NG 597

New game 597 is now available.

The re-run is episode 327; its rounds are here and its writeup is here.


Round 1: I E L S H I T A D

I had ISLE, TILES, HALIDES (certain chemical elements), DETAILS / DILATES, and LAITIES*.

The other sevens are LIAISED / DAILIES, HALITES (HALITE being another name for rock salt), LITHIAS (LITHIA being an oxide of lithium), and SEDILIA (plural of  SEDILE: "one of the seats (usually three) on the south side of the chancel in Gothic-style churches, often recessed, for the use of the officiating clergy").

But there is an eight to be had: IDEALIST.

My selection: DETAILS
Best: IDEALIST


Round 2: F G O P O E E R W

I had GOOP, POOF, OGEE ("a double curve (like the letter S) formed by the union of a concave and a convex line"), PROOF, WOOFER, and FOREGO.

WOOFER and FOREGO are the only sixes, and the best to be done.

My selection: WOOFER


Round 3: Target 990 from 50 9 3 8 3 6

Argh, I struggled with this.  I wrote down a fallback one off early: 991 = (9 + 8 + 3)*50 - 6 - 3.  Unfortunately, I then got hung up on the options of 9*110, (8 + 3)*90, or some combination thereof.  I just could not get them to work, though, and later checking confirmed that they were not manageable.

After time I finally thought to refactorise it as 6*165, and found a solution of 990 = (3*(50 + 8) - 9)*6.  And then a little more thought made me finally see the factorisation 18*55, and thus find 990 = 6*3*(50 + 8 - 3).

My selection: 991 = (9 + 8 + 3)*50 - 6 - 3
Best: 990 = 6*3*(50 + 8 - 3)


Round 4: S F T D U A C E N

I had STUD, FACTS, FACETS, and DECANTS.

DEFUNCT is not listed as a noun, so DEFUNCTS is not valid (although it is in some sources).  That makes seven the best to be done, and the others are DEFUNCT, DESCANT / SCANTED, FAUCETS, UNCASED, UNACTED, and SNAFUED.

My selection: DECANTS


Round 5: E S N R A A N D C

I had EARNS, SANDER, DANCERS, SCANNER, and SCANNED.

The other sevens are ARCADES, CANNERS, and CANARDS.

My selection: SCANNER


Round 6: Target 681 from 50 25 10 8 2 4

Again I struggled with this one, starting with the one-off 680 = 8*(50 + 25 + 10).  Then I noticed that 681 - 25 = 656 is divisible by 8.  In fact, it is 8*82, and happily that was manageable: 681 = (8*4 + 50)*(10 - 2) + 25.  Phew!

My selection: 681 = (8*4 + 50)*(10 - 2) + 25


Round 7: G R I M O T A O K

A nasty set of letters to finish with.  I had GRIM, RATIO, wondered if GOORAMI might be a variant spelling of GOURAMI (a type of fish; and no, it cannot be spelled that way), and then happily spotted the six of TROIKA.

The other six is OOMIAK (variant spelling of UMIAK: "an open Inuit boat consisting of a wooden frame covered with skins and provided with several thwarts, for transport of goods and passengers").

My selection: TROIKA


Round 8: Target 713 from 100 50 10 2 1 1

Yet another tough mix, with those small numbers being almost the worst possible combination.  Once again I wrote down a one away fallback: 714 = (50/10 + 2)*(100 + 1 + 1).  The 13 is clearly able to be made as 10 + 2 + 1, and the other 1 leaves many tweaking options for subcomponents of that.  I was happy to spot a working way and so find 713 = (10 + 2)*(50 + 1) + 100 + 1.

That turns out to be the only solution.

My selection: 713 = (10 + 2)*(50 + 1) + 100 + 1


Round 9: OGRE BAKER

I chose this conundrum, so have no time to report.

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