Skip to main content

ATLAS / IDEAS

Game design atlas

Find a mechanism, understand its tradeoffs and smallest useful scope, then build your game with a design card and sample project.

192 Mechanisms32 Mechanism domain48 Art styles12 Genre guides

Art styles My research shelf Rain Canopy Workshop · Try the complete prototype Pixel toolkit

Core loop

01Scan valid swaps
02Choose goal and setup
03Swap and resolve in order
04Read the resulting board

Matching and mergingOne rule

Adjacent swaps and cascades

Clear the largest immediate group or clear below to improve the target color's position?

Reference gamesBejeweled 3 · PuzzleQuest: Challenge of the Warlords

Open this entry

Core loop

01Find matching paths
02Extend or backtrack
03Confirm chain and endpoint
04Resolve and plan again

Matching and mergingOne rule

Chain drawing and endpoints

Extend for more value or stop at a safer endpoint?

Reference gamesGrindstone · Two Dots

Open this entry

Core loop

01Read tiers and free cells
02Choose movement or placement
03Merge and add an object
04Preserve future moves

Matching and mergingOne rule

Merging with a space budget

Merge now for space or keep lower tiers positioned for the next arrival?

Reference games2048 · Triple Town

Open this entry

Core loop

01Collect checkable facts
02Build candidate explanations
03Eliminate contradictions
04Submit a claim and evidence

Observation and deductionOne rule

Evidence and elimination

Submit the most plausible answer or seek a clue distinguishing the remaining two explanations?

Reference gamesReturn of the Obra Dinn · The Case of the Golden Idol

Open this entry

Core loop

01Reveal the first card
02Recall a matching location
03Reveal the second
04Match or remember and cover

Observation and deductionOne rule

Memory pairs and reuse

Explore an unknown card or complete a pair using remembered locations?

Reference gamesOriginal MEMORY Game · Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics

Open this entry Play the lab

Core loop

01Read clue regions
02Mark known states
03Combine remaining counts
04Reveal certainty and update

Observation and deductionOne rule

Constraint-based reveals

Reveal a plausible cell or combine two constraints for certainty?

Reference gamesTametsi · 14 Minesweeper Variants

Open this entry

Core loop

01Read active statements
02Find editable terms
03Form a valid rule
04Observe and act

Language and rule manipulationLinked states

Rules as manipulable objects

Change the obstacle's property or change the goal condition?

Reference gamesBaba Is You · Scribblenauts Unlimited

Open this entry

Core loop

01Observe symbols and actions
02Record candidate meanings
03Compare new contexts
04Confirm and apply

Language and rule manipulationOne rule

Decoding an unknown language

Label a symbol WATER now or retain DRINK as an alternative until another sentence clarifies it?

Reference gamesChants of Sennaar · Heaven's Vault

Open this entry

Core loop

01Read inputs and goal
02Arrange instructions
03Step through state changes
04Locate errors and rerun

Language and rule manipulationOne rule

Programming and debugging

Patch the current example or find a loop or condition that handles every input?

Reference gamesHuman Resource Machine · Opus Magnum

Open this entry

Core loop

01Read clues
02Mark forced cells
03Propagate intersections
04Complete and verify

Observation and deductionOne rule

Nonogram run constraints

Use overlap in a long run or split a row around known empty cells?

Reference gamesPattern · Picross e

Open this entry

Core loop

01Organize candidates
02Construct a probe
03Read both feedback counts
04Eliminate inconsistencies

Observation and deductionOne rule

Code-breaking feedback

Guess the likeliest answer or probe to eliminate more candidates?

Reference gamesGuess · Mastermind

Open this entry

Core loop

01Read testimony
02Question or inspect
03Pair contradictory evidence
04Explain and update

Observation and deductionOne rule

Cross-examining contradictions

Is the evidence enough, or must you clarify the time or location first?

Reference gamesApollo Justice: Ace Attorney · Contradiction: Spot The Liar

Open this entry

Core loop

01Inspect letters
02Trace neighbors
03Validate word and path
04Keep found words and search

Language and rule manipulationOne rule

Words through adjacent tiles

Submit a safe short word or extend through a rare letter with uncertain validity?

Reference gamesBoggle · Wordament

Open this entry

Core loop

01Read a fragment
02Propose a term
03Inspect search results
04Update clues and hypotheses

Language and rule manipulationOne rule

Keyword-driven investigation

Keep searching a known name or follow an unusual object mentioned in a sentence?

Reference gamesHer Story · Telling Lies

Open this entry

Core loop

01Read distance and word length
02Select a target
03Type or switch
04Resolve and reprioritize

Language and rule manipulationOne rule

Typing target priorities

Finish a half-typed long word or switch to the short-word threat about to reach you?

Reference gamesEpistory - Typing Chronicles · The Typing of The Dead: Overkill

Open this entry

Core loop

01Read current and next pieces
02Choose orientation and landing
03Lock and clear
04Plan remaining space

Matching and mergingOne rule

Falling pieces and stack planning

Clear a row now or preserve a well for a better upcoming piece?

Reference gamesTetris® Effect: Connected · Puyo Puyo™Tetris®

Open this entry

Core loop

01Preview a group
02Predict collapse
03Remove it
04Inspect new groups and singles

Matching and mergingOne rule

Group removal and collapse

Take the large group now or remove a small group to join separated colors?

Reference gamesSame Game · Puyo Puyo™Tetris®

Open this entry

Core loop

01Read the frontier
02Choose a color
03Merge neighbors
04Plan remaining moves

Matching and mergingOne rule

Flood-fill frontiers

Absorb the largest nearby patch or take a small corridor toward a distant region?

Reference gamesFlood · KAMI

Open this entry

Covers are original AI-generated style illustrations. Game names reference publicly visible design choices and remain the property of their owners. This atlas does not supply screenshots or assets from those games. Prompts and combinations are original drafts for new games.