LSAT logic games are unique puzzles found nowhere else but on the LSAT. After setting up an arbitrary system of rules, a logic game asks questions, like “which of the following must be true” or “each of the following could be false EXCEPT.”
Logic games are bewildering for most novices. But the one thing all LSAT logic games have in common is that they always give you all the information you need to answer every question with certainty. Your job is simply to hang in there, work hard, and figure it out.
Because logic games are so learnable, they test how hard you can work. As of January 2022, there are 400 official LSAT logic games available for practice. Many students will complete every one of them before their official LSAT. The truly ambitious will practice each game multiple times.
The best way to improve at Logic Games is to do as many as possible. To get started, try the free logic game examples below. When you’re ready for more, head over to LSAT Demon, where you can practice every logic game currently available, as it appeared on the official LSAT.
There’s a lot of talk online about different “logic game types” and how to memorize a specific strategy for each type. This is mostly overcomplicated noise. Your job isn’t to figure out what type of game it is. Your job is to solve the game regardless of its type. So don’t stress about these labels—memorizing them won’t help you solve games any more effectively.
Most logic games fall into one of these categories:
A game might ask you to figure out, for example, the order in which some packages were delivered (an ordering game), or which groups those packages should go into (a grouping game), or both (a hybrid game), or neither (this is rare).
You won’t get better at LSAT logic games just by reading about game types. The only way to get better at logic games is to do logic games. Practice a sample logic game of each type below.
Ordering games ask you to place items in order according to a given set of rules. The order can involve days of the week, numbered spots, seats at a table, clowns getting out of a car, houses along a street, people taking turns giving speeches, or any other scenario where the order matters.
In a basic ordering game, the number of items matches the number of spots. The example below asks you to figure out the order in which six antiques will get auctioned over the course of six days.
Give it a shot. Click here to try an ordering game for free.
Grouping games ask you to sort a number of items into groups according to the rules. These groups can be sports teams, floors in an office building, bedrooms, stores, or any other categories. In grouping games, there are more items than there are groups, so each group may contain multiple items.
In the example below, the three different rugs are the groups, and you’re asked to sort six colors of thread into the groups.
Click here to try a grouping game.
In-out games are a subset of grouping games where only two groups are involved: an “in” group and an “out” group. Click here to try an in-out game.
Hybrid games involve both grouping and ordering. This doesn’t mean that hybrid games are more challenging. As with any logic game, a good diagram will help you see that you have all the information you need to answer the questions with 100% accuracy.
In the example below, you must place six neighborhoods in order based on the days of the week. But not all six neighborhoods are visited. You must also sort them into two groups: the five neighborhoods that are visited and the one neighborhood that isn’t.
Check out a sample hybrid game here.
Not all logic games fit neatly into the ordering/grouping/hybrid trichotomy. Once in a while, oddball games pop up on the LSAT. Don’t let them throw you for a loop—they’re as solvable as the rest. Just apply the same Logic Games strategies that you would use for any other game: Take time to understand all the rules, draw a solid diagram, and make deductions before jumping into the questions.
In the sample logic game below, you’re not asked to order the computers or to sort them into groups. Instead, you have to figure out the path that a virus took to infect each of the computers. This is not as simple as an ordering game because one computer can transmit the virus to two others. It’s more of a “web” than a “lineup.”
Ready to try a Miscellaneous Game for yourself? Click here to practice.
Having fun? You can drill more official LSAT logic games and watch explanations when you sign up for an LSAT Demon account. Give it a try, and discover how fun Logic Games can be.
No one is familiar with Logic Games when they start their LSAT prep. But logic games are learnable. You could do one game a day for a year, or a full section every day for three months, before running out. If you put in the work, you’ll be rewarded.
Click here to try a sample logic game, or head over to LSAT Demon where you can practice hundreds more.
LSAT Demon Live subscribers have several opportunities to practice games every week:
However you choose to study, do a little bit every day to turn your weakness into a strength. Get started today.