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So the other day I was going a LG section, PT 61 to be exact. I ended up getting -6 from what turned out to be really bone headed mistakes (ugh...)

But as I was doing the section, I have to admit I was nervous. Usually games 1 and 2 are sorta "easy" and can be finished in less than 8:45. You then use the remaining spare minutes for the hard games on 3 and 4.

But when I did the first game, I couldn't make one of the "main" deductions for question 2 and question 4 and as a result, I just had to throw hypotheticals. Of course, I spent almost 9 minutes on this game, but I still ended up finishing the entire section with 2:30 seconds left.

But the whole time, I was scared to death my games section was doomed because I had spent 9 minutes in the first game. I kept thinking, "Oh man I am screwed. I'm going to need those extra minutes for games 3 and 4." Luckily, games 3 and 4 weren't too bad and I only got 2 wrong (dumb errors...).

It's really interesting how games is the only section that "freaks me out" when things don't go as expected. Any advice to deal with this? PT 61 is the test with the nurses game btw.

You appear to have some anxiety issues that are beyond the scope of the LSAT. A lot of people suffer form this. A mental health professional could probably direct you towards some available remedies.

In terms of LSAT advice, all you can do is try your best to relax and trust your preparation. You need to focus on completing the questions themselves (games or not) rather than thinking "oh shit, I made a mistake, now I'm screwed." That kind of mentality will be your demise on this test.

At the end of the day, it's just a test. You're not stranded on a remote island fighting for your life. Being "scared" is really unwarranted and unproductive. If you have prepared to the best of your abilities, there is really nothing to be scared of. Go in trusting your abilities and you will be fine.

Edit: Almost everyone will experience a rough patch or some adversity during the test. That's one of the purposes of the test. The key is to go in understanding that at some point you may struggle with a particular argument or games section, but that you will be able to power through and move on - and still get your desired score. Do not fall into the trap of acquiring a defeatist attitude every time something doesn't go your way (on the LSAT, although this applies to life in general I suppose).

Good luck, and stay calm my friend.

dude, relax and make side deductions along the way. never took a class here so i never understood why people felt the need to categorize every game as linear/grouping? hard/easy. every game has one key fact implied by two or more clues combined that you need to pick up right away. once you got it, the questions are a 3-minute task. i can't find 61 right now, but if u post the problem, we can help

I don't think its an anxiety thing, LG is probably the scariest section b/c you can be completely lost if you miss the main deduction and enter panic-mode. You should work on varying your strategy with hypotheticals so you can gradually make progress towards the non-obvious deduction even if it doesn't immediately strike you. Adaptability is key.

The nurses game is fairly straight-forward basic linear. I think after plugging a few hypos you'll realize that the game is very restricted by the L-F-GK, M-J conditions since you're always allowing enough space between M & H. Let me know if this helps or any other questions.