Setup and Rule Diagrams

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Setup and Rule Diagram Explanation

This is a Basic Linear: Balanced game.

After the above average difficulty of the first game, and the extremely high level of difficulty in the second and third games, one would expect that the fourth game would be extremely easy. While this is somewhat true, this game is not as easy as would be expected based on the difficulty of the first three games. This, in part, was one reason the curve for this test was so generous.

The game scenario indicates that six witnesses will testify in a trial in successive order, leading to the following Basic Linear setup:

D10_game #4_setup_diagram 1.png

The first rule establishes that S testifies immediately before T or U. This can be diagrammed in one of two ways:

D10_game #4_setup_diagram 2.png

The choice of representation is yours; either conveys the meaning of the rule correctly. For our purposes, we will use the first representation as it takes slightly less time to draw. Regardless of the representation that you choose, S can never testify last, and so an S Not Law can be placed under the sixth position:

D10_game #4_setup_diagram 3.png

Note that you cannot draw any Not Laws for T and U from this rule because only one must be immediately behind S, leaving the other to move freely.

The second rule establishes a double-branched vertical sequence:

D10_game #4_setup_diagram 4.png

This rule creates four more Not Laws: U cannot testify fifth or sixth, and R and W cannot testify first. These can be added to our diagram:

D10_game #4_setup_diagram 5.png

The third rule is somewhat similar to the first rule, and can also be diagrammed in two different ways:

D10_game #4_setup_diagram 6.png

From this rule we can determine that M can never be first, which is best shown as another Not Law:

D10_game #4_setup_diagram 7.png

At this point, the most restricted space is the first one, and only three witnesses could testify first, a fact best shown with a triple-option. Note that, perhaps not coincidentally, these are the three variables affected by the first rule. Consequently, any time S does not testify first, one of T and U will testify immediately after S, and the other will testify first (and U is affected by the second rule, and T is affected by the third rule, so the options are even more limited).

Adding the triple-option to the diagram leads to the final setup for the game:

D10_game #4_setup_diagram 8.png

One aspect to note is that the first and second rules are connected through U, and that the second and third rules are connected through W. Each rule is relatively “loose,” but the connection of rules must be tracked throughout the game.

[Jgalkin]

Hi,
It seems like there are very few inferences that can be made in this game's set up.
I ended up just making a lot of templates, which got very messy. Was there something that I was missing?
Thanks,
Jeffrey

[James Finch]

Hi JGalkin,

You're correct in that this game doesn't have any easy inferences to get. Instead, it's set up as an Identify the Templates type, where there's four rule set possibilities that should be written out to efficiently attack the questions. However, given the variability within the templates, it is not efficient to attempt to Identify the Possibilities within each template; instead, a well-diagrammed rule set should be all that is needed to tackle this game. As a general rule, it's inefficient to diagram out templates on the front end if there are more than 4 possible; however, there are occasional, rare games where this can be required, so use your best judgement.

With this game, the setting up either/or S-T/S-U and T-M/W-M blocks, combined with the U-R+W rule, gives us four rule templates:

1) S-U before R and the W-M block, with T wild;

2) S-U-R+W, with T-M wild;

3) S-T-M block and U-R+W;

4) S-T, with U-R+W-M

Those four templates allow us to quickly attack both of the local questions that we're given, as well as a visual representation of the possible block placement, allowing questions 22 and 23 to be answered efficiently.

Hope this helps!

[andbzav@gmail.com]

Hi,

Thank you for providing these templates! Can you please draw them out on the game board? I am having trouble interpreting the list you've provided.

Thank you

[Jeremy Press]

Hi andbzav,

It's difficult (at least for me!) to do using forum fonts, but the embedded picture should clarify the templates James refers to. Note that you may have to click on the picture to expand it to show all 4 templates. Note also that we shouldn't try to place the various pieces on specific slots in the base line, because there are too many placement options to do that efficiently. Let me know if you have any questions about these diagrams!

IMG_0165.jpg

Jeremy