Clue for grouping game with a chart

eddySH84

Like PT77 game 4, how do you know if grouping game can be done using a chart ? During my preptest i used 3 column (x,y,z) with three rows (L,S,T) and it took me lots of time to complete. Is there any clue, that shows a game can be done using a chart ?

runiggyrun

The first thing I would look at is if there are pieces that are used multiple times. If each piece is only used once, then a chart might not be very useful.
If they are, then it depends on what sort of information you have in the premises. Charts are useful for games where you have a lot of rules like "X and Y have 2 things in common" "Y and Z don't have anything in common" "If element A is in a group, then B is not" and so on.
If you only have rules like "X has more elements than Z" "Y has the most elements of all groups" and so on, then a grouping board where you work to figure out how many elements are in each group might be best.
There are certainly no hard and fast rules, and a lot of games can be solved in similar amounts of time with and without a chart.

Ron Swanson

They way I think of it, there are multiple variables that can go into serval different groups. The variables can be used more than once and there's no fixed number of items that can be placed in your groups. Does that make sense?

Also, as the above poster said, the game's rules will usually compare the groups based on how many items are in them, which specific items go where, etc. I believe PT42 has a good example game

Pacifico

That game is technically not really a traditional grouping game with a chart. It is a grouping game with subcategories/roles/job titles. In a true grouping game with a chart the groups are on one axis and the elements are on the other and then you could just use check marks or x's to denote the status of each box.

J.Y. Ping

What @runiggyrun said. Good job! It really sounds like you understand the underlying principle.