NG 599

New game 599 is now available.

The re-run is episode 329; its rounds are here and its writeup is here.


Round 1: A M C D G S I E D

I had SCAM, MAGICS, and CADDIES.  I briefly wondered about MISCAGED, but it was too far-fetched.  After time I noted DIADEMS as another seven.

CADDIES and DIADEMS are the only sevens, and the best to be done.  Some other sources would have allowed DISCAGED (freed from a cage), though.

My selection: CADDIES


Round 2: N C S A T O I O R

I had SCAN, CANTS, CANTOS, ACTIONS, and CARTOONS.

The other eights are ORATIONS, OSTRACON ("a pottery shard used in antiquity as a means of casting a vote"), and CANTORIS ("the part of a cathedral choir on the north or precentor's side").  Irritatingly, the Macquarie lists CROSTINI, in a clearly plural sense, but fails to give the singular form CROSTINO.

There is a full monty to be had here!  It is CONSORTIA, one plural form of CONSORTIUM.

My selection: CARTOONS
Best: CONSORTIA


Round 3: Target 278 from 75 50 7 2 4 3

Applying the standard method soon led to 278 = 4*50 + 75 + 3.  Then I switched to working down from 300 and tweaked my way to another solution of 278 = 4*(75 - 7) + 2*3.  Finally I worked up from 250 with 278 = (3 + 2)*50 + 4*7.

My selection: 278 = 4*50 + 75 + 3


Round 4: C M E S O A K N A

I had COMES, CAMEOS, and CAEOMAS (one plural form of CAEOMA: "(in fungi) an aecium in which the spores are formed in chains and not enclosed in a peridium").

The other seven to be had is ASKANCE.  The other sixes are CAEOMA, CANOES / OCEANS, SEAMAN, and MASCON ("any of several local concentrations of mass below the surface of the moon").

My selection: CAEOMAS


Round 5: D I W E R N U M R

I had WIDE, WIDER, REWIND, and recalled from past checking that UNWIRED was not valid.  A little after time I spotted the seven of MURRINE (variant spelling of MURRHINE: "relating to a stone or stone-like substance of Roman times used for wine cups and other vessels").

MURRINE appears to be the only seven.  The other sixes are MURDER, MINDER / REMIND, RUINED, RUINER, WINDER, INURED, and MURINE (a rodent of the family that includes mice and rats).

My selection: REWIND
Best: MURRINE


Round 6: Target 226 from 75 50 9 3 8 5

The standard method is clearly the way to go, producing 226 = 3*75 + 9 - 8 in short order.  I also noted an alternative of 226 = 5*50 - 3*8.

My selection: 226 = 5*50 - 3*8


Round 7: T B F L S O F E E

Not exactly promising letters!  I had LOFTS and TOFFEES.

TOFFEES is the only seven.  The sixes are FLEETS and OFFSET.  BETELS is not valid, as BETEL is only listed as part of compound nouns such as BETEL NUT.

My selection: TOFFEES


Round 8: Target 798 from 75 25 3 1 9 4

I had trouble with this one, writing down a fallback 797 = (9 - 1)*(75 + 25) - 3 and being unable to improve it within time.  Late in the piece I did spot a route to 798, but I lost mental track of it and could not recover.  After time I managed to reconstruct it: 798 = (4*75 - 25 - 9)*3.

My selection: 797 = (9 - 1)*(75 + 25) - 3  [1 off]
Best: 798 = (4*75 - 25 - 9)*3


Round 9: SMART NODS

A two-vowel conundrum is often a compound word, and one wants to group consonants together.  It still took me a while to look at STORM, and then the answer of SANDSTORM was a small adjustment.

My selection: SANDSTORM (13.8s)