
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
In a handicraft class, the teacher gives students three kinds of colored ribbons: red, yellow, and blue. Each color ribbon is available in sufficient quantities. The teacher requires selecting 4 ribbons and placing them in a specific order, with each subsequent ribbon placed entirely on top of the existing stack. Once all 4 ribbons are placed, the outline from top to bottom shows the color at the 4 intersection points as red, blue, yellow, yellow. How many different placement methods are there? (Different methods are counted if there is a different color chosen at any step or a different placement sequence at any step.)

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