New Games Prep Material

NotMyName

Are the new games discussed at all in the course? It's my understanding that these games, by design, are difficult to directly prepare for. I've seen enough of them to understand why this is the case. The general approach I've heard is to master the approach to all games and bring that mindset to these new ones (and don't get flustered).

BinghamtonDave

Your general approach seems to be the prevailing approach. As far as your first question, what precisely do you mean? All games are discussed and reviewed in great detail individually under the "LSAT explanations" tab of the 7Sage course. Are you asking if the newer games are discussed in such a way that they are grouped under a single lesson?

NotMyName

@BinghamtonDave > @BinghamtonDave said:

Your general approach seems to be the prevailing approach. As far as your first question, what precisely do you mean? All games are discussed and reviewed in great detail individually under the "LSAT explanations" tab of the 7Sage course. Are you asking if the newer games are discussed in such a way that they are grouped under a single lesson?

Yes. That's what I'm asking.

BinghamtonDave

@jkatz1488 no, they are not to my knowledge. In order to group games together into a single concise lesson there would have to be common threads between them in a way that made inferences similar to make: for instance the running inferences for in and out games or linear games. The important distinction of the category broadly called "miscellaneous" games is that they often allude both a traditional setup/approach and are seldom similar to each other in a way that would lend itself to running inferences.

Many odd games have antecedents in LSAT history for instance PT C's game 4 and PT 72's Game 4 are quite similar, but the odd games are often quite different from each other.

Odd games can be broadly tackled directly using two basic skills and indirectly using 1 basic skill. I will now outline those skills, what follows is my approach to all games sections. It is predicated on the assumption that at maximum, I want a -1 for the section. If you don't want this, then scale for what it is you want:

Indirect skill: ensure that the easier games in the set are a -0. Normally, 2 or 3 games out of each set are nothing out of the ordinary. Never neglect collecting these 17-18 points in a timely fashion. This positions you in a great spot: at worst you will be minimizing the damage of a section due to an odd game, at best you will go into the odd game with the left over time and get all the questions correct. Implement skipping strategies: collect your points. If an odd game isn't clicking, skip and collect, come back with the left over time. Don't let it rattle you, you've got a plan to minimize any damage that you have refined throughout your preparation.

Direct skill 1: read the directions of the odd game intensely and follow the rules specifically. This is easier said than done, but odd games are beatable, they can be done, they are riddles that hold the key in their directions/rules. Hopefully, your core skills with the 3 other normal games has given you a nice chunk of time. My recommendation on odd games is to try to spend 45 seconds up front once you have gotten the rules, drawing a gameboard: run the gameboard through the rules to ensure that nothing you have violates these conditions. Often times, having a single gameboard will allow you to see how things interact. With odd games, a single gameboard can be worth its weight in gold. For an illustration of this, please refer to Feb 1997 Game 3.

Direct skill #2: approach the questions in a malleable way for the odd game. Often times: (pt 77 game 3 pt 72 game 4) skipping questions really can minimize the damage. Several questions on those two odd games can be answered substantially easier than others. Collect these points: I always tell myself on an LG section, my job here is to collect the points. As an illustration of this skipping strategy on LG odd games, check out PT 72 Game 4. Questions 19, 20 and 23 can be answered without a deep understanding of the game and with a medium amount of work.

I hope this helps
David

twssmith

@jkatz1488 Thanks for the question:)

@BinghamtonDave I love LG and that was an incredible breakdown of strategies to maximize points and minimize damage!!!!
Please could you post this in the Study Guides - I know so many people could learn a lot from your explanation:)

NotMyName

@BinghamtonDave Dude. Awesome answer. Thanks for your guidance here.

Cant Get Right

@jkatz1488 said:
@BinghamtonDave Dude. Awesome answer. Thanks for your guidance here.

Agreed. For LG advice, strategies, and general knowledge, this is the guy you want!