NG 750

New game 750 is now available.

The re-run is episode 13; its rounds are here and its writeup is here.


Round 1: L R H E O F U D L

I had HOLE, was unsure about HOLER (not valid), FOULER, FLOURED, and DOLEFUL.

The other seven is HULLOED.

My selection: DOLEFUL


Round 2: M O O R F I E N W

I had ROOM, MOIRE ("a watered fabric, as of silk or wool"), INFORM, WOOFER, and FERMION (a certain subatomic particle).  I briefly toyed with MOONFIRE, but that just indicates I've been playing too much hearthstone recently.

The other seven is MOONIER.

My selection: FERMION


Round 3: Target 248 from 100 75 3 9 4 5

The target is 4*62, but making 62 without using the 4 was beyond me.  The standard method says to make this as 10*25 - 2, but that likewise proved elusive for me.  What did bring success was working up from 225; the offset is 23, which I made as 3*9 - 4.  The resulting tweaked solution is 248 = 3*(75 + 9) - 4.

My selection: 248 = 3*(75 + 9) - 4


Round 4: O S I G R T T O P

I had RIGS, GROTTOS (slightly uncertain, as GROTTOES was also plausible; it turns out that both plural forms are listed), GROTTO, and RISOTTO.  I had wanted a final E instead of the P for TORTOISE, but the next vowel would not have been an E in any case.

The other seven is PROTIST.

My selection: RISOTTO


Round 5: A E R D C B I A H

I had READ, CARED, BRACED, CARBIDE, was disappointed not to get a final R for BARRICADE, CHAIRED, AIRHEAD, and BIRCHED.  After time I noted CHARADE as another seven.

Seven is the limit, with the remaining one being BRACHIA (plural of BRACHIUM: "the arm as a whole").

My selection: CHAIRED


Round 6: Target 975 from 25 75 4 10 6 8

The target is familiar once the 75-times tables are known, being 13*75.  I used that for 975 = (25 - 8 - 4)*75, then avoided using the 25 with 975 = (10 + 4*6/8)*75.

My selection: 975 = (25 - 8 - 4)*75


Round 7: A O L A U S M N P

I had SOUL, MALUS (not valid; I was being confused by thinking of MALLEUS, the bone of the ear), and MANUALS.  A final O instead of the P would have yielded ANOMALOUS, but we've had many O's already and that is rather unlikely.

The other sevens are NAPALMS, SUNLAMP, and SOLANUM (a type of plant).

My selection: MANUALS


Round 8: Target 140 from 50 8 1 6 7 2

I started with 140 = 6*(7 + 8) + 50, then found a way to make 3*50 work with 140 = (6/2)*(50 - 1) - 7.  Finally I obtained a solution in small numbers alone via 7*20: 140 = (2*6 + 8)*7.

My selection: 140 = (2*6 + 8)*7


Round 9: MYSTIC LAB

There's not enough vowels in this one for the -LY or -ITY endings to work out, so it seemed clear that the Y would be in the middle of the word.  The CY- start is moderately common among such possibilities; I started with CYST- but was then able to adjust that to the answer of CYMBALIST.

My selection: CYMBALIST (20.3s)