games general

[lexigibbs]

General question,

For the logic games, for clarifications, we begin with out base diagram which consist of the rules and where the rules state where things go. Then we move onto the questions, are we still referencing our main diagram when we read each question? Also, once we are finished a question any of the information from that question is eliminated as well for the next questions correct? Meaning for question 2 do we start from scratch with our main diagram?

[Adam Tyson]

Yes and no, Lexi. Yes, you build the main diagram with the rules and whatever inferences you are able to make, and then move into the questions using the main diagram to answer them. Sometimes you hit local questions that introduce a new rule, usually starting with the word "if" or sometimes "suppose". Those local rules add to the original rule set - they do not replace them - so you need to do a new, mini-diagram for most of those local questions that incorporates the new rule and the original rules and inferences. Other questions are global - they are based entirely on the original rules and inferences, so typically no mini-diagram is required, just a look back to your main diagram.

When you move on from one question to the next, you should know that the local rules in prior questions are no longer rules, but they ARE still POSSIBILITIES. For example, a local question asks "if P and R are together in Group 3, which of the following must also be in Group 3?" From the language of this question, you know that P and R can be together in Group 3 along with at least one other variable, and in the course of answering that question you will learn what that variable is and perhaps a few other things about some other variables. Those possibilities are added to your stored knowledge of what could happen in the game, so don't just forget about that new knowledge, but use it to help answer other questions. P and R may not always have to be together in Group 3, or in any group, but you now that they they can be, and that may help answer other questions.

Same thing with global questions - you may be asked a question that reveals a new inference, one that you missed in the original setup. Perhaps a question asks "Which of the following can never go 4th?", and you had no not-laws under #4 in your diagram. Once you answer this question you will have discovered that a certain variable can never go 4th, and you can add that new info to your main diagram. Don't forget it - add it in! Build on it!

In other words, you can often use work done on one question to help inform your answer to another question, even if a local rule from the prior question doesn't apply to the new question. Continue throughout the game to build on what you know, rather than working each question in total isolation from the rest.