Diagram

[tonypaul4]

Game 1, corresponding with questions 1-6, is the first game I've come across that has me completely stumped. I cannot seem to come up with any kind of useful diagram. Any help would be truly appreciated.. Also, can someone tell me what type of game this is (for future reference).. Thank you in advance!

[bbirdwell]

This is a tough game precisely because it doesn't fit very neatly a category. It's essentially a variation on an Open Assignment game, and as indicated by the age of this game, it's a type your are unlikely to see on a new LSAT.

I just made a diagram that allowed me to see how many elements were in each category and tracked the "supervisor" relationships in my head rather than trying to draw them. You can download a .pdf below.

This game lends itself nicely to what we call frames because we can predict that there are limited number of ways the elements can be arranged in the P, M, and T categories with the given constraints. Most notably, this depends on whether G is President or Manager.

Other than the three frames, the only real inference is that F must be a Technician.

Frames:
So, if G is a Manager, she supervises 2 Technicians. Also, there must be a President to supervise G. This leaves only one remaining element. If it were a manager, it would need a Technician to supervise, and there aren't enough elements to do that. Therefore, the remaining element is a Tech supervised by the President. Therefore one possible arrangement is with 1 Pres, G as the 1 Mgr, and 3 Techs.

If G is Pres, she may supervise 2 Mgrs, in which case each Mgr will supervise 1 Tech each.

Finally, if G is Pres, she could supervise 1 Mgr and 1 Tech, in which case the 1 Mgr will supervise the remaining 2 Techs.

Try it with this kind of understanding and let me know if you have any specific questions on the problems.

[tonypaul4]

Thank you so much for taking the time to break this one down for me. I DO understand it now, and didn't have a problem answering the questions using your approach.

This was (and still is) an uncomfortable game for me, so I'm glad to hear that I'm unlikely to see this type in October. It was good eye-opener for me though, and reiterated the need for flexibility when diagramming/juggling the variables. Thanks again!

[jas770]

Could someone explicit explain all of the deductions and frames for this game. I hardly ever encounter a game that I cannot do--however, this is an exception, and I have no idea where to begin. I see that one instructor posted directions for it, but I still had trouble with it. Specifically, I couldn't understand how and why there are only three possible frames.

Thanks!

[giladedelman]

Thanks for posting!

Let me see if I can elaborate a little on Brian's explanation.

The key to realizing that framing might be helpful here is that G must be either President or Manager, and that this split has consequences for the rest of the set-up.

Let's start by making G President. One possibility is that the two employees G supervises are both Managers. Since each Manager must supervise a Technician, we know there are two Technicians.

There's only one other possibility while G is President: that G supervises one Manager (because the President has to) and one Technician. This leaves us with three Technicians, two of which are supervised by the Manager.

Finally, G can be a Manager, supervising two Technicians. This only leaves room for a third Technician, supervised by the President, who also supervises G. (We can't add a second Manager, because then we'd have a President, two managers, and three Technicians, which is too many.)

So those are our three frames. Does that make things any easier to understand?

[interestedintacos]

I actually put this game into two frames. I realize that it's fairly easy to see that G must be either a manager or president, and that is typically a great launch point for setting up frames. However, I saw the potential numerical distributions as an easier way.

Knowing there will be 5 variables placed, at least 1 as president and 1 manager, at most 3 technicians-- we will either have 1 president, 2 managers and 2 technicians, or 1 manager, 1 president and 3 technicians. Then when there are 2 managers it becomes obvious G will have to be president; for the other template G could be president or the lone manager.

Now it's a little more difficult to make the necessary inferences to get to that point, but once you do you have completely cracked the game, and you probably have the relevant inferences down, so it's extra easy. However I have to admit I didn't come up with those templates the first time I played the game.

[alexg89]

I have used a diagram that I think is more useful (IMO) than the one given. Hopefully it will help someone. Is there a way to attach a pdf or is that for employees/moderators only?

Position P M M/T T

Person _ _ _ _ F

___S* / _ _ _ _

Supervised by*

The president must supervise all managers since you cannot be supervised by someone in the same position. Also the reason why two is the maximum number of managers.