
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
Crestview's school is introducing a new color, green, in addition to purple and gold. The students are tasked with designing a new flag using four solid-colored horizontal stripes. How many different flags are possible if the first and the last stripes can only use either purple or gold, whereas the remaining stripes can use any of the three colors, and the middle second stripe must be a color different from the first?

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
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