Structural

Functional

Process

Game type

Structural games help determine the elements of a thing or event. The games can used to answer the inquiry in a linear fashion, for example, taking data and presenting it into a concise, relevant form. The most common final object form for this type of game is a list or flow chart. Lists and flow charts may seem simple, but several more complex thought processes can be expressed with them.

Functional games help determine the purpose of an elements of a thing or event. The games can be used to draw the connections between ideas, events, or concepts. The most common final form for this type of game is a two sided list showing the before and after of an action. The inquiry should have some type of cause/effect relationship, even if it is more complex than just that.

Process games can determine how element and functions are used together to accomplish a goal or ultimate endpoint. They can be used to explain a concept or inquiry with several mechanisms behind it that make it more complicated that what it appears. The games should be used with concepts that will have an ability to be applied in the future. The forms of these games almost always have multiple levels attached to them and have end forms.

General types of questions

"Why is X the way it is?"
"How does that system flow?"

"How are A and B related?"
"X happened so what happens with Y?"

"How does X process work?"
"What are the steps that make Y happen?”"

Form or object of the game

List
Spatial decomposition
Compare and contrast
Cost-benefit analysis

Critical event analysis
Multi-causal analysis
Graphs and relations
Form-and-function analysis

System-dynamics models
Aggregate-behavior models
Constraint system
Situation action models
Trend and cyclical analysis

Common subject areas

Anatomy
Chemical processes
Historical analysis
Social and economic policy
Literary analysis

Troubleshooting
Causality events
Medicine
Writing analysis
Workings of physical devices
Biological functions

Social and physical sciences
Chemical mixtures
Statistical mechanisms
DNA replications
Physical system
Economics

Examples of moves, rules, levels

Similarity of items
Convergence of the data
Distinctness
Scope
Relevance

Determine goals
Connect points
Differentiate items
Correlations must be significant

Identify dependent variable
Identify independent variables
Connect variables
Figure out trends
Predict future outcomes

Example questions

"What is the anatomical flow of blood through the body?"
"What are the main types of evidence of human-caused climate change?"
"What was the timeline of events that lead to WWII?"

"What events led the Challenger to explode?"
"What caused the Great Depression?"
"What is a biological example of evolution, and how did it happen?"

"What is a systems dynamic approach to climate change?"
"How does inflation affect the US economy?"
"What are the steps in gene replication?"