Thinking through some game designs leaves you with the feeling you should have known it all along. The problem with that is you often forget what decision flow you are in!
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.