NG 50

New game 50 is now available.  Fifty already -- time flies!


Round 1: G S I E D A S F L

I had DIGS, ASIDES, FALSIES (can refer to breasts, eyelashes, or teeth; I gave this a mention in the first of these new games, incidentally, although you'll have to scroll down to the comments to find it), and GLISSADE.  I was helped with that latter because it turned up in episode 321, the first episode where I was in the audience.

Eight is the best to be done -- no SIDEFLAGS, alas -- with there being one other: GADFLIES (plural of GADFLY: "any fly that goads or stings domestic animals [...]").

The other sevens are GLASSED, AIDLESS, and GLASSIE ("any glass playing marble", amongst other definitions) / LIGASES (LIGASE: "a non-specific name for any enzyme which will catalyse the synthesis of a named product using energy from the breakdown of ATP [...]") / SILAGES (SILAGE: "green fodder preserved in a silo, silage pit, or mound").

My selection: GLISSADE


Round 2: I S N R I O T N E

I had IRIS, IRONS, INTONES, an uncertain INTONERS, TENSION, and STONIER.  A little reluctantly I gave INTONERS a go, and fortunately it turns out to be acceptable.

After time I noted down TINNIES as another seven, then after a short break looked back at the letters and immediately saw INSERTION for nine.  Bother!

That's the only nine; the other eight is TERNIONS (TERNION: "a set or group of three").

There's a reasonably spread of sevens here; some of the other common ones are IRONIES, IRONIST, INTERNS, ORIENTS, and NOISIER.

My selection: INTONERS


Round 3: Target 375 from 25 75 50 100 9 6

I commented recently that multiples of 25 are generally easy, and thats certainly true when four large has been chosen.  I started with 375 = 6*50 + 75, then shifted to 375 = 9*50 - 75, and finished with 375 = (9 + 6)*25.

My selection: 375 = 6*50 + 75


Round 4: R D M E A H K F U

I had DREAM, HARMED, FRAMED, MARKED, and rejected MUDRAKE on the grounds that I was probably thinking of MUCKRAKE.  That was unfortunate, as MUDRAKE is valid: "to gather information from the past with which to discredit an opponent".

MUDRAKE is the only seven; the other sixes are FARMED, DEMARK, and HARKED.

My selection: HARMED


Round 5: E D D E S T I N A

I had DEED, DEEDS, DESTINED, wondered about DESTAINED but eventually rejected it (correctly so, although it seems to be allowable in Scrabble), and DETAINED.  After time I noted the volcanic rock ANDESITE as another eight.

There's a lot of sevens here, but the other two eights are STEADIED and DANDIEST.

My selection: DETAINED


Round 6: Target 501 from 25 75 4 10 5 1

Disappointingly straightforward; I went with 501 = 5*(75 + 25) + 1.

My selection: 501 = 5*(75 + 25) + 1


Round 7: L S O I P T O E W

I had SOIL, SPOIL, TOWELS, an uncertain LOOPIEST, and POLITE.  I am generally wary of the comparatives and superlatives because there does not seem to be much pattern to which ones are considered acceptable, but LOOPIEST felt like one of the more plausible options so I risked it.  Alas, this time the Macquarie does not allow it (although it does allow the similar-in-meaning LOONIEST, so go figure).

There's a few sevens here after all: TOPSOIL / POLOIST, ISOTOPE, STOOLIE (colloquial shortening of STOOL PIGEON") / TOOLIES (TOOLIE: "a young male who is older than the school leavers who gather for schoolies week, but who joins them in pursuit of sex") / OSTIOLE ("a small opening or orifice") / OOLITES (OOLITE: "a small spherical to ellipsoidal concretion [...] formed in shallow water under special conditions").

There's another potential seven of WOOLIES; this is one of the grey areas in the rules which has never been clarified.  The reason is that the entry WOOLLY has WOOLLIES as a derived form, and WOOLY as a variant spelling.  If variant spellings propagate to derived forms (as I have come to the opinion that they should) then WOOLIES is a valid seven.  A strict reading of the rules would not allow it, however.

The same issue arises for the potential eight here: WOOLIEST.

My selection: [invalid - LOOPIEST]


Round 8: Target 384 from 75 100 1 9 7 2

The standard method stands out, as we have the offset of 9; that led in short order to the solution 384 = (7 - 2)*75 + 9.  I also found a more complicated variant of that idea: 384 = (7*2 + 1)*(100 - 75) + 9.  Then I used the factor of 2 to get 384 = (100 + 75 + 9 + 7 + 1)*2, and finally the factor of 12 for 384 = (9 + 2 + 1)*(100 - 75 + 7).

My selection: 384 = (7 - 2)*75 + 9


Round 9: AWING GONG

With so many G's the use of -ING seemed pretty clear, and with the memory of NG 39 still fairly fresh I found WAGGONING in 2.3 seconds.