---
key: mechanic/stealth-infiltration--t036
type: mechanic
id: stealth-infiltration--t036
lang: en
title: 'Tailing, reconnaissance and counter-surveillance'
summary: >-
  Tailing maintains contact, reconnaissance learns routines and
  counter-surveillance checks whether the observer has been exposed.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/stealth-infiltration--t036/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/stealth-infiltration--t036.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/stealth-infiltration--t036.md
aliases:
  - Surveillance and counter-surveillance
tags:
  - 'Stealth, infiltration and escape'
  - Mechanics and variants
sourceIds:
  - source-3817d420df0baa92
  - source-0b67ba09f898a1a9
sources:
  - id: source-3817d420df0baa92
    title: 'Robert Nystrom: State'
    url: >-
      https://github.com/munificent/game-programming-patterns/blob/master/book/state.markdown
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-0b67ba09f898a1a9
    title: 'Call of Duty: Warzone (2022)'
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/recon-drone'
    verifiedAt: null
relations:
  - type: uses
    direction: outgoing
    label: Sources in the selection
    key: resource/state-pattern
    title: 'State: Game Programming Patterns'
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/resources/#resource-state-pattern'
    jsonUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/resource/state-pattern.json'
    markdownUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/resource/state-pattern.md'
placements:
  - catalogId: stealth-infiltration
    id: t036
    title: 'Stealth, infiltration and escape'
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/stealth-infiltration/#t036'
    categoryIds:
      - mechanics
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Surveillance and counter-surveillance
    description: >-
      Tailing maintains contact, reconnaissance learns routines and
      counter-surveillance checks whether the observer has been exposed.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/combat-recon-drone.webp
      width: 500
      height: 276
      game: 'Call of Duty: Warzone (2022)'
      sourceUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/recon-drone'
      originalUrl: 'https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/webm/cod_drone_s.webm'
      sourceFrameSeconds: 8.07
      credit: Activision; frame from clip via GameMechanics.org
      rights: >-
        Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Source host:
        GameMechanics.org. All rights reserved; excluded from the portal’s MIT
        and CC BY 4.0 licenses.
      caption: A drone-camera view over a city block
      alt: >-
        A drone camera overlooks rooftops in Call of Duty: Warzone, with battery
        and device status in its interface.
      markers:
        - x: 54
          'y': 35
          label: A marked location among the buildings
        - x: 25
          'y': 81
          label: Drone battery indicator
    tips:
      - Balance acquired information against the risk of exposing the observer.
    examples:
      - title: 'Call of Duty: Warzone (2022)'
        url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/recon-drone'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on
  2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design
  examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests.
  Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not
  every proposed variant.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/stealth-infiltration
---
# Tailing, reconnaissance and counter-surveillance

id: stealth-infiltration--t036
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/stealth-infiltration--t036
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/stealth-infiltration--t036/

Tailing maintains contact, reconnaissance learns routines and counter-surveillance checks whether the observer has been exposed.

## At a glance

![A drone camera overlooks rooftops in Call of Duty: Warzone, with battery and device status in its interface.](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/combat-recon-drone.webp)

[Call of Duty: Warzone (2022)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/recon-drone) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Source host: GameMechanics.org. All rights reserved; excluded from the portal’s MIT and CC BY 4.0 licenses.

[Source recording](https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/webm/cod_drone_s.webm), 8.07 s

1. A marked location among the buildings
2. Drone battery indicator

- Balance acquired information against the risk of exposing the observer.

- [Call of Duty: Warzone (2022)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/recon-drone)

## How it works

Tailing maintains contact, reconnaissance learns routines and counter-surveillance checks whether the observer has been exposed.

## Variants

### Mechanic variants

<a id="t036-variants"></a>

- Distance balances losing a target against recognition. <a id="t036-v1"></a>
- Routes use several observation positions. <a id="t036-v2"></a>
- Photographs preserve a verifiable target action. <a id="t036-v3"></a>
- A checking turn reveals a follower copying the route. <a id="t036-v4"></a>

## Design example

A courier changes streets and the player switches to a distant camera instead of closing dangerously.

Prototype check: Test regaining contact through a known route after a brief interruption of direct visibility.

## Context and limits

Stealth manages what observers know through visibility, suspicion, traces, decoys and escape routes. Each overview separates player actions, state changes and alternative rules. Examples are hypothetical design scenarios, not claims about a named game. A prototype check states an observable question for the next iteration. Existing detailed references remain separately linked from the direction map.

## Connected materials

- Sources in the selection: [State: Game Programming Patterns](https://gamemechanics.pro/en/resources/#resource-state-pattern) (key: resource/state-pattern)

## Sources and provenance

Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant.

- [Robert Nystrom: State](https://github.com/munificent/game-programming-patterns/blob/master/book/state.markdown) (id: source-3817d420df0baa92)
- [Call of Duty: Warzone (2022)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/recon-drone) (id: source-0b67ba09f898a1a9)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors