NG 575

New game 575 is now available.  (I had the incorrect link earlier -- apologies; it should be fixed now.  The writeup will be delayed until tomorrow, however.)

The re-run is episode 303; its rounds are here, and its writeup is here.


Round 1: W I N E S C O S F

I had WINE, SINEW, NOISES, and COSINES.

The other sevens are CONFESS and CESSION ("the act of ceding, as by treaty") / OSCINES (OSCINE being a type of bird also called a songbird).

My selection: COSINES


Round 2: P H B E C U D A M

I had CUBE, CUBED, ACHED, and CHAMPED.

The other seven is DEBAUCH.  The sixes are BUMPED, HUMPED, CAMPED / DECAMP, ABDUCE (variation of ABDUCT in the sense of "Physiology to draw away from the original position"), and BACHED (BACH as a verb being colloquial for "to keep house alone or with a companion when neither is accustomed to housekeeping").

My selection: CHAMPED


Round 3: Target 794 from 75 7 8 7 6 3

I flailed around for a bit, but was not able to get closer than one off with 795 = (7 + 3)*(75 + 6) - 8 - 7.  After time I thought I had something better, but it turned out to also be one off: 795 = (75 + 6*7)*7 - 3*8.

There is only one solution to this target: 794 = (75 + 7)*(6 + 3) + 8*7.

My selection: 795 = (7 + 3)*(75 + 6) - 8 - 7  [1 off]
Best: 794 = (75 + 7)*(6 + 3) + 8*7


Round 4: E D I T L H U R C

I had TIDE, TILED, HURTLED, DITCHER, and CRUDITÉ.

The is an eight to be had here: ELDRITCH.  Not easy to see, but very pleasing if one does.  The other sevens are LURCHED, DUCTILE, CHILDER (an archaic variant of CHILDREN), DILUTER, LUTHIER ("a maker of lutes [...]"), and UTRICLE ("a small sac or bag-like body, as an air-filled cavity in a seaweed").

My selection: HURTLED
Best: ELDRITCH


Round 5: R A O I S T N M E

I had SOAR, ROAST, RATIONS, and ATOMISER / AMORTISE.  After time I added NOTARISE / NOTARIES as other eights.

We've had this mix a few times before; there's no full monty to be had here, although some other sources would allow MATRONISE.  The other eights are MINARETS / RAIMENTS, SEÑORITA, STOREMAN / ONSTREAM, ROMANISE / ROMAINES / MORAINES, and MASONITE.

My selection: AMORTISE


Round 6: Target 586 from 75 50 6 3 4 10

My first thought was to make this as 600 - 14, so I put the 10 and 4 aside to make the 14 and looked to see if I could make the 600 with the rest of the numbers.  A little experimentation gave me one solution of 586 = 6*75 + 3*50 - 10 - 4.  Then I considered the alternative of 590 - 4 and found the shorter 586 = (50 + 6 + 3)*10 - 4.

My selection: 586 = 6*75 + 3*50 - 10 - 4


Round 7: E B E S O E R L J

I had BEES, OBESE, and REBELS.

The other sixes are RESOLE, BOREES (BOREE being a type of wattle tree) and ROBLES (ROBLE being any of several types of oak tree).

My selection: REBELS


Round 8: Target 964 from 75 8 4 9 2 2

Another tough numbers mix; I switched back and forth between 13*75 and 12*75 but could not turn either into a solution.  The best I could do within time was get to one away with 965 = (9 + 4)*75 - 8 - 2.  I finally saw a solution just a little after time, based on the idea of 9*107 + 1.  I recognised that 107 was 75 + 32, and thus found 964 = 9*(75 + 4*8) + 2/2.

That turns out to be the only solution.

My selection: 965 = (9 + 4)*75 - 8 - 2  [1 off]
Best: 964 = 9*(75 + 4*8) + 2/2


Round 9: SOT NOISES

I got sidetracked for a bit by the -TION and -SION fragments, and it took me a while to get off that and onto -NESS instead.  Once I did so, SOOTINESS was a reasonably easy find.

My selection: SOOTINESS (7.5s)