NG 593

New game 593 is now available.

The re-run is episode 323; its rounds are here and its writeup is here.


Round 1: C A S F R I O C N

I had SCARF and AIRCONS.  A T instead of one of those C's would have allowed FRACTIONS.  After time I noted CASINO as a six.

The other seven is COCAINS (COCAIN being a variant spelling of COCAINE).

My selection: AIRCONS


Round 2: M S A T I O T A L

I had MAST, MOIST, STOMATA (plural of STOMA), wondered about MISTOTAL (not valid) / TOTALISM (not valid either), SOMITAL (adjective derived from SOMITE: "any of the longitudinal series of segments or parts into which the body of certain animals is divided"), and was saved from having to angst about those other eights by realising that STOMATAL ("having stomata") was there.

STOMATAL appears to be the only eight.  The other sevens are ATOMIST, TATAMIS (TATAMI being a type of traditional Japanese mat), and SOLATIA (plural of SOLATIUM: "a sum of money given as compensation, often over and above legal entitlement").

My selection: STOMATAL


Round 3: Target 167 from 75 4 6 5 5 8

Applying the standard method had me wanting to make this as 175 - 8.  Of course, 175 is not divisible by 75, but there were ways around that.  In this case, I went with 167 = 4*5*5 + 75 - 8.  Then I considered what would be involved in solving this with only small numbers.  Since the only odd numbers are the pair of 5's, it was quite likely the target would need to be made as 172 - 5 or 162 + 5.  The latter has more useful small factors, and in particular 6*27 = 162.  That turned out to be workable, giving me 167 = (4*8 - 5)*6 + 5.

My selection: 167 = (4*8 - 5)*6 + 5


Round 4: U I W H S K E E E

Finally the E's make an appearance, and then, like buses, three show up at once.  I must admit I would have preferred some nicer consonants to go with them!  (And more consonants, for that matter.)  Anyway, I had WISH, WHISK, and SHEIK.

Five turns out to be the best to be done, with the others being HIKES and WEEKS.

My selection: WHISK


Round 5: P R U G A T I C I

I had TRAP, TRAGIC, and spotted PIRATIC but recalled from past experience that it's not in the Macquarie.

Six is the limit; the others are GUITAR, IATRIC ("relating to a physician or to medicine"), and PITURI ("a narcotic preparation made from the leaves and twigs of the Australian shrub Duboisia hopwoodii, traditionally used as a drug by Aboriginal people; an important trade item in traditional Aboriginal culture").

My selection: TRAGIC


Round 6: Target 125 from 25 50 100 4 1 5

Multiple of 25 are rarely too much trouble.  I wrote down the obvious 125 = 100 + 25 and 125 = 5*25 and left it at that.

My selection: 125 = 5*25


Round 7: D E Y A U O M L T

I had DOME and MODULATE.

MODULATE is the only eight, and MOULTED is the only seven (the Macquarie does not list MUTEDLY).  There's various sixes, of which I'll just mention OUTLAY, MELODY, AMULET, and TAMELY.

My selection: MODULATE


Round 8: Target 493 from 100 25 5 2 4 7

Another easy one, with the standard method applying: 493 = 5*100 - 7.

My selection: 493 = 5*100 - 7


Round 9: IRE ITSELF

I chose this conundrum, and it was probably more difficult than I was thinking at the time.

My selection: [N/A -- chosen]
Best: FERTILISE