NG 627

New game 627 is now available.

The re-run is episode 357; its rounds are here and its writeup is here.


Round 1: O I A R T G O J L

Bleah, not a very friendly mix to start off.  I had RATIO and GLORIA ("a halo, nimbus, or aureole, or an ornament in imitation of one").

Six is the limit; the others are TAILOR / RIALTO, JAILOR, and GALOOT.

My selection: GLORIA


Round 2: P C F E F O L A H

I had COPE, PLACE, and EPOCH.

So close... the seven here is EPOCHAL.  The sixes are CHAPEL / PLEACH ("to plash or interweave (growing branches, vines, etc.), as for a hedge or arbour") and COFFLE ("a train of people or animals, especially of slaves, fastened together").

My selection: EPOCH
Best: EPOCHAL


Round 3: Target 299 from 75 25 50 9 2 7

The combination of the 7 and the number ending in 99 reminded me that 399 is divisible by 7.  In fact, 7*57 = 399, and that is just 100 away from the target.  Such thoughts led directly to 299 = 7*(50 + 9 - 2) - 75 - 25.

Deconstructing that solution, we can think of it as 250 + 7*7, with a bit of tweaking.  Aproaching it with that in mind would enable us to save a number by making the 250 a different way: 299 = 7*(25 + 9 - 2) + 75.

There are many other solutions, but my favourite uses the factorisation 13*23 to get 299 = (25 - 2)*(7*9 - 50).

My selection: 299 = 7*(50 + 9 - 2) - 75 - 25


Round 4: I R D O S R E D U

I had RODS, ORDERS, RUDDIER, and RUDDERS.

The eight to be had here is DISORDER.  The other sevens are RIDDERS, DURRIES (plural of DURRY, colloquial for a cigarette), and possibly ORDURES (ORDURE: "filth; dung; excrement").

My selection: RUDDERS
Best: DISORDER


Round 5: I E D S B K H S E

I had SIDE, BIDES, was tempted by BIKESHEDS but ultimately (and correctly) rejected it, and DISHES.

The seven here is BESIDES.  The other sixes are BESIDE, KISSED, HISSED, SHEIKS / KISHES (KISH: "a variety of graphite which sometimes forms on the surface of a molten bath of iron which has a high carbon content") / KESHIS (KESHI: "a small Tahitian cultured pearl created after the oyster rejects the grafted nucleus and consequently being irregular in shape"), SEISED (SEISE: "to put in seisin or legal possession of") / DIESES (plural of DIESIS: "Music the difference between a major and a minor semitone"), and ESKIES*.

My selection: DISHES
Best: BESIDES


Round 6: Target 280 from 75 2 9 8 9 10

I got hung up on the factorisation 4*70 for a while, and just could not make that work.  It served for a one away, though, with 281 = 75*8/2 - 10 - 9.  Fortunately, I took the mental step back to find an alternative option, and considered 10*28.  Once that was thought of, it was a short step to 280 = (9 + 9 + 8 + 2)*10.

My selection: 280 = (9 + 9 + 8 + 2)*10


Round 7: D T R N U I E I M

I had RUNT, RUIN, RUINED, UNTIMED, TERMINI, and INTRUDE.

The eights available here are MUTINIED, RUDIMENT, UNTIDIER, and DIRIMENT ("that renders absolutely void; nullifying").  The other sevens are UNTRIED / TURDINE ("belonging or related to the thrushes [...]"), NITRIDE, INTERIM, INDITER (INDITE being a variant spelling of INDICT), and URIDINE ("a nucleotide of uracil and ribose, present in all living cells [...]").

My selection: UNTIMED
Best: MUTINIED


Round 8: Target 770 from 50 4 6 10 8 7

The small factors are obvious, with the challenge being to make an 11.  I found my way there, and thus to the solution 770 = 7*10*(50 - 6)/4.

My selection: 770 = 7*10*(50 - 6)/4


Round 9: MESH LIBEL

The -ISH fragment is useful here, and led reasonably soon to the answer of EMBELLISH.

My selection: EMBELLISH (1.5s)