NG 571

New game 571 is now available.


Round 1: M T T E O R A P P

I had TOTEM, MATTER, PROMPT, and speculated about TEMPTOR but rightly avoided it.

Six is the limit here; the others are ROTATE, TAMPER, PAMPER / PREAMP (variant form of PREAMPLIFIER: "a device in the amplifier circuit of a radio, gramophone, etc., which increases the strength of a weak signal for detection and amplification"), TEAPOT, TAPPER, PATTER, POTTER, TOPPER, MOPPET ("a child or young girl"), PROTEA, OMERTA ("the code of silence adhered to by members of the Mafia"), TROMPE ("the apparatus by which the blast is produced in one type of forge [...]"), and TAPPET ("(in a machine or engine) a projecting part, arm, or the like which intermittently comes in contact with another part to which it communicates or from which it receives an intermittent motion").

My selection: PROMPT


Round 2: R S F E U C E S U

I had RUSE, CURES, REFUSE, REFUSES, and RESCUES.  After time I noted FESCUES (FESCUE being a type of grass; it also has an obsolete sense of "a small stick, twig, etc., used to point out the letters in teaching children to read") as another seven.

The other sevens are SECURES / RECUSES / CERUSES (CERUSE: "white lead; a mixture or compound of hydrate and carbonate of lead, much used in painting").

My selection: RESCUES


Round 3: Target 568 from 100 50 8 10 2 8

I spent embarrassingly long looking for a way to use the factorisation 8*71 before I realised that more straightforward approaches were available.  I realised in time, though, finding 568 = (50 + 8 - 2)*10 + 8.  I noted that the offset from 600 was 32, which is half of 8*8, and that gave me an alternative solution of 568 = 10*50 + 100 - 8*8/2.

My selection: 568 = (50 + 8 - 2)*10 + 8


Round 4: E I R M A G N M I

I had RIME, GRIME, REAMING, lamented that REMAIMING was not going to be listed (yet overlooked MAIMING), IMAGINE, and IMAGINER thanks to NG 561.  After time I recalled the safer anagram of IMAGINER: MIGRAINE.  I also noted MANGIER and GAMMIER* as other potential sevens, and checked up on MINIGAME but was not surprised it was not listed.

IMAGINER / MIGRAINE are the only eights.  The other sevens are RAMMING, RIMMING, MAIMING, and MINGIER*.

My selection: IMAGINER


Round 5: O N O B T U F H C

I had BOON, FOUNT, COUNT, and TOUCH.  I had wondered about BOUTON, but later checking showed only BOUTONNIERE ("a buttonhole bouquet or flower").  Chambers lists BOUTON, though: "an enlargement of the end of a nerve fibre in contact with part of another nerve fibre".

There is a six here, however: COBNUT (another term for a hazelnut).

My selection: FOUNT
Best: COBNUT


Round 6: Target 203 from 75 2 3 3 2 6

The target is 7*29, but that seems hard to use.  Instead I went for the standard method and tweaking, getting 203 = 3*(75 - 6) - 2 - 2.

My selection: 203 = 3*(75 - 6) - 2 - 2


Round 7: T A T R W E I S G

I had TART, WATER, WAITER, WAITERS, and WARTIEST.  After time I noted SWATTER and GAITERS as other sevens.

My revised rules about variant spellings bring SWATTIER* into play as an alternative, with SWAT being listed as an alternative spelling of SWOT (colloquial for "someone who studies hard").  SWOTTY gets a listing in that entry, so SWOTTIER* applies and thus SWATTIER*.

There's quite a few other sevens here -- my favourite is EARWIGS -- of which I'll just mention ATTIRES, TARGETS, TWISTER, and TRIAGES.

My selection: WARTIEST


Round 8: Target 963 from 75 8 4 1 10 8

My first instinct was the standard method, making the target as 13*75 - 12.  Unfortunately it seems infeasible to make both the 13 and a 12 from the small numbers.  After a bit of fussing I realised that the target was 9*107, and 107 is one of those values I've come to recognise as having surprising formation potential with 75 -- it is 75 + 32, and 32 is 4*8.  Putting it all together yielded the solution 963 = (10 - 1)*(75 + 4*8), with minor variation 963 = (8 + 1)*(75 + 4*8).

There are some other variations on that theme, but the genuinely different solution is 963 = (8*(10 + 4) - 1)*8 + 75.

My selection: 963 = (10 - 1)*(75 + 4*8)


Round 9: INNER CAFE

Yet another conundrum that I chose.  Looks like I might be doing that for a while, it certainly saves me time.

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