Monday 19 November 2012

Ep 96 [QF3] again, plus a new game

Here's the coverage of episode 96 for anyone playing along.

There's another new game after the cut; this time with a new conundrum generator, but thanks to teething troubles with the generation process I will have to assess myself harshly against the resulting conundrum.


Round 1:

Round 2:

Round 3:

522

Round 4:

Round 5:

Round 6:

827

Round 7:

Round 8:

798

Round 9:

6 comments:

Jan said...

The quarterfinal first. If I could have got the conundrum, I would have passed David, but could not even find it in extra time.

Like you Geoff, I was surprised that Kashi did not get the first numbers, and I think Richard was surprised too!

SCOURED (0)
BRIGHT (6)
6*100-9=591 (10)
SECTION (0)
ENCORE (0)
7-3=4. 9-4 =5. 8*75 -25 + 5 = 580 (10)
FLUKED, FLAKED, UPHELD, HAULED (6)
4*50 + 25 + (8-6) = 227 (10)
-


And now for your game Geoff. I reckon there have been some tough letter mixes

FATHER
ESTEEM, BESTED
(50+2)*(9+1) + 8/4 = 522
TOMATO
FANGLESS - my favourite word of this game!
Only after time did I get this maths solution -
(100+50+25-10)*5 + 2 = 827
PRISED (would POSHIER be ok?)
(75+3+1)*10 + 8 = 798
-
(But not using one e I got SPRINTED, and using another e I got PREDESTINE!)

Victor said...

Much friendlier letters rounds this time!

1. MATTER
2. EMBEDS
3. 522 = (9 + 1)*(50 + 2) + 8/4
4. ROTATOR
5. FINAGLES
6. 827 = 10*100 - 5*25 - 50 + 2
7. PRESIDE (**)
8. 798 = 10*(75 + 6) - 8 - 3 - 1
9. PRESIDENT (7s) (** helped here!)

Geoff Bailey said...

I reckon it was a tough conundrum, Jan, but well done on taking David to it.

No joy with POSHIER -- there's not even a POSHY for it to extend from -- but POSHER is OK, of course. And well done to find FANGLESS! I found it after time, but was not sure about it. And that was a very nice after-time solution to get 827!

Nice play, Victor -- FINAGLES was particularly good! And well done on the conundrum, although I can see how round seven was a great help. *chuckles*

My results:

AFTERMATH
EMBEDS
522 = 9*(50 + 8)
ROTATOR
GLASSINE
827 = (10 + 5)*50 + 100 - 25 + 2
SPHEROID
798 = 75*10 + 6*8
-

This was probably about the fifteenth conundrum I had played through in the conundrum generation process; the word list I am using at the moment to generate them from has far too many obscure words in it. Consequently, my solving skill was rather abraded at that point since I lack the normal assurance that the conundrum is effectively solvable. I definitely did not get it within time.

Mike Backhouse said...

Was beaten on all words except one. Not a great game for me.

FORCED
BATH
David's way
NATIONS
AMORE (should have got ROMANCE)
8*75-(7+9+3)=581 (1 off)
FLAKED
(25+50)*(4-1)+8-6+227
x

And the extra game:

FATTER
BESTED
Jan's way
ROTATOR
LEASING
out of range
HORSED
Jan's way
x

Geoff Bailey said...

The longer breakdown:

Round 1: H T M F R A E A T

I had MATH (an Americanism, but a handy one as it turned out), FERMATA, and AFTERMATH. I was actually a little disappointed about that final T, oddly enough; I was pretty pleased to have spotted FERMATA and thought it might be hard to match, and I wanted an S for FERMATAS to preserve the perceived advantage. In contrast, AFTERMATH seemed more findable. But still, a full monty is always a happy thing. Oh, and I wrote down FATHER as a six as well.

Those are the only options longer than six, as it turns out; a couple of other sixes are THREAT and FATTER.


Round 2: M B E S E D E T O

Too many E's! I had BEES, DEEMS, EMBEDS, ESTEEM (OK, so a fourth E for ESTEEMED would have been nice), and BESTED. After time I noted MODEST as another six, and then somewhat later finally found DEMOTES for seven. I don't know why it is, but I consistently have difficulties seeing that word when it is available.

DEMOTES is the only seven. There's many sixes.


Round 3: Target 522 from 50 2 1 8 4 9

I had a sense of deja vu over this one, but it turns out the last time it appeared was back in episode 38, so it was not as recent as I thought. I started off with 522 = (50 + 2)*(9 + 1) + 8/4, then noticed the factor of 9 to get 522 = 9*(50 + 8). That latter form does ring bells, but I cannot find a recent use of it.


Round 4: M R I R O T A T O

Gah, more duplication. I had TRIM, RATIO, and ROTATOR. If that final O had been an E then AMORETTI would have been there.

The other seven is TRAITOR. The sixes are TOMATO, ORATOR, and MORTAR.


Round 5: F S G S A E I N L

I had SAGS, SAGES, LEASING, worried about LEASINGS, SEALING, worried about SEALINGS, was relieved to find GLASSINE but then consumed by doubt, and SIGNALS as another seven. After time I noted FANGLESS also, although I was unsure of it; later checking reveals that it is acceptable.

I was pretty sure that LEASINGS was invalid (in fact, this has come up in the show, in episode 298), and that SEALINGS was dubious but possibly acceptable. GLASSINE was safer... as long as it was listed. I knew that I'd looked it up before, but could not remember if it was there. But I chanced it, and it is (GLASSINE: "a glazed, semi-transparent paper, used for book jackets, etc.").

The other eight here (an excellent find from Victor) is FINAGLES.


Round 6: Target 827 from 50 25 100 10 5 2

A largeish target, but the standard method is clearly attractive with the 2 handy for the final offset. I started with 827 = (10 + 5)*50 + 100 - 25 + 2 and found an alternative of 827 = 10*100 - 5*25 - 50 + 2.

825 is 11*75, but I was not able to use that. After time I was able to reorganise those factors to 55*15, though, which yielded the solution 827 = (50 + 5)*(25 - 10) + 2.


Round 7: E O I P H D R S E

I had HOPE, PERIOD, PERIODS, EPISODE, and SPHEROID. I had hoped for a final A for APHORISED, but no such luck.

The other eight is PERISHED.


Round 8: Target 798 from 75 1 8 6 10 3

I started with 798 = 75*10 + 6*8, and finished with 798 = (75 + 3 + 1)*10 + 8.


Round 9: DEER PINTS

Whoever is serving those deer alcohol needs to be stopped. I was not able to solve this one within time, at least in part because I lacked the surety that it was effectively solvable (as I mentioned in an earlier comment). It's amazing how much difference that makes!

Well done to Victor on solving this: PRESIDENT.

Sam Gaffney said...

Nice letter mixes here, though I struggled on Round 7. There is no way to "bank" short words early on when they all come up at once.

AFTERMATH
DEMOTES
522 = (50+8)*9
TOMATO
SEALING
827 = (10+5)*50 + 100-25 + 2
X HORSIE
798 = 75*10 + 6*8
~9s PRESIDENT (I should have got onto these earlier so that the election was fresher!)