LG Game 4 Setup, by LSATHacks
Game Setup
Time on second attempt:
See “repeating games” at bottom of section
——————-
This is the unusual game of the section. Though, it’s not especially unusual. There are some other games that have similarities. For example, the car features game from preptest 35, section 3, game 2.
The best way to set up this kind of game is with a vertical list of corporations, since the corporations are the ones that hold the bonds. Oddly, the first question uses the bonds as the base, but I find this less efficient.
Here’s what I drew. I added a few rules on it directly:
Rule 1 says that H and L can’t have the same type of bonds. So I drew the arc with a line through it to represent that. I also drew two diagrams: there are only two ways for H and L to have different bonds.
In the first diagram, R has 10. That’s thanks to rule 3: if L has 10, R has 10. (note that R could still have 10 in the second diagram. It just doesn’t have to have it).
The final point are the vertical lines to the right of the bonds for H and L. Those show that the groups are closed. No more bonds can go there (thanks to rule 1). Whereas all the other corporations could have one or two bonds (for now). We’ll be seeing a lot of these vertical lines in this game.
There’s only one rule not not on the diagram: rule 2. If V has 5 year bonds, then S has both 5 and 10 year bonds. I draw any rules I can’t put on the diagram in a separate list. (In this case, just the one rule):
However, that’s not all there is to this setup!
Counting Games
This game is an example of what I call “counting games”. It’s not exactly a type, rather it’s a skill that cuts across game types.
In this game, there are 8 bonds: 5, 5, 5, 5, 10, 10, 10, 10
So, on a counting game, you need to….count these bonds! There will be some situations where only one 5 year bond has been placed, and only three spots are open. What does this mean? It means you need to put a 5 year bond in every open space.
It’s really very simple, except no rule directly tells you to do that. It’s instead just a feature of the numbers. So….count! And look for other games where there’s a high number of things, and you need to count.
For example, game 3 of this section had six variables, and four spaces. So, if two were eliminated, then the other four had to be in (6 – 2 = 4). The math is very simple, but because no rule mentions it, a lot of students overlook it. I’ve noticed counting games are more common on recent LSATs.
——————-
Repeating Games
I’ve written elsewhere about the benefits of repeating games, to solidify your intuition for deductions. Note that the purpose of repeating games is to prove the answers right, so it doesn’t matter if you remember the right answer.
I repeated this game about three days after I first saw it, by which time I had forgotten the answers. I’ve written how long it took me on the second attempt. That time, or a couple minutes above it, is roughly the standard you should be aspiring to — a lot of people take 8-9 minutes on a repeat attempt, get everything right, and pat themselves on the back. But that’s too slow. The faster you go when repeating, the faster you’ll learn to go the first time you see a game.
(I say “a couple minutes above” my time because, after years of teaching the LSAT, I’m really, really fast. You should be almost as fast as me, but you don’t exactly need to match my pace to score -0.)
Analysis
Count all the variables! This many bonds must be placed: 5, 5, 5, 5, 10, 10, 10, 10
Leave a Reply