NG 667

New game 667 is now available.


Round 1: U E S E C S S U C

Bleah, so much repetition.  I had CUES and SUCCESS, and I'm sure this latter would be a very common spot.  I was hoping for the final C for that, and although I did not like the repetition it proved handy.

The other seven is SUCCUSS ("to shake up; shake").  But it is possible to go one better with CUSCUSES (a CUSCUS being any of a few types of possum-like marsupials).

My selection: SUCCESS
Best: CUSCUSES


Round 2: N F A O O R T S I

I had ROAN, ROOTS, RATIONS, and ORATIONS.

It is no surprise that ORATIONS is the only eight.  The other sevens are ORATION, TORSION / NITROSO (a chemical term: "containing the group NO-"), and RATOONS (RATOON: "a sprout or shoot from the root of a plant (especially a sugar cane) after it has been cropped") / SANTOOR ("an Arab musical instrument similar to a dulcimer").

My selection: ORATIONS


Round 3: Target 712 from 100 25 3 5 8 3

With a seven hard to come by, I turned to the factorisation 8*89 and found 712 = (100 - 5 - 3 - 3)*8.  I then considered working down from 750, which is 6*125, and found the tweaking option of 712 = (3 + 3)*(100 + 25 - 5) - 8.

My selection: 712 = (100 - 5 - 3 - 3)*8


Round 4: N L K U O C E P E

I had LUNK, UNLOCK, and COUPLE.

The other sixes are LOCKUP, POUNCE, and COULEE ("a stream of lava").  There aren't any sevens, but there are two eights: OPULENCE and PENUCKLE (variant spelling of PINOCHLE, a card game).

My selection: COUPLE
Best: OPULENCE


Round 5: W H N E A C O P I

I had WHEN, WENCH, wanted a P for WEAPON and got it, and COWPEA.  That was where I stayed, but somewhat after time I spotted the seven of PANOCHE (variant spelling of PANOCHA: "a coarse grade of sugar made in Mexico").

The other sevens are APHONIC ("someone affected with aphonia", where APHONIA is loss of voice), APNOEIC (adjective derived from APNOEA: "suspension of respiration"), and CHOPINE (variant spelling of CHOPIN, which is a type of shoe) / PHOCINE ("of or relating to the seals").

My selection: WEAPON
Best: PANOCHE


Round 6: Target 241 from 100 75 25 8 9 10

Clearly one wants to make this target as 250 - 9, but I flailed around unprofitably trying to use the 8 to get to 250.  Once I moved my eye over to spot the 10 at last it was all easy: 241 = 10*25 - 9.

My selection: 241 = 10*25 - 9


Round 7: A L B E S M R O L

I had ABLE, SABLE, AMBLES, and MARBLES / RAMBLES.  I wondered about SLALOMER but decided not to risk it, which was fortunately the right decision (it does turn up in the Scrabble list that I use, however).  I also noted that there were several almost-nines with some vowel shifts, such as BALLROOMS, UMBRELLAS, and BALMORALS (a BALMORAL is a type of cap).

Since SLALOMER is not listed seven is the best to be done.  The others are SMALLER, AMBLERS, ROSELLA, MORALES, BALLERS (BALLER being listed as a variant spelling of BALLA: "Chiefly US Colloquial a very rich man"), and BROMALS (BROMAL being a certain chemical).

My selection: MARBLES


Round 8: Target 404 from 100 50 25 75 5 9

I spent far too long trying to make this as 4*100 + 4 before switching to 4*101 to get 404 = (100 + 75/(50 + 25))*(9 - 5).  Then I looked at working down from 450 and found another answer of 404 = 9*(50 - 5) - (75 + 25)/100.

My selection: 404 = (100 + 75/(50 + 25))*(9 - 5)


Round 9: GILT MANNA

The -ING was a red herring this time.  Fortunately I decided that early and switched to -ANT to find MALIGNANT.

My selection: MALIGNANT (5.1s)