Diagram

[steven.kantowitz]

What is the setup for this game?

[bbirdwell]

Pretty straightforward setup -- there aren't many deductions to make at all. The most important one, I think, is looking at the list of barred relationships and thinking "Wow! P doesn't get along with anybody!"

Then you'll notice that P, N, and O can never go to the same place. This means that they must all go to different activities. There are innumerable ways to mark this on the diagram. You can star each of them to remind you that they can never share any, or you use dots, as I have in the attached diagram.

Taking this into account and combining it with the constraint that says we must have exactly 2s, we can see that there are only two possibilities for the distribution of activities: 2s. 2r, 1m, or 2s, 1r, 2m.

That's all I was able to do with this one. All you have to do is pay attention to P, N, O, and watch that Nm/Vm conditional and you should be fine.

Does that make sense?

[interestedintacos]

I've seen often the situation where we are told that A and B can't go together, and given that we have only two groups, that means that either A or B will each take up one space in each group.

However, this is the first time I've seen that same type of logic with 3 variables and 3 groups. We are told N and O and P can't go together, and with our 3 groups that means that each one will take up one slot each in each group. Knowing that and the number distributions that follow, this game is cracked wide open. Are there any other games like this with more than 2 variables engaged in this sort of relationship? I completely missed the inference the first time I tackled this game.

[pewals13]

Is the orientation question in this game the best indicator that the five people should be used as a base? I lost significant time rediagramming this setup mid-game and I'm just curious if there is an easier way to see this.

[maryadkins]

Good question!

I think the orientation helps nail that down, yes. Notice also that as you scan through the questions, you don't see much, "How many people can go to X movie?" or "What is the maximum number of people who..."

The questions in this game are much more about who precisely does what. So that is a good hint that it's more about ACTUALLY filling in the blanks than sorting people among limited slots (like an open assignment where you don't know how many go in each—the set-up if you had the 3 activities on the bottom).

Another tip is to commit if you choose the set-up you're not sure was best...unless it's truly stumping you, it's probably not as disastrous as you think it is, so keep going. Or if you do redo it, fine, but commit to the redo. The idea is, don't waste time doubting what you've done! Keep moving forward!

[EmeryM654]

Hello!

I want to raise a concern regarding the game as a whole. I looked at all of the post relevant to it and I'm a little confused as to what's the most efficient and time-saving way to answer the questions, given the diagram you guys shared.

[Misti Duvall]

Hello!

I want to raise a concern regarding the game as a whole. I looked at all of the post relevant to it and I'm a little confused as to what's the most efficient and time-saving way to answer the questions, given the diagram you guys shared.

Hi! That's a tough question. The most efficient way to play a game usually varies from person to person and the tools they're most comfortable using. One thing that can help is to play a game twice: do it one way (say, by doing the questions in order using the inferences noted), then another way (maybe, for ex., conditional questions first) and see what works best for you.