LG Game 2 Setup, by LSATHacks, by LSATHacks
Game Setup
Time on first attempt: 4:38
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LSAT 81 Game 2 is a linear game, and a fairly straightforward one, I think. That said, it’s worth trying to get fast at these. I did this in 4:38 on my first try. This left me with a massive time surplus at the end, which was fortunate. I made an error on the final game, and took 14 minutes to do it.
I could not have done that without the time surplus from games 1-3. In fact, I often have a game on LG where I take 12-13 minutes. But then the others are really fast. Aiming for even times is a mistake. You need to go really fast on the easy ones to create a time buffer for the hard ones.
Split the game using the 5th rule
The 5th rule splits this game in two. Parker performs either first or seventh.
Whenever a rule allows you to split a game, you should do it. And you should skim the rules to look for such a rule first. Drawing the rules in order slows you down. You should draw them in the order of most definite to least definite.
Rule 4 forces M into position
Why? Well, this lets you add subsequent rules directly on the diagrams. This lets you avoid wasted drawing, and make deductions quickly. For example, it’s so obvious how to draw rule 4 now that we have P on the diagram. One space between M and P:
Drawing the rules out of order expands on what the rules directly give you, and lets you see a deduction immediately (M is 3rd or 5th).
How not to draw LSAT 81 Game 2
Below are how people tend to draw games. Would you have been better off drawing things in order, like this, and then looking for deductions and scenarios? I think not:
These two diagrams above are logically accurate, but add nothing beyond what the rules literally said. Such diagrams would just clutter your page and slow your down. And the more cluttered the page is, the harder it is to see deductions. Deductions are just combinations of elements, after all. If you have clutter, you can’t separate the wheat from the chaff.
You should also approach the rules in terms of which ones can be combined what what’s already been drawn. So, for example, rule 4 was good, because P was already on the diagram.
Rule 2 places T
Now, since M is on the diagram, we should next draw rule 2, since it mentions M is before T. We get this:
In the first scenario, we just know T is anywhere after M (represented as a floating variable above the diagram, to signify it goes anywhere, after that point.)
But in the second scenario, we see that T can only go sixth. Excellent. Definite diagrams are very good.
Put the remaining rules in a list
LSAT 81 game 2 has a few rules we can’t easily put on the diagram:
L is before N, L and O are one space apart in either order, and S is random.
Note that using these rules, you could make scenarios out of the bottom diagram (since it’s more limited). I count four scenarios in total. But, it’s better to stick to two main scenarios, and draw the others when a question requires it. Having five total scenarios would take time and be confusing. And it would offer little gain beyond what we’ve already got.
“Not” rules help you remember where N and L can’t go
I normally don’t add that many “not” rules to my diagram, but they may be helpful here. You could optionally add that L can’t go last and N can’t go 1st, as a reminder. Specifically, first and last in the open spots:
A few questions test this explicitly, so it’s probably worth noting these down if you find you sometimes don’t notice that about L/N. (We can deduce these “not” rules because L must be before N. If N is 2nd in the top diagram, then L can’t be before N, and so on)
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