NG 592

New game 592 is now available.

The re-run is episode 322; its rounds are here and its writeup is here.

The previous re-run was episode 321; its rounds are here and its writeup is here.

Also, for those who are interested, this Friday's episode should be the one where I make my appearance.


Round 1: F O E A S R D M I

I had SAFE, FEARS, SOARED, and FORESAID.

FORESAID is the only eight.  The sevens are ADMIRES / SIDEARM / MISREAD, DEFORMS, ROADIES, SERFDOM, FEDORAS, FOAMIER, MISDOER, DEIFORM ("godlike; divine"), and RADOMES (RADOME: "a domed cover over an aerial system designed to allow the free passage of radio waves").

My selection: FORESAID


Round 2: O P N A O I S D C

I had PIANO, POISON, PANICS, and CONOIDS (CONOID: "a geometrical solid formed by the revolution of a conic section about one of its axes").

The other sevens are OPSONIC ("of, relating to, or influenced by opsonin"; opsonin is a component of blood) / POCOSIN ("a marshy wetland with deep, acidic, sandy soil [...]").  But there are two eights: SPONDAIC ("of or relating to a spondee"; a spondee is one of the metrical feet in prosody) and ISOPODAN (adjective derived from ISOPOD, a type of crustacean).

My selection: CONOIDS
Best: SPONDAIC


Round 3: Target 295 from 100 75 10 3 10 8

For the standard method the goal would be to get to 300 and then subtract 5.  For some reason (fortunately, I think, in retrospect) I overlooked making the 5 as 8 - 3 and instead saw 10/(10 - 8).  That left me a 3, which was pleasantly sufficient for the purpose: 295 = 3*100 - 10/(10 - 8).

Then I considered the options of 220 + 75 or 260 - 75.  The first led to 295 = (8 + 3)*(10 + 10) + 75, and the latter to 295 = 3*(100 + 10 + 10) - 75.

My selection: 295 = 3*100 - 10/(10 - 8)


Round 4: C E L D C A N L O

I had LACED, CANCEL, really wanted a final E for CANCELLED, CELADON (a shade of green), and CONCEAL.  After time I checked up on DECANOL, but it is not listed.

CELADON and CONCEAL are the only sevens, and the best to be done.

My selection: CELADON


Round 5: I F A S H W E T O

I had FISH, WAIFS, FIESTA, FETISH, and SWATHE.

The seven here is AWHETOS (AWHETO being a New Zealand term for the vegetable caterpillar, which despite the name is a fungus rather than a caterpillar).  The other sixes are AWHETO, AWETOS (AWETO being a variant spelling of AWHETO), FAITHS, HOSTIE, OAFISH, SOFTIE, WHITES / WITHES (WITHE: "a willow twig or osier"), WHEATS, FASTIE, TOWIES, and SAITHE (another name for the coalfish).

My selection: FETISH
Best: AWHETOS


Round 6: Target 919 from 100 25 50 10 4 1

My first thought was to use the 10 and makes this as 10*92 - 1.  That turned out to be workable, giving 919 = (100 - 4*50/25)*10 - 1.  Then I considered the standard method; the 6 can be made as 10 - 4, and with the 1 for tweaking it all comes together nicely: 919 = 10*(100 - 1) - 50 - 25 + 4.

My selection: 919 = (100 - 4*50/25)*10 - 1


Round 7: N S G O R C T I U

I had SONG, CORNS, STRONG, STORING, COURTING, COURTINGS, CRUSTING, and SCOURING.

The other eights in this mix are COURSING / SOURCING, SCOUTING, ROUSTING, and RUCTIONS.

My selection: COURTINGS


Round 8: Target 985 from 75 25 4 3 5 3

Another large target; my first thought was to make it as 13*75 + 10, but I was not able to make both the 13 and 10.  Instead I switched tacks to using the factorisation 5*197, with the goal being to make the 197 as 200 - 3.  Again, that turned out to be manageable: 985 = (4*(75 - 25) - 3)*5.

My selection: 985 = (4*(75 - 25) - 3)*5


Round 9: ARTIER FEW

I generally like to consider FIRE- as a fragment, and in this case it brought reward with FIREWATER.

My selection: FIREWATER (3.9s)