Remembering LG Rules Forum

[negligee]

Does anyone have any specific tips to memorizing the rules? Is it just dependent on me understanding and diagramming them in order to check each answer choice against them? Or is there some other way? I make silly mistakes on otherwise really easy games.

[LifeGoals]

I'm a little confused as to what you're asking. It's true that if you don't have a good system for diagramming the rules, then you're going to struggle at least a little bit and probably a lot. I do go -0 on LG consistently and I wouldn't say I consciously try to memorize the rules. I just diagram them, and when in doubt, I look at my diagram. It's no problem to say "Oh, what is the rule for the ordering of S, G, and A again? Let me check the diagram."

When I have a hypothetical ordering of variables that I think meets the rules and helps me answer a question, I will usually double-check it by running it by each rule really quickly. "Rule 1 is C before A. C is before A, now Rule 2." Practice helps you get fast enough at doing this, and having a definite possible ordering of variables can often be used to answer future questions down the line.

[shump92]

I agree that your diagram is huge. I also get -0 consistently for LG. First you need to understand how the individual game is working; i.e. are you making a schedule with X slots or matching terms into groups. Then you use the rules to make as detailed of a diagram as you can without dwelling too long on it. That could include combing sequencing rules into a list. For example if A is before C and D and D is before F then you should note that A is also before F. Knowing floaters is also useful, but your diagram/sketch or whatever you call it should only take 2-3 minutes. Then individual questions will either be possible to answer from your diagram or will give you the extra info to use in your diagram to get the right answer. Most prep books explain this process really well.

[Manhattan Prep Matt]

Does anyone have any specific tips to memorizing the rules? Is it just dependent on me understanding and diagramming them in order to check each answer choice against them? Or is there some other way? I make silly mistakes on otherwise really easy games.

Don't.

Memorizing rules instead of cross-checking does two things. First, it drastically increases the chances that you misremember it, or have a temporary lapse in your memory, and get something wrong, when just looking at what you wrote would have taken about the same amount of time. Second, it takes up brain RAM (that's probably not a real term). Every piece of your working memory dedicated to memorizing rules can't be used for making inferences or processing new information given to you in the question. There's no reason to memorize when you're given plenty of space to write everything out nice and big and check back to it.

Science also tells us that when you go into memorization mode, your brain processes information differently than if you were trying to absorb it to incorporate it into what you're doing. You don't want to be able to rattle off the rules to someone after you leave the center - instead, you want to be familiar enough with them that things "stick out" when you're doing questions. That requires familiarity, not complete memorization.

I stopped making stupid mistakes when I trained myself to check everything against the rules I wrote out. Surprisingly, it also drastically increased my speed, as I never had to redo a mistake, and I felt a lot freer to think through the important parts of the game.

[mornincounselor]

So the first thing you have to learn is a system of notating your rules. The Logic Games Bible and 7sage can really help with this.

Then you need to turn the rules from word form into your symbolic form and keep them in a set location on your page for every game.

After that you just go one-by-one through your notated rules for every question.

During review, or at first to get the hang of it, you can number your rules and write out (1), (2), (3), etc. after every question or answer choice and physically check them off as you go through your rules.

mod edit: example deleted because it's not allowed to post official questions verbatim on this board.