NG 747

New game 747 is now available.

The re-run is episode 10; its rounds are here and its writeup is here.


Round 1: D B A N E B A U T

I had BAND, BANNED, AUBADE ("a piece of music or a poem suited to the dawn"), was dubious about UNTABBED (not valid), happily saw UNABATED to replace it, and BANDEAU ("a strapless brassiere or top, usually made from elastic material").

UNABATED is the only eight, and BANDEAU is the only seven.  The other sixes are TABBED, BUNTED, ABATED, BUTANE, BEDAUB, TUBBED, TABUED (TABU being a variant spelling of TABOO), BATEAU ("a light boat, especially one having a flat bottom and tapering ends"), BANTED (BANT: "to reduce weight by banting"; 'banting' is a type of diet), and ADNATE ("grown fast to something; congenitally attached").

My selection: UNABATED


Round 2: O M G I N A R P D

I had MANGO, PONIARD, RAMPING, DAMPING, and POMADING (POMADE as a verb: "to anoint or dress with pomade"; POMADE as a noun: "a scented ointment, used for the scalp and hair").

POMADING is the only eight.  The other sevens are DRAPING, ADORING, ROAMING, ROMPING, RAMPION, GRIPMAN ("the man who operates the grip on a cable tram"), GORMAND (variant spelling of GOURMAND), PADRONI (plural of PADRONE: "a master, as of a vessel"), and PORANGI (a New Zealand colloquialism: "mad; crazy").

My selection: POMADING


Round 3: Target 875 from 100 75 7 8 5 7

Ah, one of my favourite numbers for this game.  I went with 875 = 5*(100 + 75), and only after that realised that it might be more obvious to go with 875 = 8*100 + 75.  Oh, well.

My selection: 875 = 5*(100 + 75)


Round 4: I Q L I E N P A S

I had LINE, ALIEN, SPANIEL, LIAISE, and was dubious about PINEALS (not valid; PINEAL is only listed as an adjective, or as part of compound nouns such as PINEAL GLAND).

Similarly, ALPINES is not valid.  That leaves the only other seven as SPLENII (plural of SPLENIUS, a muscle of the back and neck).

My selection: SPANIEL


Round 5: H L O D E E C R N

I had HOLD, HOLED / DHOLE (a type of wild dog), ECHOED, and ENCORED.  Some hours later I looked back at this mix and saw another seven of ECHELON.

The remaining sevens are COHERED / OCHERED.  It is perhaps surprising that the Macquarie does not list ENCODER.

My selection: ENCORED


Round 6: Target 543 from 75 5 8 4 9 1

This is a little amusing; originally the target was 542, which I found too difficult within time.  (Readers may wish to try getting to 542 with the above numbers before reading on.)  I was able to get to one away with 543 = (8 - 1)*75 + 9 + 5 + 4, though, and then mistakenly transcribed 543 as the intended target.  I did not catch the error until after people had played through this, so I am leaving it that way.

As for 542, there are a few options, but the one that I found was 542 = 8*75 - 9*(5 + 1) - 4.

My selection: 543 = (8 - 1)*75 + 9 + 5 + 4


Round 7: S C E O D R E I M

I had CODES, SCORED, MERCIES, and DORMICE.  Of course, DORMICES is not valid.  A bit after time I saw the eight of COMEDIES.

The other eight is MEDIOCRE.  The other sevens are MEDICOS, DECRIES, DIOCESE, MISDOER, and REMISED.

My selection: DORMICE
Best: COMEDIES


Round 8: Target 820 from 1 10 5 6 8 2

The option of 10*82 seemed a likely way to proceed, and gave me 820 = (8*10 + 2)*(6 + 5 - 1).  Then I managed to save a number with 820 = (5*8 + 1)*2*10.

My selection: 820 = (5*8 + 1)*2*10


Round 9: STEEL MESH

The -LESS ending soon leads to the answer of THEMELESS.

My selection: THEMELESS (3.3s)