Selection

Mechanism · II – Allocation & Selection immediate / delayed · irreversible / conditional · open / concealed · solo / competitive

Selection lets agents choose from a limited offer of options: evaluation and decision lead to a chosen option with consequences and opportunity costs.

Design question – How does your game choose from a limited offer – and what makes the choice interesting?

Reference example – 7 Wonders: you keep one card from your hand and pass the rest on. Hades: after each chamber you choose one of three boons from the gods. Ticket to Ride: draw train cards, claim a route or take new tickets – each choice costs the turn. 7 Wonders (Card Drafting) · Pandemic (Action Points) · Splendor (Open Drafting)

Structural pattern

Input -> transformation -> output: a limited offer (actions, cards, spaces) becomes a chosen option (consequence) through evaluation and decision.

Regulated in permitting mode (choose one or more of the available options), constraining mode (what is chosen is blocked for others or not; selection budget; timing of the choice) and conditioning mode (the offer changes after the choice: replenishment, scarcity, rotation). In a game, the number of options and the budget become specifications; if players choose in turn, the order is a procedure.

Design parameters

• Supply source – fixed pool ↔ random display/pass-along
• Exclusivity – non-blocking ↔ fully blocking
• Information – all options known ↔ fully concealed
• Time pressure – unlimited ↔ time-limited/simultaneous
• Opportunity cost – low (many turns) ↔ high (every choice counts)
• Reversibility – revocable ↔ binding

Related Mechanisms

• Priority (MEC-08) – Frequently combined: order of choosing.
• Conversion (MEC-03) – Frequently combined: the chosen option costs something.
• Randomization (MEC-20) – Frequently combined: random offer.
• Schedule (MEC-14) – Frequently combined: timing of the choice.