rule of thumb when using frames

[angads]

Is there a rule of thumb to follow when figuring out whether to spend the time setting up frames?

If the number of frames seem to be <=4 or 3? I'm at the start of my studying and I spend too much time figuring out if I should frame or not.

[timmydoeslsat]

Is there a rule of thumb to follow when figuring out whether to spend the time setting up frames?

If the number of frames seem to be <=4 or 3? I'm at the start of my studying and I spend too much time figuring out if I should frame or not.

If you see a clean split opportunity, it is worth it to explore.

Perhaps you see that variable X must either go in group A or group B.

See what happens. If you start on the Group A frame....and there are too many options...move on. Try the Group B frame, that may be the one with heavy inferences the game will test.

It is not uncommon to be stymied when doing frames. It is hard to predict the future of what will happen in scenarios.

And many games will hinge on the idea of framing on a local question.

Such as "if X is third, what must be true?"

You may see that by plugging in X into slot three...that variable Z can only go in slots 4 or 5. That would be the way to attack that question, show the slot 4 having Z frame and the slot 5 having Z frame.

Games like binary grouping are so rarely going to have framing play a role.

What I have seen as occurring a lot is the idea of framing as a result of advanced linear games. (Multi-row ordering)

[bbirdwell]

As a beginner, I think the question "To frame or not to frame?" can be answered in a simple, explicit way:

1. Is there a CLEAR, TWO-way split?
2. Does that split CLEARLY affect other elements in the game?

The answer to BOTH questions must be yes in order to even consider framing.

The two-way splits are easy to see:
"H must be in either slot 1 or slot 6"
"Either P is earlier than M, or else M is earlier than P"

Whether those are going to affect other elements is sometimes difficult to predict, as timmy pointed out. Essentially, you want to look ahead and see how limited the rest of the game becomes by choosing one of the two options. In the most obvious examples, the same element (for example, H, P, or M above) will appear in other rules...

Practice with these until they become clear and accessible to you. Do games over and over, with frames and without, to get a feel for what good framing opportunities look like. In the beginning, limit yourself to TWO options. Later, consider three-way splits, and VERY RARELY, four-way.

The main thing to watch out for is the difference between true framing and simply trying out hypotheticals. True framing is based on inferences, while hypotheticals are based on "guessing."