Players often complain that they “got nothing” from the 6- or 4-point clues of a Presidents question. However, they should learn to use each clue to at least eliminate some presidents in the range from consideration. In this way, they can make a more educated guess after the 2-point clue even if they are not sure of the answer.
Example for the range 1-12: 6-point clue: “I helped draft the peace treaty for the War of 1812. I was secretary of state for the president who preceded me.”
Conclusions: This man was president after the War of 1812. He was also from the same party as his predecessor since presidents don’t usually appoint members of the opposing party to important Cabinet positions. So presidents 1-4 can be eliminated as can numbers 9, 11, and 12.
If the Nationals answer sheet is used, players should actually cross out the eliminated numbers. By doing so, they can often narrow the possibilities to fewer than three presidents by the end of the 2-point clue.