
        and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: Training improves a racing chocobo’s speed
      alt: Training improves a racing chocobo’s speed
      markers:
        - x: 77
          'y': 30
          label: Maximum Speed rises from 14 to 16
    tips:
      - Let players compare starting and resulting values on the same scale.
    examples:
      - title: Final Fantasy XIV
        url: >-
          https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/playguide/contentsguide/goldsaucer/chocoboracing/
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
---
# Comparison and ordering

id: shared-family-06
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/shared-family-06
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/shared-family-06/

Players compare objects by a chosen property and order them by size, sequence or priority.

## At a glance

![Training improves a racing chocobo’s speed](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/rpg-ffxiv-racing-38.webp)

[Final Fantasy XIV](https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/playguide/contentsguide/goldsaucer/chocoboracing/) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Official game guide or publisher-distributed screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. Maximum Speed rises from 14 to 16

- Let players compare starting and resulting values on the same scale.

- [Final Fantasy XIV](https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/playguide/contentsguide/goldsaucer/chocoboracing/)

## How it works

Find similarities and differences

## Variants

### Variants

<a id="family-06-branch-1"></a>

- Find similarities and differences <a id="family-06-variant-1"></a>
- Choose larger or smaller <a id="family-06-variant-2"></a>
- Compare quantities without counting <a id="family-06-variant-3"></a>
- Compare length, mass and volume <a id="family-06-variant-4"></a>
- Sort in ascending order <a id="family-06-variant-5"></a>
- Sort in descending order <a id="family-06-variant-6"></a>
- Find a minimum or maximum <a id="family-06-variant-7"></a>
- Find the nearest value <a id="family-06-variant-8"></a>
- Compare several criteria <a id="family-06-variant-9"></a>
- Select an object satisfying a threshold <a id="family-06-variant-10"></a>

## Design example

Arrange containers from smallest to largest.

## 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.

- [Final Fantasy XIV](https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/playguide/contentsguide/goldsaucer/chocoboracing/) (id: source-d19ac324bbb4d83d)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors