NG 728

New game 728 is now available.

The re-run is episode 441; its rounds are here and its writeup is here.


Round 1: U I M K E R C F D

I had MIKE, MUCKIER, DUCKIER*, and CERIUM.  I did amuse myself with the idea of a FIREDUCK, but obviously not seriuosly.

That's all sevens listed, and seven is the best to be done.

My selection: MUCKIER


Round 2: A O L R G H S S E

I had GOAL, GALOSH (I recalled David mentioned that this was valid once, in what turns out to be episode 362), and GALOSHES.  After time I checked up on SHORAGES (not valid) and SHOALERS (also not valid, a bit to my surprise -- I thought I had seen SHOALER used for a type of boat).

GALOSHES is the only eight.  The other sevens are SHOALER (SHOAL in this case being an adjective), SLASHER / LASHERS / ASHLERS (ASHLER being a variant spelling of ASHLAR: "a squared block of building stone, finished or rough"), OARLESS / LASSOER, ASSHOLE, GAOLERS, GLOSSER, and LARGESS (variant spelling of LARGESSE).

My selection: GALOSHES


Round 3: Target 463 from 75 1 6 2 3 8

Applying the standard method leads us to wanting an offset of 13 from 450.  This is easy enough, and I went with the tweaked option of 463 = 6*(75 + 2) + 1.

My selection: 463 = 6*(75 + 2) + 1


Round 4: W P T B A I H I O

I had WAIT, TIBIA, PATIO, and PHOBIA.  After time I confirmed that there was no such word as BIOPATH.

The other sixes are WAPITI ("(in America) the red deer") and PITHOI (plural of PITHOS: "a large pottery jar for the storage of oil or grain").  The other fives are HABIT, BIOTA, WHIPT (archaic passed tense of WHIP), OBIIT ("he or she died"), and TOPHI (plural of TOPHUS: "a calcareous concretion formed in the soft tissue about a joint, in the pinna of the ear, etc.").

My selection: PHOBIA


Round 5: A E C R D N R T E

I had CARE, RACED, DANCER, TRANCED, and RECANTED / DECANTER.

The other eights are CANTERED / CRENATED (acceptable variant of CRENATE: "having the margin notched or scalloped so as to form rounded teeth, as a leaf"), CRATERED / TERRACED / RETRACED, and RECANTER / RECREANT ("cowardly or craven").

My selection: DECANTER


Round 6: Target 428 from 50 4 1 5 2 8

The standard method applies pretty easily here, too, whether from 400 or 450.  I went with 428 = 8*50 + 4*(5 + 2).

My selection: 428 = 8*50 + 4*(5 + 2)


Round 7: F S N I S O S A E

I had FINS, SEASONS, and SESSION.

The other seven is OSSEINS (OSSEIN: "the organic basis of bone, mainly collagen, which remains after the mineral matter has been removed by treatment with dilute acid").

My selection: SESSION


Round 8: Target 926 from 75 25 100 50 7 5

Getting to one away is relatively easy -- I opted for 925 = (7 + 5)*75 + 25 -- but I could not manage to get that final adjustment by one.

It turns out that the target is unreachable, so one off is the best to be done.

My selection: 925 = (7 + 5)*75 + 25


Round 9: GETS IGLOO

Another chosen conundrum; the answer is not GOOGLIEST.

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