---
key: mechanic/shared-family-58
type: mechanic
id: shared-family-58
lang: en
title: 'Goals, tasks and success conditions'
summary: >-
  Rules define the goal, permitted actions and an observable sign of successful
  completion.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/shared-family-58/'
jsonUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/shared-family-58.json'
markdownUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/shared-family-58.md'
aliases:
  - Goals and success conditions
tags:
  - Children’s games
  - 'Goals, constraints and progression'
  - Educational games
sourceIds:
  - source-7f09c8a736762f4f
sources:
  - id: source-7f09c8a736762f4f
    title: Slay the Spire
    url: 'https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: children
    id: family-58
    title: Children’s games
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/children/#family-58'
    categoryIds:
      - progress
  - catalogId: education
    id: family-58
    title: Educational games
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/education/#family-58'
    categoryIds:
      - progress
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Goals and success conditions
    description: >-
      Rules define the goal, permitted actions and an observable sign of
      successful completion.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/slay-the-spire-defeat.webp
      width: 1440
      height: 810
      game: Slay the Spire
      sourceUrl: 'https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/'
      originalUrl: 'https://www.megacrit.com/images/ss25.jpg'
      credit: Mega Crit
      rights: © Mega Crit. All rights reserved.
      caption: Zero health leads to defeat
      alt: >-
        Slay the Spire: zero player health and a Death screen clearly show the
        cause and result of the attempt’s end.
      markers:
        - x: 23
          'y': 3
          label: 'Defeat condition: health reaches zero'
        - x: 50
          'y': 25
          label: The attempt’s outcome is explicit
    tips:
      - 'Distinguish the immediate goal, success condition and completion moment.'
    examples:
      - title: Slay the Spire
        url: 'https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/'
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
---
# Goals, tasks and success conditions

id: shared-family-58
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/shared-family-58
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/shared-family-58/

Rules define the goal, permitted actions and an observable sign of successful completion.

## At a glance

![Slay the Spire: zero player health and a Death screen clearly show the cause and result of the attempt’s end.](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/slay-the-spire-defeat.webp)

[Slay the Spire](https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/) · © Mega Crit. All rights reserved.

1. Defeat condition: health reaches zero
2. The attempt’s outcome is explicit

- Distinguish the immediate goal, success condition and completion moment.

- [Slay the Spire](https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/)

## How it works

Reach a point

## Variants

### Variants

<a id="family-58-branch-1"></a>

- Reach a point <a id="family-58-variant-1"></a>
- Deliver items <a id="family-58-variant-2"></a>
- Collect sets <a id="family-58-variant-3"></a>
- Restore objects <a id="family-58-variant-4"></a>
- Help characters <a id="family-58-variant-5"></a>
- Maintain working systems <a id="family-58-variant-6"></a>
- Complete orders <a id="family-58-variant-7"></a>
- Unlock areas <a id="family-58-variant-8"></a>
- Solve mysteries <a id="family-58-variant-9"></a>
- Build working objects <a id="family-58-variant-10"></a>
- Reach target quantities <a id="family-58-variant-11"></a>
- Finish without a specified error <a id="family-58-variant-12"></a>
- Find all solutions <a id="family-58-variant-13"></a>
- Improve personal results <a id="family-58-variant-14"></a>
- Complete shared projects <a id="family-58-variant-15"></a>
- Reach outcomes through several valid methods <a id="family-58-variant-16"></a>

## Design example

Restore a bridge so residents can reach school again.

## 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.

- [Slay the Spire](https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/) (id: source-7f09c8a736762f4f)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors