Diagramming Circular Games

snowcap007

Hi everyone,

What is the best way to diagram spatial (circular) sequencing games? And am I likely to see one on test day? I tried to diagram a circular sequencing game close to the beginning of my prep (I think it was the June 1991 PT) and literally drew a circle for each board, which took way too long and felt way too artsy (lol), and I don’t think I should have done it that way, since the only thing that the circle was conveying was that certain game pieces were across from each other.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Matt Sorr

To answer the first part of your question, I personally find drawing the game as a circle to be the most helpful. Circular sequencing games are generally considered “miscellaneous,” and because miscellaneous games are generally unusual and unlike other games you’ve came across, I’ve found that really following the rules as well as you can helps to solve the game. So setting the board up in a circle, as the rules describe it, is useful to me. With this being said, however, your master game board does not need to be super neat, especially if the board is empty/without inferences (like the June 1991 board). Additionally, when drawing boards for questions, it is not wise to draw a circle of slots to put each variable into. It’s much quicker to just draw variables in a circle, knowing where on the circle they are (kind of like seeing the slots in your head but not actually taking the time to draw out the slots). Some questions won’t require you to draw a full board to get to the answer, so taking the time to draw out the circle would be a waste of time. In circular sequencing games, as in all logic games, the less you have to write to convey the board to yourself the better. Ultimately, though, deciding whether or not to draw the board as a circle is personal preference. Some people just draw it as a normal sequencing game and remind themselves that the slots on each end are supposed to be beside each other.

To answer the second part of your question, it is pretty unlikely that you’ll see a circular sequencing game on test day. There was a circular sequencing game on a test in 2019, but generally speaking, circular sequencing games, and miscellaneous games in general, aren’t as common as they were in early tests (like PTs 1-16). I don’t say this to rule out the possibility you’ll see a circular sequencing game on test day; there’s nothing preventing the test makers from throwing one in a test, and though miscellaneous games are certainly no longer as common as they were in early PTs, they’ve become a bit more common in recent years.

I hope this helps! If you’re really nervous/uncomfortable with circular sequencing games, I’d definitely recommend that you repeatedly drill all in existence (because there’s only a few). Then, if you see one on test day, you’ll have a good idea of how to handle it.