---
key: mechanic/shared-family-28
type: mechanic
id: shared-family-28
lang: en
title: Physical and mechanical puzzles
summary: >-
  Players alter object positions and connections using forces, supports, motion
  and mechanical properties.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/shared-family-28/'
jsonUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/shared-family-28.json'
markdownUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/shared-family-28.md'
aliases: []
tags:
  - Children’s games
  - 'Action, construction and control'
  - Educational games
sourceIds:
  - source-8a3a7e105b6c798e
sources:
  - id: source-8a3a7e105b6c798e
    title: Portal
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/400/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: children
    id: family-28
    title: Children’s games
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/children/#family-28'
    categoryIds:
      - action
  - catalogId: education
    id: family-28
    title: Educational games
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/education/#family-28'
    categoryIds:
      - action
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Physical and mechanical puzzles
    description: >-
      Players alter object positions and connections using forces, supports,
      motion and mechanical properties.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/adventure-portal-04.webp
      width: 640
      height: 360
      game: Portal
      sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/400/'
      originalUrl: >-
        https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/400/0000002586.1920x1080.jpg?t=1745368554
      credit: Valve
      rights: >-
        Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed
        Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: A cube holds a button down with its weight
      alt: A cube holds a button down with its weight
      markers:
        - x: 80
          'y': 53
          label: The support transfers the cube’s weight to the button
    tips:
      - Preserve physical rules as the task layout changes.
    examples:
      - title: Portal
        url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/400/'
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
---
# Physical and mechanical puzzles

id: shared-family-28
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/shared-family-28
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/shared-family-28/

Players alter object positions and connections using forces, supports, motion and mechanical properties.

## At a glance

![A cube holds a button down with its weight](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/adventure-portal-04.webp)

[Portal](https://store.steampowered.com/app/400/) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. The support transfers the cube’s weight to the button

- Preserve physical rules as the task layout changes.

- [Portal](https://store.steampowered.com/app/400/)

## How it works

Direct water flows

## Variants

### Variants

<a id="family-28-branch-1"></a>

- Direct water flows <a id="family-28-variant-1"></a>
- Route light through mirrors <a id="family-28-variant-2"></a>
- Connect electrical circuits <a id="family-28-variant-3"></a>
- Use levers and pulleys <a id="family-28-variant-4"></a>
- Balance structures <a id="family-28-variant-5"></a>
- Control gears <a id="family-28-variant-6"></a>
- Change friction or slope <a id="family-28-variant-7"></a>
- Trigger chain reactions <a id="family-28-variant-8"></a>
- Adjust trajectories <a id="family-28-variant-9"></a>
- Use magnetic interactions <a id="family-28-variant-10"></a>
- Open mechanisms through action combinations <a id="family-28-variant-11"></a>
- Switch device modes <a id="family-28-variant-12"></a>

## Design example

Adjust mirrors to direct a beam onto a receiver.

## 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.

- [Portal](https://store.steampowered.com/app/400/) (id: source-8a3a7e105b6c798e)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors