Last Minute Logic Games Tips

Students frequently ask questions over on our Free LSAT Forum. It’s a great resource for you to connect with fellow test-takers and with LSAT experts on all things LSAT and Law School Admissions. A common struggle students have and express there is the Logic Games section.  In this particular post, a test-taker struggling with Logic Games about a week away from the test asks for last minute tips to help get them through the section. While we certainly recommend a more thorough conceptual understanding of the Logic Games section as a whole, our Senior Instructor helps this student by providing some rapid-fire last-minute tips in order to get the most out of the Logic Games section on test day. 

Student Question

Logic Games are by far my worst section, I just don’t seem to “get” them. With only a few days until the June LSAT, I plan on just drilling them and doing as many games as I possibly can but I think it’s time to just simply work on my strategy for the games now. 

Are there any LG testing strategies that anyone would suggest? I typically can only get through 2 games under the pressure of the timed PT’s. Should I just try to focus on only attacking 2 or 3? Are there any scenarios I should just straight out avoid since I’m just generally not a LG person?

Last Minute Tips

With only a short amount of time left until your test, all we can do is give you “last minute” strategy tips. A more thorough conceptual understanding of the LG section, however, will undoubtedly help you achieve a much higher score. Are you dead-set on taking this test? How did you prep for it in general? What approach are you using to the LG section?

If last-minute tips are what you’re looking for, here are a few:

1. Identify the types of games you are strongest on (e.g. Basic Linear, Defined Grouping, etc.) and do those games first.
2. Focus on completing three out of the four games. Leave for last the game that you believe will be the most difficult, especially if it has only 5 questions in it. This gives you slightly less than 12 minutes/game. Note that difficulty in LG can result from a number of factors, including a large number of variables or variable sets, complex numerical assignments – especially in Grouping Games, convoluted wording in the rule set, conditional rules, etc.
3. Skip time-consuming questions, such as “5 If’s”, Justify, and Rule Substitution.
4. Make sure to invest enough time at the set-up stage to determine major inferences that result from rule linkage.
5. If you notice that the game has a limited number of solutions, sketch out each solution in advance (a Templates/Possibilities approach). This can be time-consuming when applied to the wrong game, however, so be careful with it.

I wish you had more time to devote to this section, as it is by far the easiest section on the test to improve on. Good luck!