Diagram

[aileenann]

This is a closed assignment game. I've attached the diagram I used for this game, and I'd also like to discuss one of the questions below - question # 12. (Please let me know though if you'd like to see other questions for this game!) As is often the case with closed assignment games, it's difficult to make many or any inferences beyond the initial constraints - a lot seems up for grabs even after I've established my diagram.

For question # 12, they add an additional hypothetical - now they tell us that the greyhound is placed the day before the poodle. That effectively sets up a chunk that looks like this:

L
G P

Since there are only 3 slots, this chunk can either begin on Monday or Tuesday. Notice that in either case part of the chunk is on Tuesday. If G is on Tuesday, what we know is that H cannot be on Tuesday. If L and P are on Tuesday, nobody else can be on Tuesday. Therefore, the only element we can be sure can't be on Tuesday ever is H because it can't be on the same day as G. Thus our answer is (A).

Any questions ?

[robowarren]

Hi,

It doesn't seem like you attached the diagram. Would you mind attaching?

robin

[timmydoeslsat]

I will post my diagram when I just did this game.



We know that K and S could never go on the same day as each other because L and P are also together, which would force G and H together, which is not allowed.

We also know that L and P are interchangeable variables in this game, but since they go on the same day anyway, this doesn't have much power like in other games.

[matthew.mainen]

I found frames useful:



http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5481/1072 ... 379f_k.jpg

[steves]

This game seems important as it is covered in both the Interact lesson 8 and the LG study guide. My question is on the best solution strategy for timing. I've also done this game using frames, like those above. On my 3rd attempt at the game, the initial set-up took 1 minute, orientation question 1 minute, frames 4 minutes, questions 8-12 4-1/2 minutes using the frames--for a total of 10-1/2 minutes. The 2nd attempt took 18 minutes. I was completely lost when I tried to do questions 8-12 without using frames on my 1st attempt.

The only reason this went relatively fast on the 3rd attempt was being familiar with the problem. A similar but unfamiliar problem is still likely to take me much longer. My greatest time sink was in developing the frames, which took much longer during the 2nd attempt to get them correct with the conditional rules.

Is framing the most efficient way to solve a game like this--or is there another approach that makes it easier to keep the rules straight? If framing is the best way, is there a way to more efficiently and accurately put the frames together with the rules? I had already figured out that G&H and S&K had to be split to different days for the 2nd attempt.

[tommywallach]

Hey Steves,

Unfortunately, I do believe these are your two options. You can frame out, which is a bigger investment up front, or you can go with the Timmy-style outline, but then you have more work on the back-end. A GENERAL rule of thumb often says that if you're going to have more than two frames, it might not be worth doing them (particularly as the three frames here still have a fair amount of uncertainty inherent to them); that's usually my deciding factor. That being said, there's no right or wrong answer here, merely a question of what works better/faster for you.

-t