It seems like it, and sometimes you can use the phases interchangeably without problems…you can print a message to the player if you really want to during CARRY OUT instead of REPORT, but each phase has unique reason to happen when it does.
It’s common for new authors to think INSTEAD is a one-size-fits-all solve for everything. Instead is usually for when you don’t want something to happen, or you want to blanket pass an action to a different action.
Instead of jumping when the location is Balancing on the Tightrope:
say "That would be *really* unwise in your precarious situation."
Instead of dropping the feather:
try casting featherdrop instead.
It’s common to end a check rule with an instead, and you can have multiple check rules that will all work together and run until at least one fails and stops the action:
Check casting a spell:
if intelligence is less than 10:
say "You haven't yet learned how to cast spells." instead.
Check casting a spell:
if the player does not carry the magic wand:
say "You will need a wand for that." instead.
CHECK is testing “can the player do this? If they can’t for this reason, do this…”
CARRY OUT is when you know the player can do something and the action will happen, and you’re changing world-state (usually) silently behind the scenes.
REPORT is the common description of an action’s outcome for the player.
AFTER will normally override a standard Report rule for a unique message, or so you can trigger something else to happen.
After jumping when the location is Bouncy Castle:
say "Boing! Wow, the floor is springy!";
reduce air pressure by 10;
if air pressure is less than 5:
say "Whoa, the castle deflated! There must be a leak.";
now the player is in Bouncy Castle Ruins.
You can also end and After rule with “continue the action” to have it also run the normal report rule.
After taking the sticky beehive:
say "Eew, it's sticky. You have honey on your hands.";
continue the action.
This will run if the player takes the beehive saying “Eew it’s sticky…” and then report “Taken.” as normal.