LG Game 3 Setup, by LSATHacks
This is an explanation of the third logic game from Section III of LSAT preptest 67, the October 2012 LSAT.
A toy retailer is opening a small satellite store. There will be three aisles (1, 2, 3) and six sections: Fantasy, Hobbies, Music, Puzzles, Reading, and Science (F, H, M, P, R, S). Each aisle will have at least one section.
Game Setup
This is a grouping game with sequencing elements. I found it easiest to represent vertically. You can draw it horizontally if you prefer. These things are just a matter of taste.
The first rule:
The second and third rules:
The fourth rule:
Just memorize the fourth rule
The fourth rule is harder to draw. H can be before S OR in the same group as S. That’s why you can’t just attach this to the diagram I drew with F, S, M, P.
Since it’s a hard rule to draw, I prefer to just memorize it. I try to keep space in my head for at least one rule to memorize. It makes things go much smoother.
Try it, it’s easier than you think to memorize rules. Just take 20-30 second pre-game to load them into your head and repeat them mentally.
There are no deductions to make in this game (apart from combining rules 2 and 3). Instead, you’ll have to know the rules well and apply them quickly.
If you can’t memorize the rules, then at least make a list like I’ve drawn in the main diagram section, and refer to it for each question.
Rules 2 and 3 present the main limit in this game. There are only three groups, and many questions artificially block off one group. That means that F-M&P or S-P will be split between the remaining groups.
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I have a question.
The way I solved this gave was by treating rule #1 (Reading must be located in the same aisle as either Fantasy or Music) as a dichotomous rule. I created two scenarios, one where R and F were together and one where R and M were together. This allows a number of deductions to be made and I feel that it made solving the game easier. However, it took me a while to diagram it.
My question is this. My #1 strategy for solving logic games is splitting it into two possible scenarios. This has always been incredibly helpful to me. Is that a good way to go about it, or in games like this, is it a bit of a stretch? Am I relying too heavily on that strategy?
Thank you!
It’s an important strategy to keep in mind, and can save you a lot of time if used wisely. If you can clearly see that a game can be split into two templates, then it’s useful to draw them out. If there are 3 clearly defined scenarios, then you can also get away with drawing them out as well. A couple points to keep in mind when drawing templates:
(1) When there are over 3 scenarios, I think you’ll be saving time by just going to the questions and skipping the templates
(2) Be very careful about trying to ensure that you can draw out two scenarios. Sometimes you’ll be wasting a lot of time drawing out two templates that often don’t tell you a lot about the game because there are so many unplaced variables. Also, sometimes it’s easy to miss possible scenarios or templates when you become really set about finding the initial templates