A Blueprint Logic Games book? Can it be true? MORE FREE 3/28 Forum

[Daily_Double]

(Last post, then I'm out until the June waiting thread, I promise this time)

Here's my review, thought I'd post it so everyone knows how BP stacks up to MLG and LGB.

Just finished the book today. I have been studying for the LSAT for awhile, probably too long, and this book was a much needed breath of fresh air. First I'll outline what I feel summarizes the best parts of the book, then I'll introduce my opinion of how the BP LG book stacks up to the competition, I'll give you a hint, it does well. The mental back and forth between the student and the fictional characters was not only hilarious but also educational, because many of the suggestions from some of these characters illustrate the pitfalls that the typical student falls into during games. In addition to the characters, the most valuable part of the book was the approach to the games, I don't mean theoretical, but in terms of teaching. It's one thing to do a game and learn form your mistakes, but it's another thing entirely to be lead through them. This book does a phenominal job of simulating a classroom environment, while at the same time offering the advantages of self study.

In the interest of full disclosure, I've been through LGB and MLG twice, I took a class, and I've been through a majority of the published games. There are two issues here, first is that I've gotten very good at the games, and second that it's been awhile, at least four months, since I read Powerscore and Manhattan. Now the first issue, might not seem like much, but since prep books, like yours and the ones above, assume that the reader is either not good at games or is just beginning to get good at them, I found most of the beginning material, especially ordering games, far too easy. That being said, I did reinforce many of the concepts and drills that I have been doing, so even though they were easy, doing them probably helped in some small way. Second, this issue sort of ties back into the first, it's been awhile since I've done the books, this is mainly an issue because I'm describing the differences and similarities from memory.

Now on to the good stuff, similarities and differences. To begin with, the glaring difference between BP and Manhattan and Powerscore is the approach BP uses to teach. Whereas BP uses a step by step approach, Powerscore and Manhttan throw games at the student then show them what they should have done. In addition, Powerscore was dense to read, Manhattan did a better job of this, although BP takes the cake. It's almost as if the student is speaking to someone, and that person is as funny as Louis C.K. Very easy to read, good job. On to the specifics, all three books employ a similar approach to ordering games, BP and Manhattan use the same diagramming method for this game type, whereas Powerscore uses an overly complex system of greater than/less than (>/<) symbols to represent who must go before who. In terms of grouping games, again Powerscore lags behind here, mostly because of its unwavering reliance upon its diagramming methods. I'm going to spend a little bit more time on this, so Powerscore uses biconditionals to not only illustrate relationships but also to diagram, this becomes difficult to read when you're taking the contrapositive of a logic chain. However, I do like the method for diagramming rules. BP uses biconditionals in just that way, written next to the rules to show a relationship, then uses basic logic to diagram the rules. While diagramming logical relationships purely in the form of the given rule and the contrapositive might be an advanced technique, I think it's the best approach to use, especially for In - Out games. Manhattan makes a leap here and uses an overly complicated, and time consuming, logic tree to illustrate relationships for In - Out games, but other than that, BP and Manhattan are very similar.

So in summary, there's not a bunch of differences between the books here in terms of theory, however in terms of teaching methods, BP is far superior, in addition, BP is very straightforward. Manhattan suggests a few new methods, some of which are valuable, specifically Manhattan's Open Board Method of diagramming open grouping games, which is in my opinion better, although very similar to the way BP solves June 2004, game 4 (p372), but other than the Open Board Method, Manhattans really just congests students' heads by suggesting time consuming and unnecessary ways to solve problems.

So would I change anything about the BP book? And again, I'm not the typical student that you're probably marketing towards since I'm a little far into prep to crack another book, but if I had to make a change to the book, I'd make the games more difficult. At the end of the book, BP recommends specific problems, some of which are labeled a difficulty level of 4, some 5. I'd suggest including all of those problems labeled four or five. In addition, one thing I really liked about Manhattan's LG book was the challenge. At the beginning of every chapter was a game, the book challenged you to do the game in less than eight minutes. The rest of that chapter was devoted to similar games and at the end of the chapter, the book challenged you to do the game in less time than before, then the book would walk you through the games. I'd recommend BP upping the difficultly level a little bit and making the book more challenging in terms of material and teaching
style.

I finished the last two games today, -0, Mauve Dinosaurs weren't nearly as bad as I heard. So that's it for me, I want to thank you for letting me have a copy of the book and if you would like more information on my review or on specific parts of it, please let me know. Good luck with the books, I'm sure you'll be reprinting more very quickly.

[bp shinners]

are there any other conditional tricks?

Unless/until/without/except - cross out, rewrite as "If not"
Only=necessary; The only=Sufficient

Those are the two big ones

that and if and only if= double sided super rule. Correct?

Correct! Great option for scenarios if that rule shows up.

[Kharon542]

Just got my book, can't wait to dig in!

[onlyunholy]

Re: page 193 again, I H/R representation also seems incorrect to me..?

[bp shinners]

...Also, a few technical questions: On page 181 (and after), when U X is diagrammed as being either U - X or U X (vertical box) meaning U X can be in the SAME spoonful or U must come before X -- WHY THEN would (page 193) H N be in a vertical box meaning Headstrong received exactly ONE MORE STAR than Nice did? To me, that would signify that Headstrong and Nice received the same amount of stars. This is as far as I have gotten as far as questions re: error could be concerned..

We've set the soup game up using a horizontal setup - so spoon 1 is to the left of spoon 2 is to the left of spoon 3. We've set the CD ratings game up with a vertical setups - 4 stars is above 3 stars is above...

When the setups rotate like this, it's important to represent the rules in a way that reflects the setup.

Why did we set up the CD ratings game vertically? For some reason, most people in our classes have an easier time 'visualizing' that game in a vertical setup. I attribute it to Rolling Stones publishing their rating guide in that format.

I had another technical question earlier in the book because I felt I had found something that did not make sense, but because I received a damaged book (BP promptly overnight a new book and included postage paid return shipping!) I no longer recall where the issue was.. the second I find it, I will post it!

When you find it, let me know! I'll either help with an explanation or pass the typo/error on to the office.

[bp shinners]

Re: page 193 again, I H/R representation also seems incorrect to me..?

Hopefully, my last post explained the discrepancy between the verticality/horizontality (neither of which, I believe, are actual words) in this rule. If not, let me know and I'll go through it!

[Varys]

Would it be overkill to use this book in conjunction with Manhattan and Powerscore? I have not purchased the Manhattan books yet, but I've gone through Powerscore (albeit in 2 or 3 days for each book). The Powerscore books just seem a little clunky in their approach.

[bp shinners]

Would it be overkill to use this book in conjunction with Manhattan and Powerscore? I have not purchased the Manhattan books yet, but I've gone through Powerscore (albeit in 2 or 3 days for each book). The Powerscore books just seem a little clunky in their approach.

I'm obviously biased and think our book is the best!

However, what I can tell you is that we focused our efforts on making this book read like there is a person in the room with you, walking you through everything, so you can develop that 'voice in your head' that leads you through the Games. Preliminary reviews suggest that it does a good job of doing that, so if you're looking for something that 'flows' a bit better, our book might do the trick.