Analysis paralysis occurs when a game presents so many possible actions, consequences, or calculations that the player struggles to choose at all. In moderation, thoughtful planning can be satisfying; beyond a certain point, decision richness turns into decision fatigue. Björk and Holopainen treat this as a recurrent failure mode of over-complex systems, especially where resources, hidden information, or branching actions combine without enough guidance (Björk & Holopainen, Patterns in Game Design, see source-patterns-in-game-design).
Related: meaningful-decisions, resource-management, player-guidance, game-balance