Section Strategy

[rachelhannah]

Hi,

I'm trying to maximize my logic game score (me and the rest of the participants on this forum!), and as I've worked through multiple practice tests, I've found that I'm unclear on the best strategic approach.

So, what I've been doing is approaching it similarly to Reading Comp...where I attack the passage(s) with the most questions first. I attempt the games with 7-8 questions attached first and leave the 5-question games for last. Generally, I cannot finish 4 games in time. I may get the setup and a list question for game 4, but I end up having to guess on the remaining questions.

I feel like I've noticed that I bypass easy games doing this...I also feel like I invest too much time trying to determine whether or not a game is difficult up front.

What do you suggest? Tackling the games in order of ease? Or do you tend to go for more questions attached and bail if it then seems too hard? I'm not sure what the best approach might be.

Thanks!

[James Finch]

Hi Rachel,

The best strategy is to focus on answering as many questions correctly as you can (and guessing on the rest). With Logic Games, as well as Reading Comprehension, this presents a dilemma: do you attack the game/passage with the most questions attached first, assuming that you will be able to master it and answer all of the attached questions correctly, or do you begin with the one that looks easiest and move onto the more difficult ones?

With RC, it's generally best to start with the passages with the most questions, since it's much more difficult to know beforehand how hard they will be for you. With LG, however, there are definite patterns to the difficulty/expected time of the games, and you can use this to your advantage. The first two games are generally the easiest on the test, although they may be switched in order (ie the first is the 2nd easiest and the easiest is the second game). However, this order isn't certain, and there are test where the simplest game is the last one, or the third. So the best practice would be to take a quick look at the setup and rules of the game you're looking at doing at identify what kind of game it is. If it's a Basic Linear, it's very likely to be the easiest on the test (and there's usually one of these), and if it's a Basic Grouping game, that's probably the second easiest. If you identify and complete both a Basic Linear and Basic Grouping game, then you may be faced with a more difficult choice. At this point, if you're low on time, I'd advise picking the game with more questions; otherwise, try your best to pick out which one you have the better chance at acing, and start there.

Just remember, the key to success on the logic games is quality diagramming, and putting the effort on the front end really pays off on the back end!

Hope this helps!