Ep 400: [GF] Sam Gaffney, Alan Nash (March 9, 2012)

Rounds: Here.


It's been a week of close finals that could have easily gone either way, and tonight is another.  Alan finds a good word in the first round to take an early lead, but Sam takes it right back in the next round with another good word (that admittedly he was not completely sure about).  The next three rounds are matched, and that brings in Alan's number choices.  He goes for a single large number and turns up a surprisingly difficult result, with the contestants ending up five and four away.  Sam has the better of it to take the lead at last, and then Alan risks an invalid word in the next round to drop behind by more than a conundrum.  Alan stakes all on the choice of six small, but both contestants are equal to it and the game is decided before the conundrum.  For once Sam is beaten to it as Alan solves it just over five seconds in, and Sam has a narrow 55 to 51 win.

I had a bit of a wobbly time myself, but all of us were level at the end of the fifth round.  I saw a better option on the next numbers round to get a lead, only to concede back that lead and more in the last numbers round where I got completely lost.  But I saw the conundrum solution faster than Alan to snatch victory at the last, and finish the series on a high note.  It's been a rollercoaster!

As usual, details after the jump.

Round 1: O E A E L H R C M

I had ALOE, HALO, ORACLE, and ARMHOLE.  This latter has been mentioned by David a few times on the show, I believe, but not so far this series (I made note of it in episode 360).  If you see HOLE then it's worth checking on ARMHOLE or MANHOLE.

Sam has CHROME for six, and Alan has done very well to find CHOLERA for seven.  A great word to start with!  David mentions ARMHOLE, as I was expecting.

The only other seven appears to be CHORALE.

Sam: CHROME
Alan: CHOLERA
Me: ARMHOLE
David: ARMHOLE

Scores: Sam 0, Alan 7, me 7


Round 2: S D H B I E A U T

I got a bit flustered by this mix.  I might have been tempted to try a fifth vowel in search of an O for BUSHIDO; certainly I contemplated it.  (On the other hand, I probably wouldn't have pulled the fourth one, so that hardly applies.)  I had BIDS, BIDES, BASHED, BATHES, and wondered about DAUBIST, but sevens were failing to coalesce.  After time I finally saw some: HABITED and SUBEDIT.

Alan tries a risky seven of BAUDIES; he remarked that it was not as risky as the risky eight he saw, which I'll guess was BAUDIEST (instead of BAWDIEST).  Sam responds with a risky seven of his own, which turns out to be HABITED.  HABITED is perfectly fine, of course, but BAUDIES is not, and Sam ties up the scores.  (Would Sam have risked his seven if Alan had stayed with a six?  Probably, but there is the chance that Alan unwittingly pushed Sam into a correct seven that he might not have gone with.)

David has found a nine!  Once he says that I look a lot more carefully and finally see HABITUDES there.  Great solving from David!

Aside from HABITUDE, the other eight is HABITUÉS.  The other sevens were HABITUÉ, SUBHEAD, and the vowel-heavy BEAUISH (that I've mentioned once before in episode 355, but that didn't help me find it here).

Sam: HABITED
Alan: [invalid]
Me: BATHES
David: HABITUDE, HABITUDES

Scores: 7 apiece


Round 3: Target 160 from 75 50 25 100 9 3

Sam pretends to consider another option, but goes for four large.  I got a bit confused on this one; it's a small target but seems a bit hard to approach.  I wrote down a fallback 159 = 100 + 50 + 9, and then realised that the other three numbers gave me the 1 that I needed, and had 160 = 100 + 50 + 9 + (3*25)/75.  Phew!

Both contestants and Lily have found a similar solution, with minor variations on the order of the operations to get that last 1.

Computer searching shows that there are quite a few solutions to this, but all bar one of them need all six numbers.  As a mini-challenge to think about, can you find the single solution that only needs five of the numbers?  Click to show/hide a hint  The unused number is the 9.

Sam: 160
Alan: 160
Me: 160
Lily: 160

Scores: 17 apiece


First break: BLUE LAVA ("Worth its weight in gold")

A straight clue for VALUABLE.

David's talk is about the word denouement and its relation to knots; he then segues to talk about the Gordian knot.


Round 4: D R L T E W I O D

That W does make things a little awkward, but it can be used.  I had WELT, WILTED, TROWEL, DELTOID, and TODDLER.  After time I noted TIDDLER as well.

Both contestants declare safe sevens.  They've each gone for TWIDDLE, and it seems very likely that they both had a risky eight of TWIDDLER.  David points out that TWIDDLER is valid for eight, so this is another case where a bit of risk would have been rewarded.  I didn't see TWIDDLE at all, so I could easily have fallen behind here.

That looks like the only eight; other sevens are TWIRLED and DOWDIER.

Sam: TWIDDLE
Alan: TWIDDLE
Me: TODDLER
David: TWIDDLER

Scores: 24 apiece


Round 5: I E A N T P K N D

I had NEAT, PAINT, INNATE, PINKED, DETAIN, and finally thought to make PAINTED.  (I'd thought of it back when I wrote PAINT, and then nearly forgot it!)  After time I saw PINNATE ("resembling a feather"), and thence PINNATED (listed as a synonymous term) for eight.

Sam doesn't seem very happy about seven, which is understandable given how common PAINTED was.  Alan has PENDANT for his seven, and David has come through again to find PINNATED.

Five rounds in and the scores are still tied!

Sam: PAINTED
Alan: PENDANT
Me: PAINTED
David: PINNATE, PINNATED

Scores: 31 apiece


Round 6: Target 524 from 50 7 4 2 1 7

Alan has been warned off choosing the large numbers by Sam's solution against Daniel (Sam can be heard to remark about having let the cat out of the bag).  He goes for a single large number, which is interesting since it is about the easiest choice to make.  So perhaps Alan's aim is to equalise the numbers and gain in the letters; if so, he still has to rely on getting the conundrum first.  Regardless of the reasoning, it's unquestionably a good idea for him to avoid four large numbers.

The target is so obviously near 525 = 7*75, and we have the 7 and the 1 but a 50 instead of a 75.  There is a 2 to divide it by, though, which leaves us needing to make a 21.  I found one way but it used up the one, and I wrote down my fallback one-away 525 = 7*(4 - 1)*50/2.

I then hared off on a different tack, which proved unprofitable -- it would have resulted in 522 = (7 + 4)*(50 - 2) - 7 + 1 if I had managed to get that down in time, which was worse than what I already had.  A reorganisation would have given a different way to 525 with (7 + 4)*(50 - 1) - 2*7, but again that was no improvement.

That used up all my remaining time, and it was careless of me not to look at the first approach more closely.  After time I quickly saw how to conserve that 1 and get the target: 524 = 7*(7 - 4)*50/2 - 1.  Bother.

Both contestants surprise me by being somewhat further away.  Alan is five off with 529, which I'll guess was 529 = (7 + 4)*50 - 7*(2 + 1).  Sam has managed to get one closer, and thus seven points better off, with 520 = (7 + 4 - 1)*(50 + 2).  This feels like a case of running out of time, as adding the remaining 7 would have got Sam one closer to the target with 527.

Lily has also been stumped, it turns out.  After the break she shows another way to form that 21 in the solution 524 = (50/2)*(4*7 - 7) - 1.

Sam: 520
Alan: 529
Me: 525

Scores: Sam 31 (38), Alan 31, me 38


Second break: CAST CITE ("An electric kind of feeling")

The clue is referencing STATIC electricity, and thus ECSTATIC.


Round 7: I A E P T R C M O

These letters go pretty well together, but an eight proved very elusive.  I had TAPE / PATE, PIRATE, IMPART, and PRIMATE.  After time I found some more sevens: MORTICE, POTAMIC ("of or relating to rivers"; I mentioned this recently, in episode 389), and COMPARE.  I also rejected PREATOMIC (expecting it to need a hyphen, but it is not even listed) and MICROTAPE, before finally finding OPERATIC for eight.  And just now I have seen COPREMIA (a type of blood poisoning) as another eight; I noted that in Sam's first game, episode 341.

Sam has PRIMATE for seven also, but Alan has decided to try IMPACTER for eight.  Sam grimaces when he hears that Alan will try an eight; I think he had the strong feeling that there should be one there, just like I did.  David asks Alan for the spelling, forcing him to decide between IMPACTER and IMPACTOR (he'd obviously written both of them down).  It turns out not to matter as neither is listed, and Alan's gamble has not come off.  That puts him in a very nasty situation at fourteen points behind and needing to take points off Sam in the final numbers round.  All in all, while I applaud the gamble, this might not have been the time for it.

David has found OPERATIC for his eight; it and COPREMIA do seem to be the only ones in the Macquarie.

That final vowel was a good choice; an A would have given METACARPI while an E would have given IMPRECATE.  The actual O... also turns out to give a nine, although it is much more obscure.  AMETROPIA is "an abnormal condition of the eye causing faulty refraction of light rays, as in astigmatism, myopia, etc.", and the adjective derived from it is AMETROPIC.  (Random observation: It's a good charade word, yielding A METRO PIC.)

Sam: PRIMATE
Alan: [invalid]
Me: PRIMATE
David: OPERATIC

Scores: Sam 38 (45), Alan 31, me 45


Round 8: Target 985 from 3 9 8 10 5 1

Alan now must beat Sam in the numbers, so has to try for six small.  The target is very large, and I got lost in a very unprofitable line of thought.  Running out of time I scribbled down something close that turned out to be 981 = 9*(8*5*3 - 10 - 1), but I had not written down the total so it cannot count.  (I hadn't even worked out what the total was, for that matter, just that it was at least in the right ballpark.)

After time runs out I look more calmly at the idea of using the 10, and find 985 = 10*(9*(8 + 3) - 1) + 5 relatively easily.  The perils of getting stuck on the wrong approach!

Both contestants have solved this, with 985 = (8 + 3)*10*9 - 5.  Rewatching the video shows Sam smiling and relaxing as he gets it around twelve seconds in and knows that he is going to be the series champion.  He recovers quickly, adopting a more serious mien and checks his solution thoroughly again, but can't avoid another smile as time runs out.  He knows that he has won, and I imagine it feels great.

No mention of what Lily did, but I'll assume she found that also.

Sam: 985
Alan: 985
Me: [no answer]

Scores: Sam 48 (55), Alan 41, me 45


Round 9: SIEGED NAG

Sam has won the grand final, but there are still points to play for.  Also, this three-cornered match is very much alive, and if Alan solves it first then he'll win it.  Scant comfort, I'm sure, but it's interesting how this has shaken out.

The letters go down and I have to take a moment to look at the -ING possibility, as I'm sure did the others.  But then I realise that this letter mix is a somewhat notorious one in Apterous circles (more on this later), and I have the answer at the four second mark, just snatching the win in time as Alan also finds it a second and a half later.

Sam: [no answer]
Alan: DISENGAGE (5.5s)
Me: DISENGAGE (4s)

Final scores: Sam 48 (55), Alan 41 (51), me 55


It's been great conundrum work from both these two all finals, but Alan had the better of it today.  If only he hadn't risked IMPACTER he would have won (assuming that he had a seven, as seems likely).  A shame for him, but good fortune for Sam who played another very good game tonight.  Great work from both of them, and they are unquestionably worthy participants in the grand final.

We should see them both again when the Masters series screens, along with other great players from previous series.  I don't know when that will air, but it should have some gripping episodes when it does.

Congratulations to Sam, commiserations to Alan but also congratulations on getting so far and giving us great games to watch throughout.  Bravo to the both of them!


Now, time to talk about DISENGAGE.  This video shows why it got elevated from a single moment of amusement to a running joke, and here is a bit more explanation of the circumstances.