Diagramming logic games Forum

[deblaw]

I've just started to study for the games, diagramming and making some obvious inferences. However, it seems like it is still very tough for me to pull every inferences out and diagram accordingly. Would inferences eventually internalize themselves after studying for awhile (lets say about 3months)?

[flyingduck]

IMO focus on your reading and diagramming strategy. Some inferences might just come to you from reading but don't waste time trying to make more inferences. Inferences usually come out when you diagram well. And after you've done enough practice tests and mastered the logic game categories, you'll should be quick to recognize that some inferences tend to always come in certain situations.

[Lyov Myshkin]

I had some success with practicing diagramming in isolation to questions. Basically, this means I cut out all the questions/answers from a bunch of games, so that I could have a stack of games where I could focus solely on diagramming a setup, diagramming rules, and even try guessing the types of questions that I thought could or might be asked of me.

[bp shinners]

When students have trouble making inferences, I usually recommend:

1) Check each rule to see which players show up more than once. If any show up more than once, try to combine those rules. You usually can't if they're conditional (and you can't use the transitive property), if they're reversible blocks, or if they're 'weird' rules. Other than that, there's usually a way to combine them

2) Check each slot to see how many rules reference it. A lot of times, instead of a player-based deduction, there will be a slot-based deduction.

3) Check out the 'weird' rule. The one that doesn't seem to fit with the rest. These weird rules are usually used in one of two ways - either as a one-off, that affects a single question and they try to get you to forget it by asking it last (this is usually true of a rule that you can only note, and it doesn't affect you setup); or, as a basis for creating scenarios for the game. There isn't always a weird rule.

4) If all else fails, check the questions. If they're all conditional ("If __________"), then you're probably good without deductions, as there aren't many, if any. If they aren't that way, you're probably missing something. Find a question that says, "Which one of the following must be true?" and brute force the answer. Bam, you now have a deduction.