NG 743

New game 743 is now available.


Round 1: I C G S O N P E T

The -ING fragment was a bit difficult to use well, as the other letters do not cooperate with it as well as they sometimes do.  I had COGS, SCION, PIGEONS, SECTION, INSPECT, and POETICS.  The letters are reasonable, but I just could not find an eight.  After time I noted another seven of COGNISE ("to perceive; become conscious of; know") and confirmed that there was no such thing as PIGSTONE.

The other sevens are NOTICES, POSTING / STOPING (STOPE: "to mine or work by stopes", where STOPE as a noun is "an excavation site which is between the main drives and which is accessed by a raise, allowing ore at different levels to be mined"), SCOPING / COPINGS (COPING: "the uppermost course of a wall or like, usually made sloping so as to carry off water"), COSTING / GNOSTIC ("relating to knowledge"), CONGEST, PECTINS, POINTES, NEPOTIC (adjective derived from NEPOTISM) / ENTOPIC (an anatomical term meaning "occurring in the usual place"), COIGNES (COIGNE being a variant spelling of QUOIN: "an external solid angle of a wall or the like"), and EPIGONS (EPIGON being a variant spelling of EPIGONE: "an inferior imitator or follower of an important writer, painter, etc.").

Under the revised rules, there are two eights: PONGIEST* and PONCIEST*.

My selection: PIGEONS
Best: PONGIEST*


Round 2: A S H F S A A R E

I had FASH ("Chiefly Scottish to trouble; inconvenience; upset"), SHARES, and HARASS.

The other sixes are FASHES / SHEAFS, AFRESH, and SHEARS / RASHES.

My selection: SHARES


Round 3: Target 801 from 75 8 9 2 5 8

I started with 801 = (75 + 5)*(8 + 2) + 9 - 8, then considered the factorisation 9*89 to get another solution of 801 = (75 + 8 + 8 - 2)*9.

My selection: 801 = (75 + 8 + 8 - 2)*9


Round 4: I E T D E O S H C

I had DIET, DOTES, HOISTED, DECEITS, and TECHIES.

Seven is the limit on this mix; the others are HEISTED, DITCHES, DIOCESE, CHESTED, COEDITS / CESTOID ("(of worms) ribbonlike") / COTISED (COTISE is a heraldic term; as a verb it means "to border with cotises" while as a noun it is "a narrow diminutive of a bend"), CESTODE (any member of a certain class of worms), and DEHISCE ("to gape; burst open, as capsules of plants").

My selection: HOISTED


Round 5: A R A L O M S N D

I had AMORAL, NORMALS, SALMON, noted that if the O had been duplicated instead of the A then MOORLANDS would have been available, ROADMAN, rightly rejected ROADSMAN, and fretted over ARMLOADS but decided against it (also a correct decision, as it turns out).  After time I noted ALMONDS as another seven.

There is a full monty here -- a word which was new to me: MANDORLAS (MANDORLA: "a glory of light in an almond shape used in painting and sculpture, usually shown surrounding the figure of Christ").  The eights are MANDORLA and MADROÑAS (MADROÑA being a type of tree).

My selection: ROADMAN
Best: MANDORLAS


Round 6: Target 404 from 25 50 100 2 7 10

I struggled with this one; my first instinct was to make it as 4*101, but that did not seem feasible.  However, I noticed that I could make a 4 as 2*7 - 10, and that opened up some tweaking options.  Fortunately it worked out, yielding 404 = 2*(50*100/25 + 7) - 10.

A rather easier approach is to get to 400 as 8*50, leading to 404 = (10 - 2)*50 + 100/25.

My selection: 404 = 2*(50*100/25 + 7) - 10


Round 7: D T G W I A I E A

I had a speculative WIDGET (fortunately, the E did turn up later), TWIG, WAGED, AGATE, and ADAGE.

The other sixes are GAITED, WAITED, and WIDGIE.  And the seven that is here is AWAITED.

My selection: WIDGET
Best: AWAITED


Round 8: Target 235 from 2 4 2 9 1 3

I focused on the factorisation 5*47, eventually getting it to work with 235 = (9*(4 + 1) + 2)*(3 + 2).

My selection: 235 = (9*(4 + 1) + 2)*(3 + 2)


Round 9: MEN END COD

There's a small trap here in that it would be easy to try the incorrect COMMENDED.

My selection: CONDEMNED (4.7s)