NG 641

New game 641 is now available.


Round 1: L A G D E I O S T

I had GLAD, GLADE, GLADES, and was hoping for that T to arrive and give me GODETIAS.  It did, and I also noted GODLIEST, GODETIA, DILATES, and LIGATED.  After time I further noted LIGATES and GLOATED.

Lots of sevens here, but the other eights are ISOLATED / SODALITE (a mineral) / DIASTOLE ("Prosody the lengthening.of a syllable regularly short, especially before a pause or at the ictus").

My selection: GODETIAS


Round 2: A I X I C F S T M

I had AXIS, TAXIS, and MASTIC.

The other sixes are MISFIT and FISTIC.

My selection: MASTIC


Round 3: Target 490 from 50 1 1 5 3 6

My first instinct was to make this as 10*49, and that was manageable: 490 = (50 - 1)*5*6/3.  Then I considered the option of 7*70 to get 490 = (6 + 1)*(50 + 5*(3 + 1)).

My selection: 490 = (50 - 1)*5*6/3


Round 4: L P D M T U I F O

Gah, another ill-matched bunch.  I had PLUM, UPLIFT, and PODIUM.

Six is the limit here; the others are POTFUL, FOLIUM ("a thin leaf-like stratum or layer"), MODULI, ULTIMO ("in or of the month preceding the present"), and TOLUID (variant form of TOLUIDE, a type of chemical).

My selection: PODIUM


Round 5: A E C R C S L A O

Ah, this was much better.  I had CARE, SCARCE, ORACLES, CORACLES (CORACLE: "(in Wales and western England) a small boat, nearly or quite as broad as long, made like a basket"), was unsure about CARACOLS (valid, as CARACOL is a variant spelling of CARACOLE: "a half-turn executed by a rider on horseback"), CARACOLES, and SOLACER

The other eights are CARACOLE and ACEROLAS (ACEROLA being a type of tree similar to a cherry).  The other sevens are ACEROLA, CARACOL, CORACLE, ROSACEA, SCALARE (also known as an angelfish), COALERS, CARCASE (variant form of CARCASS), and CLOACAE (plural of CLOACA).

Incidentally, we had this identical mix way back in NG 230.

My selection: CARACOLES


Round 6: Target 423 from 25 50 6 2 10 8

I recognised that the target was 9*47, but that ended up being too difficult for me to use.  Instead I turned back to the standard method and soon found 423 = 8*50 + 25 - 2.  After time I noted an alternative of 423 = 10*(50 - 8) + 6/2.

My selection: 423 = 8*50 + 25 - 2


Round 7: R A N R O D O E W

I had ROAN, ADORN, ADORNER, was unsure about READORN (not valid), WARNED / WANDER, and WONDER.  After time I noted WOODEN as another six.

The other sevens are REDRAWN and ARROWED.  But there are two eights: NARROWED and WANDEROO ("any of several langurs, of Sri Lanka"; also a type of macaque).

My selection: ADORNER
Best: NARROWED


Round 8: Target 330 from 100 50 5 4 10 1

The necessary offsets for the standard method are 20 or 30, and I turned to the former since it was 4*5.  A quick tweak gave me 330 = 5*(50 - 4) + 100, and another gave me 330 = 4*(100 - 5) - 50.

After time I considered the option of 10*33, and managed to get that to work with 330 = (50 - 100/5 + 4 - 1)*10.

My selection: 330 = 5*(50 - 4) + 100


Round 9: LOVES RUIN

Yet another chosen conundrum.  Looking at it now I see SOUVENIR in the mix, but for solving the conundrum I think the key would be to focus on -SION (and avoid OVER-).

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