The diagram
The diagram page of the site draws every model in two views, directly from the YAML: a tree (text) and a track diagram (visual). Nothing is drawn by hand: what you put in the model appears, and what you leave out does not.
What appears where
| In the model | In the diagram |
|---|---|
label, summary, demonstrates, players | Title, summary, and the subtitle in the game list (demonstrates, else players). The site's built-in games may show a title of their own, in the language of the page |
| Flow nodes | The tree and the track diagram. A node is named by its label, else its id |
loop with over/over_x and order | A loop back, with an icon for the turn order |
branch with cases | A split into parallel tracks, with when and label per case |
step | A card with actor, the actions in do, its window and its markers. Expanding it shows each action's pre and the effects as pseudo-code, with the _x expressions under them |
end_event | "end: …" on a step, "event after: …" on a group |
note | An explanation under the node |
end | The End panel: if, check, scope and the expression |
| Zones, variables, constants, derived values | The State, Constants and Derived panels; persist shows as Persistent |
triggers, modifiers, priority | Their own panels; windows with their fast actions (label, allows, note) and the protocol |
outcomes | Outcome models, marked Skill or Chance |
content, open_questions | Content (with dice faces from faces and face_types) and the gap report. Per item: the text, keywords, and under "effect" the item's abilities, triggers and modifiers; abilities also appear with the windows in which they can be played |
| Executability | rules, content, code share and the total, as the validator computes them |
Markers
The diagram derives per step what happens in it; you do not set markers yourself.
| Marker | When |
|---|---|
| Choice | do is a list, or the step's actions contain choose, say or search |
| Chance | roll, shuffle, draw from a shuffled zone, look at a shuffled zone, or sample from an outcome model without skill |
| Skill | sample from an outcome model with skill: true |
| Hidden | choose with secret, search, look, or move/draw into a zone that is hidden or owner and not shuffled |
| Window | window on the step, or a window op |
| Trigger | emit of an event that some trigger (in the model or on content) listens to |
| Language | say, or choose with an agent of kind: llm |
| Persistent | set/add on a variable with persist, move/draw/place/create into a zone with persist, or reset |
| Code | call |
The ops of a flow run with run count for the step that runs it. Ops of triggers do not count for
the step that emits. Choices in a priority window count as Window, not as Choice. Markers belong to
steps: a window on a sequence or loop shows on that node, but is not a step marker.
Viewing your own model
- On the diagram page, open "Draw your own model", paste the
YAML and press "Draw model". "Fill with current game" puts the YAML of the game on screen in the
box, as a start. The model needs at least a
flowwith akind; references to missing actions or zones show up empty. - The validator page checks a pasted model, shows the flow as a text tree ("The flow as a tree") and opens the model in the player.
- Commercial games on the site are shown as their rules structure only, without content or model source.
A readable diagram
- Give nodes a short
labelin the words of the rulebook ("Planning phase", notphase2). - Follow the rulebook's headings: a phase in the rulebook is a node in the flow.
- Write
pre,cond,ifandwhenas short sentences; the expression is shown under them. - Put exceptions and doubts in
noteoropen_questions, not in labels.