Setting Up Games Faster

Shuttahgawd

I am at the point where I can set up the games well with my inferences and get through the questions and rarely miss, but I'm spending a lot of time doing so. I usually miss a whole game when I am doing timed sessions. Any advice on speeding up on my set up?

gabes900-1

Hello, good question.

I suggest foolproofing the games 1-35 PTs timed first to get in the habit of doing them under timed conditions. If you are already doing this, then practice more and maybe move to foolproofing entire sections.

From my experience, I used to have the same problem as LG used to be my worst section. But, after foolproofing a lot of games and then foolproofing sections, from that set, it has made me faster so that, now, I am able to complete all the games with significant amount of time left.

Also, if particular games are giving you trouble when doing sections, skip those games while under the timed take, do the other three games, and come back to that one at the end of the section. I do this with miscellaneous or use harder games I can usually discern at the beginning of a timed section. This allows me to hit the easy games first, which gives me confidence, flow and security. Then, I am able to attack that one game that is just weird while considerable amount of time.

Shuttahgawd

@gabes900 said:
Hello, good question.

I suggest foolproofing the games 1-35 PTs timed first to get in the habit of doing them under timed conditions. If you are already doing this, then practice more and maybe move to foolproofing entire sections.

From my experience, I used to have the same problem as LG used to be my worst section. But, after foolproofing a lot of games and then foolproofing sections, from that set, it has made me faster so that, now, I am able to complete all the games with significant amount of time left.

Also, if particular games are giving you trouble when doing sections, skip those games while under the timed take, do the other three games, and come back to that one at the end of the section. I do this with miscellaneous or use harder games I can usually discern at the beginning of a timed section. This allows me to hit the easy games first, which gives me confidence, flow and security. Then, I am able to attack that one game that is just weird while considerable amount of time.

Thank You! I really appreciate the insight!

galactic

Hey @Shuttahgawd , something I do to cut down on "setup" time is be on the look-out for aesthetic tweaks you can make to your game-boards that will not be detrimental to your ability to interpret them. For instance, things I do to save seconds during my setups are:

• For sequencing games: only numbering odd slots (1, 3, 5, etc). Putting the numbers on TOP of the slots with game-pieces below, and then placing all my split-boards/different worlds below as well, rather than drawing out the lines and numbers for every single split-board. I just reference back up to the top to ensure I'm dropping pieces into the right spot. (Let me know if you need more clarification on this).
• For in/out games: Only drawing the check and X on the master game-board. If you have a decent comfort level with the game, you can also make the call on whether to only draw the individual slots (if necessary), and group close-outs (if necessary) on the master game-board, making the split-boards just completely empty shells and then referencing back to the master game-board for the global rules. This is something I only elect to do on in/out games if they are 1) of the easier type 2) require 4+ split-boards. In this scenario, I believe the time you save by not drawing out all the aesthetic aspects of your split-boards is substantial.

Additional timesavers:
- ALWAYS doing the acceptable situation question in tandem with your set-up.
- ALWAYS doing the additional premise questions before the others.
- If you're not nearly perfect in LG yet, ALWAYS skipping the substitution and equivalence questions and coming back to them if you have time at the end.

Hope this helps!

mngldoohairtai

@galactic

Thanks! This is exactly what I've been looking for. Also thanks to the OP for asking this question. I was going to ask the same thing!

Shuttahgawd

@galactic said:
Hey @Shuttahgawd , something I do to cut down on "setup" time is be on the look-out for aesthetic tweaks you can make to your game-boards that will not be detrimental to your ability to interpret them. For instance, things I do to save seconds during my setups are:

• For sequencing games: only numbering odd slots (1, 3, 5, etc). Putting the numbers on TOP of the slots with game-pieces below, and then placing all my split-boards/different worlds below as well, rather than drawing out the lines and numbers for every single split-board. I just reference back up to the top to ensure I'm dropping pieces into the right spot. (Let me know if you need more clarification on this).
• For in/out games: Only drawing the check and X on the master game-board. If you have a decent comfort level with the game, you can also make the call on whether to only draw the individual slots (if necessary), and group close-outs (if necessary) on the master game-board, making the split-boards just completely empty shells and then referencing back to the master game-board for the global rules. This is something I only elect to do on in/out games if they are 1) of the easier type 2) require 4+ split-boards. In this scenario, I believe the time you save by not drawing out all the aesthetic aspects of your split-boards is substantial.

Additional timesavers:
- ALWAYS doing the acceptable situation question in tandem with your set-up.
- ALWAYS doing the additional premise questions before the others.
- If you're not nearly perfect in LG yet, ALWAYS skipping the substitution and equivalence questions and coming back to them if you have time at the end.

Hope this helps!

You have given me a new world! I really appreciate it!

Shuttahgawd

@mngldoohairtai said:
@galactic

Thanks! This is exactly what I've been looking for. Also thanks to the OP for asking this question. I was going to ask the same thing!

My pleasure, this is an amazing community. Glad I could in some fashion help!

almhall

@galatic - Thank you! In the last few days since implementing these techniques in my LG diagrams, I have noticed a marked improvement in my speed. With a background in graphic design, I've struggled not to spend unnecessary time making the diagram look "pretty," but the increased speed & proficiency makes the aesthetic sacrifices very worthwhile.

galactic

@mngldoohairtai @Shuttahgawd @almhall Glad to help. Also for clarification on my sequencing advice, something I will do is draw a horizontal slash through the board below each split-board created, just to separate things out more clearly - still takes less time than the individual dashes and numbering each time. Happy studying.

Shuttahgawd

@galactic This has helped me a lot! Like what @almhall Said your method really helped me. Hopefully today is my last test day.