NG 536

New game 536 is now available.


Round 1: G E I L T S A S S

I had TILE, TILES, AIGLETS (AIGLET being a variant spelling of AGLET: "a metal tag at the end of a lace"), STAGES, GLASSIEST, GASSIEST, and GLASSES.

The other eight is GLASSIES (GLASSIE: "any glass playing marble", amongst other definitions).  The other sevens are GLASSIE / LIGASES (LIGASE being a type of enzyme) / SILAGES (SILAGE: "green fodder, preserved in a silo, silage pit, or mound"), SIESTAS, GASLESS, LASSIES, TASSELS, AGEISTS, SALTIES (SALTIE being colloquial for "a saltwater crocodile"), and LIGATES (LIGATE: "to bind, as with a ligature; tie up, as a bleeding artery").

My selection: GLASSIEST


Round 2: B M D E I R A E P

I had IMBED, wondered about BERIMED (not valid), ADMIRE, rightly avoided PREMADE, likewise was correct to avoid AMBERED, and finally found a satisfactory seven of BEADIER.

BEDIAPER is not listed (hardly surprising), so there is no eight.  The other sevens are BEAMIER, BEARDIE ("a variety of sheepdog with very long hair; bearded collie"), BEMIRED, and IMPEDER / DEMIREP ("a woman of doubtful or compromised reputation").

My selection: BEADIER


Round 3: Target 638 from 75 50 2 3 8 2

I spent a while contemplating working up from 625, but could not get anywhere with that.  Fortunately I switched tactics to working down from 650 and found 638 = 8*75 + 50 - 2*2*3.

My selection: 638 = 8*75 + 50 - 2*2*3


Round 4: O S I A M D S K E

I had SOMA ("the body of an organism as contrasted with its germ cells"), MAIDS, MASSED, and MIKADOS.  After time I checked up on ESKIMOS, but as expected it is only listed with a capital letter.

The other seven is MISDOES, but there is an eight to be had: SESAMOID ("shaped like a sesame seed [...]").

My selection: MIKADOS
Best: SESAMOID


Round 5: N R A N A L F R I

I had NAAN, FRAIL, and FARINA ("flour or meal made from cereal grains [...]").

The other six is NARIAL ("of or relating to the nares or nostrils").

My selection: FARINA


Round 6: Target 479 from 25 100 75 7 3 5

I first looked at the standard method, keeping the 7 and 3 aside for the adjustment of 4.  That led to 479 = 5*75 + 100 + 7 - 3 (of course, 479 = 5*100 - 25 + 7 - 3 is a simple variation).  Then I noted that the offset of 21 was 3*7, and noted the alternative solution of 479 = 5*100 - 3*7.

My selection: 479 = 5*100 - 3*7


Round 7: T F N A T B D A O

I had BAND and FANTOD.

The other six is ANATTO (variant spelling of ANNATTO, a type of tree).

My selection: FANTOD


Round 8: Target 528 from 100 7 4 5 5 8

Both the 500 and the 28 were pretty easy here, leading to 528 = 5*100 + 7*4.

My selection: 528 = 5*100 + 7*4


Round 9: TWIST HERO

The -IEST fragment showed its use again here.

My selection: WORTHIEST (3.4s)