Games Impasse

[Runlikea]

Hello Powerscore folks!

So, here's my biggest question. While I've got some variability with Reasoning and Reading, and I'm sure I could do more, the problem really is Games. Logic games are my Waterloo.

I took the Full-length course in February, and have gone through the Games sections in the books three times now, done the Logic Games Bible once plus a review, and done all the games in those at least 3-4 times. I've also done the majority of games from prep tests 1-58. On the one hand, I generally feel that the Powerscore approach has been HUGE in helping me understand, feel far more comfortable, and generally get much better at games. After Powerscore, logic games are a whole new world. Yet, somehow, all this hasn't translated into a noticeable improvement in test performance. Which is messing with the whole application plan. Needless to say, I am really frustrated, and can't figure out why this is the case.

In studying,
- I go through games A) timed, individually, aiming for 8 minutes, or B) timed, in 4-game drills, with a limit of 35 minutes. For the latter, I usually just pick out 4 games fairly randomly, with one first, second, third, and fourth game from a test so that I get approximately the same spread of difficulty as the real thing.
- I have a log of all the games, and after I do a game or a game section, I'll write down the date, how long it took, if I got anything wrong, whatever issues I thought had within the game, and what the overall big picture "features" of the game were: what's the type, if has elements similar to another game, if anything is unusual or particularly difficult. If there's an available explanation, I read the explanation and see how it squares with what I've done. From reading this forum, I know that one piece of advice is, "act like you're going to teach it." While I don't have anyone to teach them to, I try to do think like that when I analyze.
- I've also readjusted my attitude from "Games are a torture device created by LSAC to mess with me" to "I like Games! Games can be fun." It's just that, while they're no longer torture, they still totally mess with me.

And still, I frequently bomb the section. I miss an inference, freeze up, take minutes to do questions, whatever. I try moving on, but still don't finish, etc. Then after the exam, I go back to the section, and about 70% of the time think to myself, "well of course that's how you solve it, why didn't you see that?"

While actually taking practice tests, I've tried:
- Looking over the games at the start of the section to get an overview, and to get my brain get thinking about those game types.
- Leaving a problem game to go on to the next one, hoping that coming back and looking at it with somewhat fresh eyes will get me past whatever the roadblock is. So far, this has just resulted in me getting stuck on the next game, and never getting back to it.

My games score on a practice test will go anywhere from minus 2-3 to minus 11-12 (and the latter just last week). Some games I can do in 5-7 minutes (generally basic/advanced linear, sequencing, some grouping, especially undefined grouping), or even 4-5 minutes if I've done the game before. Others still take in the 10-12 minute range.

So... what gives? Is it really just more and more of doing the old games over again? I've heard of people doing them 10 times each, which I guess makes pittance out of my 3-4. I would say I'm fairly proficient with the strategies in the books by now, and can generally put games into their categories and figure out what the 'big picture' is (maybe I need to be able to the latter faster?). In diagramming and making inferences, sometimes I waste time going off on a useless tangent, other times I go to the questions too quickly and miss something (and I can't see any pattern as to on which games I do what).

People I've spoken to (albeit most of whom have ever studied for the LSAT) say this sounds like nerves. Okay, but in LR and Reading, I can channel nerves into concentration, and do well on the section. So is that really just the case? If so, how do I prevent them from getting between me and Games? In 3 days? Or for December? Do I just get so good at games that even I deeply feel they're a cakewalk?

Though, objectively, taking 10-12 minutes for any game just won't cut it. I need to get better. So, considering what I've done already, how do I do that?

[Adam Tyson]

Runlikea,

That's a lot to deal with! I'll offer what few bits of advice I can.

1) You said you are shooting for 8 minutes per game. In my opinion, that's too fast, and it's also setting the wrong priority. Finishing is not what matters - developing a complete diagram that allows you to answer the questions quickly and confidently is what matters. Try practicing a few games (if you can find some you have never done, or ones you haven't done for a long time and may not remember) without the timer, and place your emphasis on ensuring that you have read and understood the rules correctly, and that your diagram encompasses those rules clearly. Then, do a little prephrasing in the form of asking yourself a few "what if" questions. What if G is in row 2? What if P goes 2nd? What if the appetizer has only two ingredients? Focus on the rules and variables that have the most restrictions - see what happens when those are moved around.

2) Once you have done the diagram, don't answer the questions for that game - instead, go back and re-read the rules and scenario and ask yourself if your diagram truly reflects everything that you need to know, so that you could take away the rules and scenario and still do the game well.

3) Then answer the questions. Don't worry about time for now - we want to improve your analysis of the rules and your translation of those rules to a diagram that will crush the game. Time will take care of itself if you develop these skills.

4) You said that you haven't got anyone to teach to. I say, find someone. Ask a friend, a family member, a co-worker. Do it over the phone if you have to - send a copy of a game to someone who will work with you, and then get on the line and teach them how to do it. Teaching really does ramp up your understanding of the concepts and strategies. I know it does - I am much better at games now than I was when I started teaching this course.

That's a lot to do just a few days before the test. I hope it helps. Don't burn yourself out at the last minute here! Make sure that you take care of your studying, but that you also take care of yourself with plenty of sleep, healthy balanced meals, moderate exercise and some down time to recharge.

Good luck!

Adam M. Tyson
PowerScore LSAT Instructor

[Runlikea]

Thanks Adam! I definitely appreciate you reading to the end of that long post, and writing such a long post in response.

I did do everything untimed when I started out, but stopped once I felt like I was making progress. I guess that was too soon.

I do generally feel my diagrams and rule representation accurately reflect the game, and usually don't use the written text at all when answering the questions. The asking 'what if' is usually what I do to find inferences. I guess this is where I go wrong somewhere, and maybe doing more of them untimed will help me get a better sense of how much of this I should do and where I should take it.

Other than that, I guess some poor soul is going to have to learn to share my new-found love of logic games!

Thanks again,
Runlikea