Breaking down core game mechanics like turns, risk, and decision flow to build better board and video game designs from the ground up.
Think about it, if I say "taking a risk" there isn't an room for ambiguity. You intuit the trade-offs you are most familiar with, but wait? Where you from? Is that a acey-duecy trade off? Meaning we are playing the spread between a traditional card deck or are we focused on some kind of Yahzee game?
But that really only covers games that allow for a turn, the turn really is one of the most powerful mechanics there is. The first question really is are you taking a turn alone or are you taking a turn together? Look at any bluffing game for the difference.