NG 624

New game 624 is now available (apologies for the delay).

The re-run is episode 354; its rounds are here and its writeup is here.


Round 1: T A D F O R N U L

I had DAFT, DRAFT, AROUND, ROTUNDA, and wondered about TUNDRAL (not valid).  I also observed in passing that the letters could make ROUND and FLAT.

The other sevens are NODULAR, OUTLAND, FRONTAL, and FOULARD (a type of silk).

My selection: ROTUNDA


Round 2: B R H S E A I E S

I had HERBS, BASHER, BRAISE, BRASSIE (a type of golf club) / BRAISES, and BEARISH.

The Macquarie does list HEBRAISE ("to make Hebrew"), but only capitalised.  Thus HEBRAISES is not a full monty here.  That leaves seven as the best to be done, with the others being HEARSE, HEIRESS, and BASHERS / BRASHES (BRASH: "loose fragments of rock").

My selection: BRAISES


Round 3: Target 151 from 100 25 3 5 5 2

Lots of ways to apply the standard method here.  I started with 151 = 100 + 2*25 + 5/5, then simplified it slightly (to my eye, anyway) to 151 = 2*3*25 + 5/5.  Finally, I realised that I could multiply the last approach by 5 to get a kitchen sink solution that appealed to me: 151 = (2*3*(100 + 25) + 5)/5.

My selection: 151 = (2*3*(100 + 25) + 5)/5


Round 4: C O N R U I H A P

I had CORN, CORNU ("a horn-like process of bone"), CURIO, ANCHOR, and ORPHAN.

The seven here is APHONIC ("someone affected with aphonia", where aphonia is loss of voice).  The other sixes are CORNUA (plural of CORNU), PHONIC, AIRCON, PAUNCH, ARCHON ("a higher magistrate in ancient Athens") / RANCHO, RAUNCH, UNHAIR, URCHIN, CHOPIN (a type of shoe), INARCH, RUPIAH, URANIC (synonymous with URANIAN: "of or relating to the heavens; celestial"), ORPHIC ("mystic; oracular"), and PICARO (variant form of PICAROON: "a rogue, thief, or brigand").

My selection: ANCHOR
Best: APHONIC


Round 5: O I E N A C K S N

I had AEON, OCEAN, OCEANS, and CANONISE.

CANONISE is the only eight.  The sevens are CANINES, SONANCE (an obsolete term for "a sound; a tune") / ANCONES (plural of ANCON: "Architecture any projection, as a console, suppoting a cornice or the like"), ACINOSE ("consisting of acini", which are (in one definition) the small parts of a compound fruit like a blackberry or mulberry), and CONNIES (CONNIE: "Chiefly Victoria Colloquial a tram conductor") / CONINES (CONINE being a variant spelling of CONIINE, an alkaloid that is the deadly part of hemlock).

My selection: CANONISE


Round 6: Target 403 from 50 25 10 8 7 9

The standard method comes through handily once more, yielding 403 = 8*50 + 10 - 7.  After time I noted an alternative of 403 = 10*(50 - 9) - 7.

My selection: 403 = 8*50 + 10 - 7


Round 7: E G I T M D E B E

I had TIME, TIMED, and MIDGET, rightly rejecting BETIMED along the way.  Just a little later, but too late by my reckoning, I saw BEDTIME as the safe anagram of it.  Bother!

BEDTIME is the only seven.  The other sixes are BETIME, ITEMED, and TEEMED.

My selection: MIDGET
Best: BEDTIME


Round 8: Target 427 from 50 100 75 4 3 10

I struggled for a bit with this, but as I was writing down a potential fallback of 428 (4*100 + 75 - 50 + 3) I realised that a tweak would get me to an answer: 427 = 4*(100 + 3) + 75 - 50 - 10.  Phew!

My selection: 427 = 4*(100 + 3) + 75 - 50 - 10


Round 9: USE HANDLE

Useful fragments here of UN- and -ED, which go well together.  They did in this case, anyway, yielding UNLEASHED.

My selection: UNLEASHED (7.4s)