---
key: mechanic/shared-family-15
type: mechanic
id: shared-family-15
lang: en
title: Wholes and parts
summary: >-
  Players assemble a whole from parts or divide an object into pieces with
  required properties.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/shared-family-15/'
jsonUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/shared-family-15.json'
markdownUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/shared-family-15.md'
aliases:
  - Assembling a whole from parts
tags:
  - Children’s games
  - 'Structures, logic and space'
  - 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-15
    title: Children’s games
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/children/#family-15'
    categoryIds:
      - logic
  - catalogId: education
    id: family-15
    title: Educational games
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/education/#family-15'
    categoryIds:
      - logic
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Assembling a whole from parts
    description: >-
      Players assemble a whole from parts or divide an object into pieces with
      required properties.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/adventure-little-to-left-00.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_dfd3c87efd52db3ea48b4de22de569bd9eb42ca2.1920x1080.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: Tools must fit into the case’s compartments
      alt: Tools must fit into the case’s compartments
      markers:
        - x: 45
          'y': 41
          label: Compartments constrain placement shape
        - x: 76
          'y': 64
          label: Objects have different dimensions
    tips:
      - Keep the connection between a part and the whole shape visible.
    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
---
# Wholes and parts

id: shared-family-15
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/shared-family-15
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/shared-family-15/

Players assemble a whole from parts or divide an object into pieces with required properties.

## At a glance

![Tools must fit into the case’s compartments](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/adventure-little-to-left-00.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. Compartments constrain placement shape
2. Objects have different dimensions

- Keep the connection between a part and the whole shape visible.

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

## How it works

Assemble fragments into a whole

## Variants

### Variants

<a id="family-15-branch-1"></a>

- Assemble fragments into a whole <a id="family-15-variant-1"></a>
- Divide into equal parts <a id="family-15-variant-2"></a>
- Divide unequally under a condition <a id="family-15-variant-3"></a>
- Find a missing part <a id="family-15-variant-4"></a>
- Assemble in several ways <a id="family-15-variant-5"></a>
- Decompose complex objects <a id="family-15-variant-6"></a>
- Rearrange while preserving quantity <a id="family-15-variant-7"></a>
- Relate parts to system levels <a id="family-15-variant-8"></a>
- Find part boundaries <a id="family-15-variant-9"></a>
- Check whether enough pieces exist <a id="family-15-variant-10"></a>

## Design example

Build one area using different sets of geometric pieces.

## 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