Improve on logic games

[Pizzaandpasta]

Does anyone have a study schedule or method to perfect logic games in 1.5 months? I always get -5 because I spend the most time on only 3 games out of the 4 because I struggle with timing. I’m planning on writing the January test but I really want to score -1 or -0 on games because it’s the only section I know that you can improve on thoroughly and get a perfect score. Also I mostly struggle with combination and pattern games - I feel confident about sequencing and grouping games alone but when it’s combined and other things are thrown in the mix, I’m not as fast at deducting possibilities and whatnot. 
 

Any advice is appreciated!! 

[angelica97]

You're right that it's the most learnable section. Redo games until you understand the fastest route to deductions. If I find a game difficult, I redo it 10+ times until I understand where I'm going wrong. Spend more time diagramming and make deductions early. Sometimes you'll be able to make worlds as well: https://blog.lsatdemon.com/lsat-logic-games-worlds-are-easy/

[Pizzaandpasta]

Thank you for this! Yeah I do make worlds and that’s how I make my deductions for just sequencing and grouping games. I’ve done the LSAT more than once and I used to practice the same games over and over- I guess that’s just what I have to keep doing. I just feel overwhelmed because I feel like I don’t have enough time lol but I gotta have a better attitude. LSAT demon is the best, I learned so much from them for games specifically. Thanks again! 

[elinorpenvellyn]

one thing that worked for me was to do practice sections with 30 minutes instead of 35! it makes the full time feel much longer– if you can get used to 30, then 35 will be a breeze. if timing is your biggest struggle, i think this is a relatively easy to implement strategy that might make you gain a few points.

[WestCoastBestCoast]

Recommend ensuring you are familiar with formal logic and proper diagramming. Writing out the contrapositive can beuseful and at the very least eats some time while practicing to add that time crunch pressure. Final tip is determine which game type is your best - at the start of the timed section quickly scan each of the games and do the ones you're best at first. Waste time and get held up when you're done all the others. It sounds silly but it takes moments to identify game type and determine which order you'll complete the section.

[ZukoJD]

I created a spreadsheet and logged all my games. I would do the game once and record my time and score. Then I would do it again a couple days later. Then I would do it again about a week later. 
 

I think repeating the games until you master them or get close is useful. There are only so many variations on the games and I found I was solving new ones almost on muscle memory because of my familiarity with the various setups. 

[Pizzaandpasta]

Thank you all for your advice!! I totally agree with practicing the games several times until you can master it because that’s what I was doing in the past (but also, I think I was studying over 3-4 months vs. Just under two months which is where I’m at right now).
 

Is there a thread on here or a subreddit about the LSATs from the past that have logic games most relevant to how recent logic games have been like? I know tests from the 90s have some really weird games that haven’t come up in years to the point where even LSAT courses don’t focus on them too much. 
 

if anyone has a spreadsheet or anything of the practice tests that are the most like recent LSATs, please let me know! Thank you 

[ZukoJD]

7 minutes ago, Pizzaandpasta said:

Thank you all for your advice!! I totally agree with practicing the games several times until you can master it because that’s what I was doing in the past (but also, I think I was studying over 3-4 months vs. Just under two months which is where I’m at right now).
 

Is there a thread on here or a subreddit about the LSATs from the past that have logic games most relevant to how recent logic games have been like? I know tests from the 90s have some really weird games that haven’t come up in years to the point where even LSAT courses don’t focus on them too much. 
 

if anyone has a spreadsheet or anything of the practice tests that are the most like recent LSATs, please let me know! Thank you 

For more specific questions like this you should try using a forum like the 7Sage one. This site attracts a large demographic of people who haven't written the LSAT in a while. I recall the 7Sage forum feeling like a panacea when it came to that test. 

[Pizzaandpasta]

do I have to pay to see the 7sage chart of games? 

[AllanC]

I know you specifically asked about Logic Games but I would caution you to keep in mind our end goal is to get as high a score as possible. While there may be a more methodical approach to achieving a -0/-1 on LG you may actually hurt your score by trying to do so if the time you are spending could be put to better use in the other sections. So, take stock of LR / RC and if you are either A) inconsistent or B) averaging -7 or less you may want to focus on those sections (LR in particular) as points on the margin may be easier to accrue.

In terms of LG it’s hard to provide specific advice without more particulars. However, as others have suggested in general the key to games is practice and review. On your review ensure that you are interrogating each and every question – including those you got correct – in order to identify areas for improvement. I’m getting the sense that your untimed sections are pretty good and it’s the timed set that sometimes becomes troublesome. If that’s the case, you probably don’t need to find out how to get better at completing the 4th game per se but rather how to be quicker on 1-3 to give yourself more time. Getting quicker is less a matter of performing more games (though that helps) than it is identifying what your thought process was at the time you answered questions and tweaking it so you are just a bit quicker on each question.

As for 7Sage you can find their LG breakdown here. For LG breakdown by type over there years you can visit PowerScore. For LG explanations you can see LSAT Hacks, which I encourage you to use as a model to compare your approach against. Again, even if you performed perfectly on a game it may be that you could have done this or that faster, and comparing your approach to someone else's can be rather illuminating in that regard. 

Best of luck!

Edited November 26, 2022 by AllanC

[Pizzaandpasta]

thank you so much, Allan! This helped a ton. I'll definitely be implementing these study tips as I go through all three sections (my study hours consist of an hour of 'warm-up' at the beginning where I do practice drills for all 3 sections, and then focus on a particular section i.e. LR, LG or RC for the remainder of my study time).