æz ðə plˈeɪɚ pˈæsᵻz ðə mˈaʊs ˌoʊvɚ ðə ɡˈeɪm skɹˈiːn, jˈuːʒuːəli ðə mˈaʊs kˈɜːsɚ wɪl tʃˈeɪndʒ ʃˈeɪp ˈiː.dʒˈiː. tʊ ɐ hˈænd ɔːɹ dˈɪfɹənt kˈaɪnd ʌv ˈæɹoʊ ɪf ðɪ ˈaɪɾəm ˌʌndɚ ðə kˈɜːsɚ kæn biː jˈuːzd, ˈoʊpənd, mənˈɪpjʊlˌeɪɾᵻd, kəlˈɛktᵻd, sˈɜːtʃt ɔːɹ ɪf ɐn ˈɛɡzɪt fˈɑːloʊd, bˌʌt sˌʌm ɡˈeɪmz duːnˌɑːt pɹəvˈaɪd sˈʌtʃ hˈɪnts tə ðə plˈeɪɚ.
As the player passes the mouse over the game screen, usually the mouse cursor will change shape (e.g. to a hand or different kind of arrow) if the item under the cursor can be used, opened, manipulated, collected, searched or (if an exit) followed, but some games do not provide such hints to the player.