NG 611

New game 611 is now available.

The re-run is episode 341 (hi, Sam!).  Its rounds are here, and its writeup is here.


Round 1: I R C L S K E E U

I had LICKS, SLICKER / LICKERS, RECLUSE, and LUCKIER.

Seven is the best to be done, with the others being LEISURE, SULKIER, and SUCKIER*.

My selection: RECLUSE


Round 2: E F N R I S L E B

I had FERN, FINER, INFERS, a dubious RELINES (not valid), REFINES, and FEBRILE ("relating to or marked by fever; feverish").

There are two eights to be had here: BELFRIES and BERLINES (BERLINE: "a saloon car with a movable glass partition behind the driver's seat").  The other sevens are BERLINE, BERLINS (BERLIN also being another name for a BERLINE), BELIEFS, FRISBEE, RELIEFS / REFILES, FELINES, BELIERS, and LIERNES (LIERNE: "a short connecting rib used in Gothic vaulting").

My selection: REFINES
Best: BELFRIES


Round 3: Target 798 from 50 75 9 7 9 8

Getting to 800 was easy enough, but it used up the 2 that was needed for the offset.  Switching tacks, I was able to get to one off with 799 = (9 + 7)*50 - (9 - 8), and that was the best that I could do within time.

A bit after time I found the factorisation 7*114, which is also 14*57.  With a little experimentation the latter observation led me to the solution 798 = (50 + 7)*(9*9 - 75 + 8), and then a little later I found an alternative of 798 = (9*9 - 50 + 8 + 75)*7.

My selection: 799 = (9 + 7)*50 - (9 - 8)
Best: 798 = (50 + 7)*(9*9 - 75 + 6)


Round 4: M N E H O S T A E

I had HOME, HOMES, STAMEN, METHANES, METHANE, and ANTHEMS.

METHANES is the only eight.  The other sevens are ETHANES, MEANEST, and the unusual plural form HETMANS (HETMAN: "a Cossack chief").

My selection: METHANES


Round 5: D R E B U A T S R

I had BRED, TRADE, STARRED, DAUBERS, BUSTARD, and wondered a little about SUBTRADER (not valid).

Seven is the limit on this mix.  The others are BARTERS, TRADERS / DARTERS / RETARDS, BURSTER, the archaic past tense BURSTED, SABREUR ("a fencer [...] who uses a sabre"), and DURBARS (DURBAR: "(in India before 1947) the court of an Indian ruler").

My selection: STARRED


Round 6: Target 606 from 75 50 1 8 10 3

The standard method works handily here; I started with 606 = 8*75 + 10 - 3 - 1 and then noted the alternative of 606 = 8*75 + 50/10 + 1.

My selection: 606 = 8*75 + 10 - 3 - 1


Round 7: O N G A C E O W D

I had CONGA, COWAGE (a type of plant), and DECAGON.

The other seven is WAGONED.  The other sixes are WOODEN, GOWNED, DEACON / CANOED / ACNODE ("Geometry a node [...] at which the tangents to two curves are imaginary and distinct"), GNAWED, GODOWN ("(in India and eastern Asia) a warehouse"), and WANDOO (a type of tree).

My selection: DECAGON


Round 8: Target 863 from 25 75 50 2 3 8

Applying the standard method worked out, with a little tweaking: 863 = 8*(75 + 25 + 2) + 50 - 3.

My selection: 863 = 8*(75 + 25 + 2) + 50 - 3


Round 9: ICY FUR AID

A three-word conundrum this time, as there was no good split into two words.  The -ARY fragment proved its worth handily.

My selection: FIDUCIARY (1.3s)