Game mechanics are a construct of rules intended to produce an enjoyable game or gameplay. (Wikipedia)
This list of game mechanics, dynamics, rules and features is compiled from several sources, and is by no means complete. As a work in progress, it is meant to provide ideas to spark your game-based applications. Suggestions, additions and comments are welcome and can be sent to Strategic Synergy.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
- Achievement
- Acting
- Action Points
- Annotating Maps
- Appointment Dynamic
- Area Control/ Area Influence
- Area Enclosure
- Area Movement
- Area-Impulse
- Asymmetric Co-op
- Auction or Bidding
- Avoidance
B
- Behavioral Contrast
- Behavioral Momentum
- Betting/Wagering
- Blissful Productivity
- Boss Fight
- Breaking the Fourth Wall
C
- Campaign/ Battle Card Driven
- Capture/Eliminate
- Cards
- Card Drafting
- Catch-up
- Cascading Information Theory
- Chain Schedules
- Chit-Pull System
- Collectible Card Game
- Combination Conditions
- Communal Discovery
- Companion Gaming
- Content Unlocking
- Contingency
- Co-operative Play
- Commodity Speculation
- Countdown
- Crayon Rail System
- Credibility
- Critical Path
- Cross Situational Leader-boards
D
E
- Easter Eggs and Photographs
- Economy of Design
- End of Story First
- Endless Games
- Envy
- Epic Meaning
- Extinction
F
- Falling Action/Playable Denouement
- Fixed Interval Reward Schedules
- Fixed Ratio Reward Schedule
- Free Lunch
- Fun Once, Fun Always
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
- Memory
- Meta Game
- Micro Leader-boards
- Modifiers
- Modular Board
- Moral Hazard of Game Play
- Movement
- Moving the Controller
N
O
P
- Paper-and-Pencil
- Partnerships
- Pattern Building
- Pattern Recognition
- Persistent World
- Pick-up and Deliver
- Piece Elimination
- Player vs. Environment (PvE)
- Player vs. Player (PvP)
- Point-to-point Movement
- Position
- Presence and Instant Messaging
- Pride
- Privacy
- Progression Dynamic
- Puzzle Guessing
Q
R
- Races
- Rank
- Ratio Reward Schedules
- Real-time v. Delayed Mechanics
- Reinforcer
- Renown
- Reputation
- Resource Management
- Response
- Reward Schedules
- Risk and Reward
- Rock-Paper-Scissors
- Role-playing
- Roll and Move
- Rolling Physical Goods
- Route/Network Building
S
- Scale
- Secret Unit Deployment
- Seeing the Consequences
- Set Collection
- Setting the Environment on Fire
- Shell Game
- Simulation
- Simultaneous Action Selection
- Singing
- Social Fabric of Games
- Social Status
- Split-Action Card or Item
- Stock Holding
- Storytelling
- Structure Building
T
U
V
- Variable Interval Reward Schedules
- Variable Phase Order
- Variable Player Powers
- Variable Ratio Reward Schedule
- Vengeance is Mine
- Victory Points
- Viral Game Mechanics
- Virtual Items
- Voting
W
X
Y
Z
Sources:
http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/25/scvngr-game-mechanics/
http://www.gravity7.com/blog/media/2010/08/507.html
http://www.gametheory.net/dictionary/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_mechanics
http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2007/11/opinion_20_underused_game_mech.php
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