STEP #1

Color coding works well with this type of logic problem construction, also. But instead of just selecting some pairs (or even threesomes) at random, we will be selecting each clue by highlighting the variables in a descending order. Our first example follows:

And now we have the basis for our first two clues:

1) Edward became engaged the month before the man who gave his future bride an emerald engagement ring, who became engaged the month before the man who became engaged to Pauline.
2) The man who gave his future wife the diamond engagement ring became engaged the month after Cornelius and the month before the man who became engaged to Olivia.

NOTE: Each clue asks for the same information in descending order - MAN, RING, WOMAN, but the wording of the sentences are different. As in the previous example, before we are done, we will be changing the clues around, but we don't want them to all seem the same. In a very long puzzle, it there are 4-5 clues in between, it is fine, but for a short logic problem, it is best to vary the wording of each clue, in my opinion. In addition, note that no months are mentioned here as that is what we want to determine.

STEP #2

With only five variables, and two clues which each state a fact about three variables in the same descending order [MAN, STONE, WOMAN], we know there is some overlap [thus the name overlap method ]. However, the solver will have to determine where the overlap occurs. There are six possibilites for the placement in our chart for our variables according to the Clue #1 and Clue #2.

Possibility #1

Possibility #2

Possibility #3

Possibility #4

Possibility #5

Possibility #6

At this point, all the solver can deduce from the two clues for sure is that Cornelius and Edward got in engaged in April, May, or June, in some order; the man who gave the emerald and the man who gave the diamond in May, June, or July, in some order; and, the man who got engaged to Pauline and the man who got engaged to Olivia in June, July, or August, in some order.

We could have used five months which all had a different first initial, but having April and August starting with the same first initial, as well as June and July, can work in our favor in this problem.

STEP #3

We are now ready to add a couple of new clues to the first two clues. With six possiblilites it is important to start narrowing them down.

1) Edward became engaged the month before the man who gave his future bride an emerald engagement ring, who became engaged the month before the man who became engaged to Pauline.
2) The man who gave his future wife the diamond engagement ring became engaged the month after Cornelius and the month before the man who became engaged to Olivia.
3) At least one woman became engaged sometime earlier in the year than the woman who received the black onyx engagement ring, who didn't get engaged in August.
4) Daniel and Nanette plan to spend their honeymoon in Tahiti, while the man who got engaged in May plans to take his new bride on a cruise to the Bahamas.

From Clue 3 we find that the woman who got the black onyx engagement ring didn't get engaged in either April or August. Therefore, the black onxy engagement ring was received by one of the women in May, June, or July, as was the emerald ring [Clue 1] and the diamond ring [Clue 2]; therefore, the rings received in April and August were the ruby and the sapphire rings, in some order. Also, from the 6 charts above, we can see that the black onyx was given by either Edward or Cornelius, and/or was received by either Olivia or Pauline.

From Clue 4 we find that Daniel got engaged to Nanette and they plant to honeymoon in Tahiiti so didn't get engaged in May. So from the six charts, Daniel and Nanette got engaged in either April [Possibility #3 and #4], August [Possibilites #1 and #3], or in July [Possibilities #5 and #6]. So lets fill in our charts up to this point to find out where we are for sure.

Possibility #1

Possibility #2

Possibility #3

Possibility #4

Possibility #5

Possibility #6

STEP #4

We can start narrowing our charts down now with an additional clue, so we are ready to add clue 5 to our first four clues.

1) Edward became engaged the month before the man who gave his future bride an emerald engagement ring, who became engaged the month before the man who became engaged to Pauline.
2) The man who gave his future wife the diamond engagement ring became engaged the month after Cornelius and the month before the man who became engaged to Olivia.
3) At least one woman became engaged sometime earlier in the year than the woman who received the black onyx engagement ring, who didn't get engaged in August.
4) Daniel and Nanette plan to spend their honeymoon in Tahiti, while the man who got engaged in May plans to take his new bride on a cruise to the Bahamas.
5) Neither Benjamin nor Abraham (who did not get engaged in consecutive months) got engaged to Lillie.

Okay, according to Possibilities #1, #2, #3, and #4, Benjamin and Abraham would have gotten engaged in consecutive months, but in Clue 5, it says they didn't, so we can now drop those first four charts from our Possibilites, and we are left with Possibilities #5 and #6.

Charts #5 and #6 tell us that Daniel and Nanette got engaged in July. Benjamin and Abrahm got engaged in May and August, in some order, but neither to Lillie, so Lillie is the woman who got engaged in April, and since in those two charts, we have Pauline and Olivia getting engaged in June and August, in some order, we can also determine Maryanne got engaged in May. In addition, according to these two charts, the black onyx ring was given in June. We can now fill in our two charts up to this point with the information we are sure of.

Possibility #5

Possibility #6

We still have a ways to go. Not only do we have to decide between Benjamin and Abraham for May and August, and the ruby and sapphire for April and August, but we are still left with deciding on the correct consecutive order for those mentioned in our first two clues.

Lets try a new clue where we mention all five couples! We will add it to our first five clues.

1) Edward became engaged the month before the man who gave his future bride an emerald engagement ring, who became engaged the month before the man who became engaged to Pauline.
2) The man who gave his future wife the diamond engagement ring became engaged the month after Cornelius and the month before the man who became engaged to Olivia.
3) At least one woman became engaged sometime earlier in the year than the woman who received the black onyx engagement ring, who didn't get engaged in August.
4) Daniel and Nanette plan to spend their honeymoon in Tahiti, while the man who got engaged in May plans to take his new bride on a cruise to the Bahamas.
5) Neither Benjamin nor Abraham (who did not get engaged in consecutive months) got engaged to Lillie.

6) The five couples are Cornelius, the man who became engaged to Maryanne, the man who gave the diamond engagement ring, the man who gave the ruby engagement ring, and a man who engaged later in the year than the man who plans to honeymoon with his new bride in Tahiti.

According to Possibility #6, Maryanne would have gotten the diamond, but from Clue 6, we see that it was not the man who gave the diamond who got engaged to Maryanne, so now we can drop Possibility #6 from the list of chars, and are finally left with one - Possibility #5.

Thus, we have Edward as getting engaged in April to Lillie, Maryanne getting the emerald in May, Cornelius getting engaged in June and giving the black onyx, Daniel gave Nanette the diamond in July, and Olivia got engaged in August, and a man who got engaged later in the year than the couple who plan to honeymoon in Tahiti, who are Daniel and Nanette [Clue 4] who got engaged in July, so the one who gave the ruby wasn't August. Thus, the ruby was given in April and the sapphire in August.

Possibility #5

We are now down to determining which of Abraham and Benjamin got engaged in May or August. We could make a new clue, or we could edit one of the existing clues. In this case, I think adding a new clue is best so as to keep each clue approximately the same length.

1) Edward became engaged the month before the man who gave his future bride an emerald engagement ring, who became engaged the month before the man who became engaged to Pauline.
2) The man who gave his future wife the diamond engagement ring became engaged the month after Cornelius and the month before the man who became engaged to Olivia.
3) At least one woman became engaged sometime earlier in the year than the woman who received the black onyx engagement ring, who didn't get engaged in August.
4) Daniel and Nanette plan to spend their honeymoon in Tahiti, while the man who got engaged in May plans to take his new bride on a cruise to the Bahamas.
5) Neither Benjamin nor Abraham (who did not get engaged in consecutive months) got engaged to Lillie.
6) The five couples are Cornelius, the man who became engaged to Maryanne, the man who gave the diamond engagement ring, the man who gave the ruby engagement ring, and a man who engaged later in the year than the man who plans to honeymoon with his new bride in Tahiti.

7) Either the man who have his bride-to-be an emerald engagement ring, or Abraham and his bride-to-be plan to honeymoon at Niagra Falls.

Ah, now we can finish up. Maryanne, according to our Possibility #5 chart, received the emerald in May and that couple plan to honeymoon the Bahamas [Clue 4]. Either Benjamin or Abraham got engaged to Maryanne, but from Clue 7 it wasn't Abraham; thus, Benjamin got engaged to Maryanne in May and it was Abraham who got engaged to Olivia in August. And our clues are now done and the chart is filled in correctly, to correspond with our original chart at the very beginning.

STEP #5

And now our clues are done. On to the next step, which will be to think of a title and do the introduction.

TITLE

I suggest we stick with the same title as in our previous example - Engaging Moments.

FACT GATHERING FOR INTRO

As mentioned in our first exampole, introductions are short scenarios explaining the situation and asking for a conclusion. First off, we want to look at our clues to see what parts of each elements are mentioned in the clues, for those that are not included in the clues need to be mentioned in the introduction. First, thought, lets change our clues around a bit as we did in our first example so that similiar clues are not next to one another. Our clues are now:

1) Daniel and Nanette plan to spend their honeymoon in Tahiti, while the man who got engaged in May plans to take his new bride on a cruise to the Bahamas.
2) The man who gave his future wife the diamond engagement ring became engaged the month after Cornelius and the month before the man who became engaged to Olivia.
3) Neither Benjamin nor Abraham (who did not get engaged in consecutive months) got engaged to Lillie.
4) The five couples are Cornelius, the man who became engaged to Maryanne, the man who gave the diamond engagement ring, the man who gave the ruby engagement ring, and a man who engaged later in the year than the man who plans to honeymoon with his new bride in Tahiti.
5) At least one woman became engaged sometime earlier in the year than the woman who received the black onyx engagement ring, who didn't get engaged in August.
6) Edward became engaged the month before the man who gave his future bride an emerald engagement ring, who became engaged the month before the man who became engaged to Pauline.
7) Either the man who have his bride-to-be an emerald engagement ring, or Abraham and his bride-to-be plan to honeymoon at Niagra Falls.

We see that all five men are mentioned in the clues [Daniel in Clue 1, Cornelius in Clue 2, Benjamin and Abraham in Clue 3, and Edward in Clue 6], as well as all five women [Nanette in Clue 1, Olivia in Clue 2, Lillie in Clue 3, Maryanne in Clue 4, and Pauline in Clue 6]. Four of the five stones are also mentioned [diamond in Clue 2, ruby in clue 4, black onyx in Clue 5, and emerald in Clue 6], so the other that isn't, the sapphire, must be included in the introduction. Also all five months, as in the previous example.

INTRODUCTION

Engaging Moments

"Last year, five young men became engaged to be married. Each man gave his girlfriend an engagement ring, each of which had a different stone (one contained a beautiful sapphire). Each of the five couples became engaged in a different month - April, May, June, July, or August. From the clues, determine the woman to whom each man became engaged, the gem in the ring each man gave his bride-to-be, and the month in which each couple became engaged."

And that finishes the second example, done by using the overlap method . These are just two ways to construct logic problems, but with each one, the combinations are quite varied, and of course, one isn't limited to the 4 categories and the 5 variables.

I hope these two examples will help you get started constructing your own logic problems. On my next page, I shall give you some hints on where to find subjects for logic problems and other hints that may help you. :-)

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