NG 616

New game 616 is now available.

The re-run is episode 346; its rounds are here and its writeup is here.


Round 1: I H M I F Z E B S

What a horrible mix to start with!  I had SIZE and FISH.  I did spot other fours (not written down), but could not find anything longer.  Ergh.  After time I checked up on HEMIS, but as expected it is not valid.

There are some fives, though: BIZES (plural of BIZ) and MIHIS (MIHI: "a Maori formal greeting") / IMSHI (colloquial for "to go away", apparently picked up during World War I from Egyptian Arabic and absorbed into the Australian lexicon).

My selection: SIZE
Best: MIHIS


Round 2: P M R A A L C O M

Bleah, another unpromising mix.  I had PRAM, wondered about PARMA as an abbreviation for PARMIGIANA (it is not listed as such, alas), CLAMP, and AMORAL.  After time I noted another six of PALMAR ("relating to the palm of the hand, or to the corresponding part of the forefoot of an animal").

The other sixes are CARPAL, CLAMOR, and PARAMO ("a high plateau region in tropical South America, especially one bare of trees").  But there are also two sevens: CRAPOLA ("Colloquial nonsense; rubbish") / CAPORAL ("a kind of tobacco").

My selection: AMORAL
Best: CRAPOLA


Round 3: Target 908 from 25 75 2 5 4 10

Getting to 900 is easy enough, and I took the circuitous route to the remaining 8 at first: 908 = (5 + 4)*(75 + 25 + 2) - 10.  Then I untweaked it to get 908 = (5 + 4)*(75 + 25) + 10 - 2.  Then I switched tactics, trying to tweak with the 2*4, and found 908 = 4*(75*(25 + 5)/10 + 2).

My selection: 908 = (5 + 4)*(75 + 25 + 2) - 10


Round 4: W E R E C R O N T

I had WERE, CREW, was dubious about CREWER (not valid), CORNER, CENTRE, an uncertain CROWNER (valid), a likewise uncertain CROWNET (not valid, although it is Scrabble-legal), and ERECTOR.

Seven is the limit here, with the other one being REWROTE.

My selection: ERECTOR


Round 5: A O I A S C G D T

I had SAGO, COAST, amused myself with CATDOGS, and ADAGIOS.  After time I noted COATIS as another six, and then DACOITS as another seven.

The remaining seven to be found here is CADAGIS (CADAGI being a type of tree).

My selection: ADAGIOS


Round 6: Target 249 from 25 8 6 9 8 6

My first instinct was to attempt this as 10*25 - 1, but it proved surprisingly difficult (to me) to make that approach work.  So I changed it up to make the target as 9*25 + 24 and found 249 = 9*25 + 6*8/(8 - 6).  I then considered the alternative of 240 + 9, and found a solution in small numbers alone: 249 = (6*8 - 8)*6 + 9.

My selection: 249 = (6*8 - 8)*6 + 9


Round 7: T E I D I G T I C

I had DIET, DIGIT, and an uncertain CITIED.  If only one of those I's had been an E instead then DIEGETIC would have been available.  I chanced CITIED, and fortunately it was listed.

The other possible six here is GITTED (GIT: "Colloquial to go away").  It does not have an explicit past tense listed, though, so the doubling of the T is on shaky ground.  Aside from that, fives are the best remaining: EDICT / CITED / TICED (TICE: "Croquet to play (a ball) with the intention of enticing the opponent to play at it and miss").

My selection: CITIED


Round 8: Target 697 from 75 4 9 7 1 7

The offset for the standard method is 22, and so I started with 697 = 9*75 + 4*7 - 7 + 1.  That is also an offset of 53, which was surprisingly amenable, and so I also had 697 = (9 + 1)*75 - 7*7 - 4.  Finally I considered the option of 693 + 4, since 693 = 7*9*11 is divisible by both 9 and 7.  I managed to get that to work with 697 = (75 + 1 + 7/7)*9 + 4.

My selection: 697 = 9*75 + 4*7 - 7 + 1


Round 9: PINT IN ICE

I chose this conundrum explicitly after being presented with something similar.

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