---
key: mechanic/shared-family-35
type: mechanic
id: shared-family-35
lang: en
title: Physical and mixed interactions
summary: >-
  A physical object, card or tool connects to a digital action. The player
  manipulates a real-world object and sees the screen result.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/shared-family-35/'
jsonUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/shared-family-35.json'
markdownUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/shared-family-35.md'
aliases:
  - Tangible and mixed interactions
tags:
  - Children’s games
  - 'Action, construction and control'
  - Educational games
sourceIds:
  - source-ee9f12adfc1daf72
sources:
  - id: source-ee9f12adfc1daf72
    title: MagBoard prototype / Calculator
    url: 'https://arxiv.org/abs/1605.00284'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: children
    id: family-35
    title: Children’s games
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/children/#family-35'
    categoryIds:
      - action
  - catalogId: education
    id: family-35
    title: Educational games
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/education/#family-35'
    categoryIds:
      - action
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Tangible and mixed interactions
    description: >-
      A physical object, card or tool connects to a digital action. The player
      manipulates a real-world object and sees the screen result.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/sensor-magboard-photo.webp
      width: 709
      height: 651
      game: MagBoard prototype / Calculator
      sourceUrl: 'https://arxiv.org/abs/1605.00284'
      originalUrl: 'https://arxiv.org/pdf/1605.00284'
      credit: 'Heba Abdelnasser, Moustafa Youssef and Khaled A. Harras'
      rights: >-
        Photo from the authors’ MagBoard paper, arXiv:1605.00284, PDF page 2.
        Third-party application imagery retains its own rights. All rights
        reserved; excluded from portal MIT and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: 'MagBoard: a printed overlay and the resulting calculator input'
      alt: 'MagBoard: a printed overlay and the resulting calculator input'
      markers:
        - x: 54
          'y': 57
          label: A magnet over a cell selects the corresponding command
    tips:
      - Show the recognized physical object and the action it triggered.
    examples:
      - title: MagBoard prototype / Calculator
        url: 'https://arxiv.org/abs/1605.00284'
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 mixed interactions

id: shared-family-35
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/shared-family-35
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/shared-family-35/

A physical object, card or tool connects to a digital action. The player manipulates a real-world object and sees the screen result.

## At a glance

![MagBoard: a printed overlay and the resulting calculator input](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/sensor-magboard-photo.webp)

[MagBoard prototype / Calculator](https://arxiv.org/abs/1605.00284) · Photo from the authors’ MagBoard paper, arXiv:1605.00284, PDF page 2. Third-party application imagery retains its own rights. All rights reserved; excluded from portal MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. A magnet over a cell selects the corresponding command

- Show the recognized physical object and the action it triggered.

- [MagBoard prototype / Calculator](https://arxiv.org/abs/1605.00284)

## How it works

Play with physical cards

## Variants

### Variants

<a id="family-35-branch-1"></a>

- Play with physical cards <a id="family-35-variant-1"></a>
- Build with real blocks <a id="family-35-variant-2"></a>
- Count tokens and pieces <a id="family-35-variant-3"></a>
- Use tactile materials <a id="family-35-variant-4"></a>
- Control physical robots <a id="family-35-variant-5"></a>
- Link object tags to digital scenes <a id="family-35-variant-6"></a>
- Complete off-screen tasks <a id="family-35-variant-7"></a>
- Photograph found objects <a id="family-35-variant-8"></a>
- Use augmented reality <a id="family-35-variant-9"></a>
- Combine boards and apps <a id="family-35-variant-10"></a>
- Use real measuring tools <a id="family-35-variant-11"></a>
- Change physical objects and observe digital results <a id="family-35-variant-12"></a>

## Design example

Build a real tower and compare it with an app plan.

## 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.

- [MagBoard prototype / Calculator](https://arxiv.org/abs/1605.00284) (id: source-ee9f12adfc1daf72)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors