LSAT Grouping Games: Selection, Assignment, and How to Tell Them Apart

Grouping games give you a set of entities and ask you to sort them into categories — committees, teams, departments, time slots. Unlike sequencing games, the slots are not numbered in a fixed order. What matters is which entity ends up in which group, not the internal ranking within each group.

Grouping games come in two main forms. Selection games ask you to choose a subset of entities from the full pool — which five of eight candidates are hired, which three of six dishes are served. Assignment games ask you to distribute entities across two or more named groups — which employees go on Project A and which go on Project B.

Hybrid games combine grouping with ordering — you might assign entities to groups and then rank the members within each group. Those are covered in the hybrid games guide.

Selection games have two implicit groups: selected and not selected. Draw two columns labeled 'In' and 'Out.' Write the full entity roster above.

The rules will often specify the exact number selected ('exactly four of the seven candidates are chosen') or provide minimum/maximum constraints ('at least two and at most four'). Write this number prominently at the top of the diagram — it is the most valuable constraint in the game.

Every entity starts in the roster. As you make deductions, move entities to the In or Out column. An entity stuck in the roster is still undetermined.

Assignment games have two or more named groups. Draw one column per group and label each column. If the groups have different sizes ('Team A has three members, Team B has two'), note the size below each column label.

Write the entity roster above the columns. As you place entities, cross them off the roster so you can see at a glance who is unassigned.

If the game specifies that every entity must be assigned (no entity is left out), note that — it means you can infer an entity's group by eliminating all other groups.

Inclusion rules: 'If A is selected, B must also be selected' → A → B. Contrapositive: ¬B → ¬A. These are the most common rules in selection games.

Exclusion rules: 'A and B cannot both be selected' → A → ¬B (and B → ¬A). 'A and B must be on different teams' → A₁ → B₂ and A₂ → B₁.

Co-occurrence rules: 'A and B must be on the same team' → A₁ ↔ B₁, A₂ ↔ B₂. These create linked pairs. If one of the pair is placed, the other follows immediately.

Quantity constraints: 'Team A has exactly three members' → if you know two members, only one slot remains. 'At least two of the six candidates are juniors' → at least two from a defined subset must be in the In column.

Grouping games reward chaining conditional rules together. If rule 1 says A → B and rule 2 says B → C, then placing A forces both B and C. Write this chain explicitly: A → B → C.

Also look for 'domino' relationships: placing one entity in a group forces another out, which in turn forces a third in. These chains sometimes resolve three to four placements from a single initial placement.

Always combine quantity constraints with conditional chains. If you must select exactly four of six, and a chain forces three selections as soon as you pick entity A, then picking A leaves only one open slot — and the rules may tell you what must fill it.

Setup: Five candidates — J, K, L, M, N — are considered for a panel. Exactly three are selected. Rules: (1) If J is selected, K is not. (2) If L is selected, M is selected. (3) N must be selected.

Diagram: In column (3 slots), Out column. N is fixed in the In column (rule 3). Roster: J K L M — two more from these four must be selected.

From rule 1: J and K cannot both be In. From rule 2: if L is In, M is also In — that would fill the remaining two slots with L and M, making J and K both Out. Check: no contradiction with rules 1 or 3. Valid: N L M.

Alternatively, L is Out. Then we need two from {J, K, M} with J and K not both selected. Options: J and M (valid), K and M (valid), or J and K (invalid). So without L: N J M or N K M.

Three possible panels: N L M, N J M, N K M. Every question about this game can reference these three options directly.