state machine

The plain version. One box per condition you can be in, one arrow per move that actually happens, and the trigger written on every arrow. A single marker for where you are today. The shape carries the finding. A box with no arrow out is a trap. A box with no arrow in is unreachable. A state you can only leave the long way round explains a lot of stuck months, and you see that before you read a word of the labels.

The plain version. One box per condition you can be in, one arrow per move that actually happens, and the trigger written on every arrow. A single marker for where you are today. The shape carries the finding. A box with no arrow out is a trap. A box with no arrow in is unreachable. A state you can only leave the long way round explains a lot of stuck months, and you see that before you read a word of the labels.

Example

Best when the states are few, roughly three to seven, and the live question is which moves exist at all.