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Hi everyone! I’m new to the forum so I apologize if this is a repetitive question. I’ve taken about 7 practice LSATS now, and have been prepping on logic games a lot. I’m never able to finish in the time frame. I get the questions right, but I take a long time to do it. Does anyone have advice on improving speed with logic games? I would really appreciated it!

roohafza wrote:Hi everyone! I’m new to the forum so I apologize if this is a repetitive question. I’ve taken about 7 practice LSATS now, and have been prepping on logic games a lot. I’m never able to finish in the time frame. I get the questions right, but I take a long time to do it. Does anyone have advice on improving speed with logic games? I would really appreciated it!

A lot of books and programs will tell you to spend a certain amount of time after you've made a game board to try and figure out if there are any inferences you can make from the rules they've given you that certain pieces can only ever be in certain places or stuff like that. I always fell into the trap of doing that and trying to "solve" the game instead of answering the questions. I would just set up a simple board and then plug and chug every question as quickly as I could. Made the games less stressful, and I got more questions right faster. Won't work for everyone, but definitely worked for me.

Similar to what the above poster has said, the key to getting faster at logic games is spending more time upfront diagramming and making inferences based on the rules provided.

See how the rules interact with one another; rule A and rule B, taken together, can lead to an inference, which can save a lot of time for questions where that inference might come into play.

I would spend about 3 minutes on diagramming and then 3 - 5 minutes on answering the questions, this should give you enough time to complete the section and answer each question with confidence.

CardozoLaw09 wrote:Similar to what the above poster has said, the key to getting faster at logic games is spending more time upfront diagramming and making inferences based on the rules provided.

See how the rules interact with one another; rule A and rule B, taken together, can lead to an inference, which can save a lot of time for questions where that inference might come into play.

I would spend about 3 minutes on diagramming and then 3 - 5 minutes on answering the questions, this should give you enough time to complete the section and answer each question with confidence.

I was actually saying the opposite. I found that spending timing trying to draw inferences didn't leave me enough time to answer the questions. When I was trying to make inferences, I'd spend too much time trying to think of every possible permutation. Then when I got to the questions, a lot of the inferences I'd made had absolutely no bearing on the questions they asked.

So generally I would just write down the rules, set up as simple a board as possible, and jump right in to the questions. If there was an obvious inference I'd make it, but I'd mostly just brute force every question. My thinking was that there was no point in making inferences if I didn't know they'd relate to the questions. I'd draw any inferences as I went. If I discovered one when working on a question, I'd use it on the next question, but I didn't dedicate specific time to it.

I know that goes against TCW around these parts but it helped me go a lot faster and I was still getting 0-1 on every LG section. Maybe it was a quirk for me, but it's a non-TLS method that could work for other people as it did for me.

mwells_56 wrote:

CardozoLaw09 wrote:Similar to what the above poster has said, the key to getting faster at logic games is spending more time upfront diagramming and making inferences based on the rules provided.

See how the rules interact with one another; rule A and rule B, taken together, can lead to an inference, which can save a lot of time for questions where that inference might come into play.

I would spend about 3 minutes on diagramming and then 3 - 5 minutes on answering the questions, this should give you enough time to complete the section and answer each question with confidence.

I was actually saying the opposite. I found that spending timing trying to draw inferences didn't leave me enough time to answer the questions. When I was trying to make inferences, I'd spend too much time trying to think of every possible permutation. Then when I got to the questions, a lot of the inferences I'd made had absolutely no bearing on the questions they asked.

So generally I would just write down the rules, set up as simple a board as possible, and jump right in to the questions. If there was an obvious inference I'd make it, but I'd mostly just brute force every question. My thinking was that there was no point in making inferences if I didn't know they'd relate to the questions. I'd draw any inferences as I went. If I discovered one when working on a question, I'd use it on the next question, but I didn't dedicate specific time to it.

I know that goes against TCW around these parts but it helped me go a lot faster and I was still getting 0-1 on every LG section. Maybe it was a quirk for me, but it's a non-TLS method that could work for other people as it did for me.

You're right. Didn't read closely enough!

But yes, different approaches work for different people. I found games less challenging when I was able to truly understand the mechanics of the game, which I was able to do after spending a good chunk of time diagramming. But ymmv

You've only taken a handful of tests, you shouldn't be worrying about time yet. You need practice to make inferences more quickly.

If you're getting everything correct, start regning in the time, but slowly. If you start making mistakes, stretch it back out. In the early days, focus on the old tests - there's plenty of material to work with while you get better and faster.

Redo questions randomly. LG are great for this, you can print out a page and take it with you. When you find you have 20 minutes free, work through the test again.

Me too, but when I did an advanced search here his name got no hits. Which must mean the search does not look at the name field. I should have searched GFTO.

In the early stages of my LSAT prep, I also struggled with increasing my speed in LG. This is what I’ve learned:

1. Don’t think of LG as a puzzle to be solved. Don’t think of it like a Sudoku puzzle where one step leads to another.

You will be able to make a limited amount of inferences that will, in most cases, leave your game-board only partially filled. Each question will provide information that will then enable you to fill up the rest of the board.

Very few games can “solved” right off the bat without wasting 10mins diagramming.

2. In my experience, you should fully understand the game-board before jumping in. Don’t just read “There are six runners, A, B, C, D, E, and F...” and start immediately diagramming a basic game-board. Harder questions sap your time if you do this.

3. If you don’t know which game board to use, STOP and think. It’s okay to make up a game board type you’ve never seen before if you think it will help you solve the game with greater clarity.

4. Practice, practice, practice. When you have done every Logic Game published 3 times, you will know what the test takers are looking for. You’ll know how to eliminate the wrong answers in the most efficient way when you encounter those “acceptable” type questions at the beginning of (nearly) every game. You’ll learn to take different, more efficient approaches to MBT and CBT questions. Etc. Etc.

LG is a “kind” as opposed to “wicked” learning environment. Simply practicing will help you get better, but it’s always better to do an in-depth review too.

Watch 7Sage YouTube explanations for your post-blind review.

5. Finally, when you practice seriously, always obey your timer. When 35mins have passed, never allow yourself an extra 5 mins to finish the last game. If you have been flexible with your time in the past, you will be amazed at how quickly you can finish those last few questions when under time pressure. If you can’t finish, you will at least have more motivation to understand where you went wrong in your blind review and post-blind review.