LG Game 3 Setup, by LSATHacks
This is an explanation of the third logic game from Section III of LSAT Preptest 73, the September 2014 LSAT.
Five buildings – the forge, the granary, the inn, the mill, and the stable (F, G, I, M, S) was once part of a village center. The said buildings were owned by three families – the Trents, the Williamses, and the Yandells (T, W, Y). Each building was owned by exactly one of the families and each family owned at least one of the buildings. You must determine the ownership of the buildings based on the rules.
Game Setup
This is a grouping game. I set it up vertically, like the first question does:
The first rule is very important. It says that the Williamses owned more than the Yandells.
On the surface, you can’t do much with that. But, you should always dig deep into rules to see their implications. There are five buildings. Be specific: how many could the Yandells own?
Not three. Then the Williamses could have two at most. The Yandells couldn’t own two buildings, either. To have more, the Williamses would need three buildings. And that leaves none for the Trents (every family needs at least one building).
So the Yandells can only have one building, and the Williamses need at least two. You can draw this on the diagram:
This may seem like a small deduction, but it makes the game far easier.
The other two rules I couldn’t place on the diagram. I just drew them, and made sure I memorized them. Going fast depends on your ability to memorize the rules and know them automatically:
Note that in the second rule, I know that the “or” is an inclusive or: both are possible. Some details I simply commit to memory if there’s no good way to draw them.
There’s nothing else to say about the setup. Speed depends on applying these rules quickly.
THANK YOU for this wonderful tip on how to work more efficiently with games. None of the other LSAT trainers even mention this. “Going fast depends on your ability to memorize the rules and know them automatically”
Glad to help! I truly think a multifaceted approach works best on games. Good diagrams *and* memorize the rules. Know how to make upfront deductions *and* be quick at brute force and process of elimination. Flexibility lets you handle whatever they throw at you.
hi,
just wondering, why can’t T and Y each own 1, and W has 3, would that still fit into rule one~?(W has more than Y). I know this is wrong, but still could not figure out why. Thanks in advance
That is possible actually. Graeme leaves room for this possibility when he says “the Yandells can only have one building, and the Williamses need at least two”. At least two means that we can also allow for the configuration where W owns 3 buildings.