LSAT 90, Game 4 Setup, Theatre Festival Plays, LSATHacks

Game Setup

This game is quite similar to PT 37 Game 4, which also has a repeating sequence. You should try game that after going through this explanation. Be warned that game may be a little bit harder than this one.

There’s 8 days so we can put down 8 slots. We’re told that the same play is performed on days 1 and 5, and another play is performed on both days 2 and 7.

You should absolutely represent this directly on your diagram. There are at least two good ways to do it. One is to make plays 1/5 X, and plays 2/7 Y, then draw these above the diagram:

So, whatever play goes under X needs to be the same, and the same for Y. The second way to represent this is with curved lines. The two variables touched by each line need to be the same:

Pick whichever version you find clearer, or come up with your own system. But don’t say “oh I’ll just remember this” and don’t write “1 = 5” in your list of rules, away from the diagram. In the heat of the moment you need a clear visual reminder on the main diagram. Success in logic games is mostly about not forgetting the rules, so they need to be blindingly obvious.

For my own diagrams in this game I chose the curved line version. Note that on my own scrap paper, I probably wouldn’t draw the curves for local diagrams: I’d only have them on the main diagram. But for clarity in these explanations I put the curves on most diagrams.

Rule 3 tells us that M and O can’t be next to each other, in either order:

Rule 4 tells us that there is at least one HM block, in this order:

Rule 5 tells us that J has to go before any H. Since H could repeat, we want to be clear that both H’s come after J. I drew it like this:

A word of caution: this doesn’t mean that H must go twice! It only means that if H goes twice, then J is before both. But what is 100% certain is that there is a J-HM sequence.

This lets us infer that H can’t be first, since J needs to come before H (rule 5). Hence, H also can’t be fifth, since both first and fifth need to be the same play (rule 1):

G and L are the random variables: they have no restrictions. You can represent this by drawing circles around them:

There isn’t much you can do upfront, but note that HM is the most restricted variable:

• It needs two spaces. So if a question blocks open spots, this heavily restricts where HM can go.
• J has to come earlier than HM.
• H can’t be first or fifth.

So HM should be the first constraint you check when setting up a question.

Note also that you need to watch spaces 1/5 and 2/7 carefully. For example, if on some question you deduce that a certain variable can’t go fifth, then that variable also can’t go first. 1=5 and 2=7, right down to the rules for who can’t go in those spots.

Numerical Distribution

In this game, there are eight spaces and six plays. That means two plays go twice. Which ones? Fortunately, we have an easy answer: The plays that go 1st and 5th, and 2nd and 7th, go twice. These are the repeating slots from rules 1 and 2.

All other plays go once!

LawHub Order

LawHub Order

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