NG 345

New game 345 is now available.


Round 1: O A N C N F N T U

I had CANON, rightly rejected NONFACT (it has shown up in the Scrabble list enough times before that I've checked it), COUNT, and CANNOT.  After time I noted CANTON as another six.

Six is the best to be done; the others are CANNON and TOUCAN.  NON-FAT is listed, but only with the hyphen.

My selection: CANNOT


Round 2: I C O S S S A I F

Ergh, what a mix.  I had an uncertain CASSIS (valid: "a blackcurrant-flavoured liqueur"), SASS (surprisingly to me, not valid, although SASSY is), and noted ASCII was present, but of course that is all capitals.  I decided to chance CASSIS, fortunately.  After time I soon saw FIASCO as a safer six, and then FIASCOS for seven.

Those are the only sixes and seven listed.  (Scrabble would allow OSSIFIC, but it's not in the Macquarie.  Same for FOSSAS -- the Macquarie only allows the plural form FOSSAE.)

My selection: CASSIS
Best: FIASCOS


Round 3: Target 602 from 50 100 9 1 6 5

Getting near is easy, and I found my way to the offset of 2 with 602 = 6*100 + 50/5 - 9 + 1.  Then I noticed that the target could also be considered as 650 - 48, which let me tweak my way to an alternative solution of 602 = 6*(100 - 9 + 1) + 50.

My selection: 602 = 6*(100 - 9 + 1) + 50


Round 4: E S G A T I T E D

I had AGES, STAGE, noticed that an H instead of the G would have allowed HESITATED, DIGEST, SEDATE, and then cast my mind way back to find AGISTED (AGIST: "to take in and feed or pasture (livestock) for payment").  After time, however, I found GESTATED for eight.

GESTATED is the only eight.  The other sevens are GESTATE, IDEATES, EDGIEST, and ESTATED (ESTATE as an obsolete verb: "to establish in or as in an estate").

My selection: AGISTED
Best: GESTATED


Round 5: L D E I U H R O H

I had IDLE, HURLED, HOLDER, and LOUDER.

Six is the best on offer; the others are HOLIER, HURDLE, ROILED, and LOURED.

My selection: HURLED


Round 6: Target 315 from 25 7 10 2 10 6

I recognised the target as 7*45 (well, strictly speaking, I recognised it as 9*35, but the adjustment was simple).  A little playing around with that idea led me to 315 = (2*10 + 25)*7.  Then I experimented with the options of 290 + 25 or 340 - 25, and the later seemed more attractive, yielding 315 = (10 + 7)*2*10 - 25.  (Although seen just now is that the former would also work with 315 = (2*6 + 10 + 7)*10 + 25.)  Switching tacks to take advantage of the option of making 5 via 10/2 I found 315 = (25 + 6)*10 + 10/2, and finally got the factorisation 5*7*9 to work with 315 = (25 - 10 - 6)*7*10/2.

My selection: 315 = (2*10 + 25)*7


Round 7: E O A G R E W X L

I had OGRE, EAGER, WAGER, GROWL, and GLOWER.

The other sixes are GAOLER / GALORE, REGALE, and AREOLE.  But there is a seven!  It is AEROGEL ("a silicon-based substance used in insulation, combining tensile strength with great resistance to heat transfer, with a density only three times that of air").

My selection: GLOWER
Best: AEROGEL


Round 8: Target 855 from 25 50 8 10 1 9

I struggled with this one a lot; eventually I resigned myself to just getting close and tweaked the 850 a bit to get to two off with 857 = (9 + 8)*(50 + 1) - 10.  After time, though, I looked properly at the factorisation -- the factor of 5 is obvious, and the cofactor is 171 which is 9*19.  That factor of 9 is compelling, and the cofactor is then 5*19 = 95.  With further experimentation I found a solution of 855 = ((8 - 1)*10 + 25)*9.

There's a few other solutions, several using that factorisation.  One that I like is 855 = (8*(10 + 50/25) - 1)*9.

My selection: 857 = (9 + 8)*(50 + 1) - 10  [2 off]
Best: 855 = ((8 - 1)*10 + 25)*9


Round 9: ORGAN HEAP

I chose this conundrum; it just occurred to me the other day, not sure why.

My selection: [N/A -- conundrum chosen explicitly]
Best: ORPHANAGE