NG 572

New game 572 is now available.


Round 1: S I F O O H T H S

I had a dubious OOFS (not valid), HOOFS (one valid plural form), HOIST, HOISTS, FOISTS, SHOOTS, and flirted with but rightly rejected FOOTISH and SOFTISH.

Six is the best on offer; the others are SHIFTS and SOOTHS (SOOTH as a noun: "Archaic truth, reality, or fact").

My selection: HOISTS


Round 2: R A C E U B T A C

I had ACRE, CABER, CURATE, and ACCURATE.  I also had an uncertain BACCATE, which later checking confirmed was valid (BACCATE: "berry-like").

The other eight is BRACCATE ("Ornithology having legs covered by feathers").  The other sevens are CABARET / ABREACT ("to experience an abreaction") and ARCUATE ("curved like a bow").

My selection: ACCURATE


Round 3: Target 384 from 75 50 100 8 9 5

I recognised the target as 3*128 (with 128 being the seventh power of 2), and spent far too long trying to get 8*48 to work as a result.  Then I took a mental step back and looked at the standard method, where 375 + 9 leapt out as the obvious approach.  It was a short step to 384 = 5*75 + 9.

My selection: 384 = 5*75 + 9


Round 4: O C D N E L Z S I

I had DONE, CLONED, and SECONDI (plural of SECONDO: "the second or lower part in a duet, especially in piano duets").  I was pretty sure there was an eight from the non-Z letters, but I could not bring it to mind.

The eight is INCLOSED.  The other sevens are INCLOSE / CINEOLS, COLDIES, CODLINS (CODLIN being a variant form of CODLING: "any of several varieties of elongated apples, used for cooking purposes"), DOLINES (DOLINE: "a shallow depression, either funnel- or saucer-shaped, and having its floor covered by cultivated soil, formed by solution in mountain limestone country") / INDOLES (INDOLE being a certain chemical), CODEINS, and DONZELS (DONZEL being an archaic term for "a young gentleman not yet knighted; a squire; a page").

My selection: SECONDI
Best: INCLOSED


Round 5: A O A B U R E P N

I had BOAR, PROBE, BORANE ("a hydride of boron [...]"), and UPBEAR.

I should have adjusted that last word to find the seven of UPBORNE.  That's a little vexing.  The other seven is PARABEN ("any of a number of compounds derived from para-hydroxy-benzoic acid [...]").

The other sixes are URBANE, UPBORE, UNROBE / BOURNE (variant spelling of BOURN: "realm; domain"), APNOEA, and BAUERA (a type of shrub).

My selection: BORANE
Best: UPBORNE


Round 6: Target 402 from 50 100 5 6 4 2

Bleah, disappointing.  I went for the obvious 402 = 4*100 + 2 and left it at that.

My selection: 402 = 4*100 + 2


Round 7: M I T O L A S E T

I had OMIT, ALMOST, ATOMISE, LOAMIEST*, and TOTALISE.

The other eights are MATELOTS (MATELOT being colloquial for "a sailor"), SMALTITE (a certain mineral) / MALTIEST*, and MOTLIEST*.

My selection: TOTALISE


Round 8: Target 980 from 100 75 6 8 3 9

I almost got sidetracked with trying to make 13*75, but realising that I wanted to keep the 8 and 3 aside for the final adjustment by 5 put me on the right track to find 980 = 9*100 + 75 + 8 - 3.

My selection: 980 = 9*100 + 75 + 8 - 3


Round 9: DYE MISFIT

Yet another chosen conundrum.

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