Drafting: choosing from a selection
Players take items from a selection that changes as choices are made. A decision may both help your position and leave a different set of options for someone else.
Set collection: a reason to gather
Items become useful in combinations specified by the rules. The tension often comes from choosing between continuing one set and taking an opportunity for another.
Hidden information: an incomplete picture
Some information is unknown or private. The rules determine who may see it and what may be communicated. Uncertainty can be enjoyable, but people need to understand its boundaries.
Simultaneous choices: decide, then reveal
Players make choices before seeing all the other choices. Resolution rules explain what happens when intentions conflict. A worked example can make that sequence much clearer.
Mechanics can share a game
A game may combine several of these patterns. Use the terms as questions to ask about the experience, not as a ranking system or a substitute for the actual rules.