NG 754

New game 754 is now available.

The re-run is episode 17; its rounds are here and its writeup is here.


Round 1: J U O D S B I T A

I had JUDO, JOBS, STUDIO, was dubious about JUDOIST (not valid; the appropriate term is JUDOKA), AUDITS, ADJUST, and OUTBIDS.

The other seven is OUTSAID.

My selection: OUTBIDS


Round 2: D I U O N L Y S L

I had UNDO, DOILY, SILLY, rightly rejected UNSILLY, SOUNDLY, and again rightly rejected UNSOLIDLY (it is in the Scrabble list, though).  After time I realised that I should write down SOLIDLY as another seven.

The other seven is LOUSILY.

My selection: SOUNDLY


Round 3: Target 327 from 75 50 8 5 4 7

I started with the standard method to get 327 = 5*75 - 50 + 8/4, then spotted an alternative of 327 = 4*(75 + 5) + 7.

My selection: 327 = 5*75 - 50 + 8/4


Round 4: I E C N A S T P O

This was a familiar mix, having turned up at least twice before on the show (in episode 314 and episode 439).  Good letters, but there's no nine available.  I had NICE, CANES, INSECT, CANOPIES, CANOEIST, CAPTIONS, and CAPSTONE.

The other eights are ECTOPIAS (ECTOPIA: "the morbid displacement of a bodily organ or part"), SAPONITE (a mineral), ACONITES (ACONITE being one of a few types of plant), and PONCIEST*.

My selection: CAPTIONS


Round 5: L I O A D K S G T

I had LOAD, SOLID, GLOATS, was unsure about DIGLOTS (valid; a DIGLOT is someone who is bilingual), and ODALISK (variant spelling of ODALISQUE ("a female slave or concubine in a harem").

The other seven is DIALOGS (DIALOG being allowed as a computing term).

My selection: ODALISK


Round 6: Target 257 from 25 100 2 4 6 8

Getting to one away is easy enough, but the dearth of odd numbers makes things awkward.  Once I focused on the difficulty caused by that lack, I realised that I should aim for either 232 + 25 or 282 - 25.  The first worked out satisfactorily, giving me 257 = 2*100 + 4*8 + 25.

Then I turned my thoughts to another way of handling such a situation, and tried for 514/2.  I was fortuitously able to make that work with 257 = (4*(100 + 25) + 6 + 8)/2.

My selection: 257 = 2*100 + 4*8 + 25


Round 7: C N I E Z R A M N

I had NICE, NICER, MARINE, CANNIER, and CARMINE.

Those are the only sevens, and the best to be done.

My selection: CARMINE


Round 8: Target 815 from 9 10 3 2 2 10

I flailed around for a bit with this one; getting to 800 and a bit was not too hard, but getting sufficiently close proved challenging.  Then I noticed the option of 8*102 = 816, getting 816 = (9 + 2 - 3)*(10*10 + 2).

It turns out that the target is unreachable.  There are only two other ways to get to one off: 816 = ((2*10 + 10)*9 + 2)*3 and 814 = (3*9 + 10)*(2*10 + 2).

My selection: 816 = (9 + 2 - 3)*(10*10 + 2)


Round 9: LONG ICONS

As is becoming standard, the -ING leads to an answer.

My selection: CONSOLING