Grouping Games make up about one third of LSAT Logic Game questions, so it is safe to expect that you will have to solve a grouping game question or two.

1. Types of Grouping Game

Divide people into two or more groups with each entity placed into one group. Like Sequencing Games, Grouping Games have only one set of variables. There are two main types of Grouping Games:

In-and-Out Games have only two options. They are like the law school admissions process; some people get in and some people don’t. These questions make heavy use of Conditionals, so we are going to review them in the next lesson. These games typically include:

  • Players divided into two teams and they only play on one team.
  • Items switched on or off.

Matching Games have entities assigned to multiple groups.

  • Place people who can play on 2 or 3 different teams
  • Assign different pieces of clothing to each person
  • A banquet where each person can eat several different items

2. How to Diagram a Grouping Game

Just like in Ordering Games, you use shorthand to summarize the question’s rules. In Ordering Games we discussed The SetUp. You’ll use The SetUp to determine who is in and who is out. You go through all the entities (usually people) in the game to see if they are on the team (or group, club, etc).

You draw out The SetUp to show the traits on the left side, and the top or bottom is labeled by the team or group. In the video below they call The SetUp a “Grouping Board” and provide instructions for making one. Like in Ordering Games, your ability to diagram rules quickly and under pressure will play a huge role in determining your score.

Intro (0:01) | Ex.1 (2:35) | Ex.2 (12:33) | Ex.3 (14:56) | Ex.4 (17:01) | Summary (18:58)
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Interactive Grouping Game

Before we jump headlong into more complex questions, we’d better take a detour into Formal Logic (unless you’ve already done this). Logic Games are loaded with conditionals, especially the In-and-Out Games.

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Next LSAT: Sep 08/ Sep 09