Quick Tip: Take 4 Sections When Practicing!
Yes, it’s true, the LSAT does have only 3 scored sections: Logic Games, Logical Reasoning, and Reading Comprehension. But, don’t forget that on the real test, you’ll have an experimental section administered to you as well! This results in the test having 4 sections, not 3. An extra section adds 35 minutes (plus a 10-minute break), resulting in some test-takers facing an unpleasant surprise when they take the real test and are surprised by how much longer it feels. You can avoid this by practicing under test-day conditions: add a random 4th section to your test manually by opening a new tab and making a problem set. This will ensure the real test doesn’t feel demonstrably longer.
Discussion: The Value of Old Logic Games
Arguably the most effective tactic for learning Logic Games (LG) on the LSAT is foolproofing: the technique of redoing games many times over the course of several days and weeks. Since most games have similar patterns, mastering one game completely (and retaining it several days/weeks later) will help you on future games with similar inference patterns. Over time, this approach allows many students to achieve consistently near-perfect scores on the more common game types, like sequencing or grouping. However, a lot of students still feel thrown by so-called “weird” games: those that either don’t follow sequencing or grouping at all (such as miscellaneous games) or have a “twist” in them that’s distinct from the more traditional games.
This is where practicing with older Logic Games can come in handy. Many students lambast games from PrepTest 1-16 as “old,” “uncommon,” “not used anymore,” etc. But these games are actually among the most useful for practicing atypical games! In fact, how uncommon they are is a feature and not a bug, because it means they train a different skillset: your ability to react on the spot and use intuition on games that aren’t as familiar. More simply: you not having done a game like that before will force you to think on your feet, which is a skill that itself is worth learning!
Practice with as many of the games from PrepTests 1-16 as possible. It is still valuable to foolproof these games, although a lot of your learning will come from your first time taking the games and having to think on the spot about how you’ll set them up, in spite of them being weird. Just as PrepTests 16-35 are especially valuable for getting good at sequencing/grouping fundamentals (which is why they’re in the Core Curriculum), 1-16 are equally valuable for teaching intuition and comfort on weirder games.
Don’t despair when you’re confronted with a weird game. Even though many of the games follow no patterns, there are still ample ways to prepare for them. In fact, doing a high number of older and weird games can actually teach you about how to prepare for being unprepared, which will make you far more comfortable on the real day if you’re confronted with an odd game.