NG 784

New game 784 is now available.

The re-run is episode 47; its rounds are here and its writeup is here.


Round 1: A I T C R O E G S

I had CART, ACTOR, GOITRES, CARGOES, and ESCARGOT.  After time I noted another seven of EROTICA, and observed that adding an E would give the tens of CATEGORIES / CATEGORISE.

The other eight here is AGRESTIC ("rural; rustic").  There's lots more sevens, more than I felt like checking.

Incidentally, this mix was on the show in episode 78, which will turn up again in six weeks.

My selection: ESCARGOT


Round 2: I J N O O D U P L

What a nasty mix.  I had UNDO, POUND, and LUPIN.

The Macquarie does not list UNIPOD (even though we had BIPOD just two days ago), so five is the limit.  The other fives are POLIO and JUPON ("a close-fitting tunic, usually padded and bearing heraldic arms, worn over armour").

My selection: POUND


Round 3: Target 229 from 75 25 100 8 1 5

The offset of 4 comes from 5 - 1, so the goal is to get to 225 with the rest.  That is possible, and gave me 229 = 8*25 + 100 - 75 + 5 - 1.

There's a few other solutions; the simplest is an option I should have seen: 229 = (8 - 5)*75 + 100/25.

My selection: 229 = 8*25 + 100 - 75 + 5 - 1


Round 4: I N R T E A G D A

I had INTER, RETAIN, TEARING, and TREADING.  As usual, the -ING mix plays better with only three vowels; the next consonant would have been an H, allowing THREADING.

The other eights are DRAINAGE / GARDENIA, GRADIENT, AERATING, and REDATING.  But there is a nine afte all: TRAGEDIAN ("a writer of tragedy").

My selection: TREADING
Best: TRAGEDIAN


Round 5: H U C M N R E O E

I had MUCH, MUNCH, was unsure about MUNCHER (valid), CERUMEN ("a yellowish waxlike secretion from certain glands in the auditory canal, acting as a lubricant and arresting the entrance of dusts, insects, etc.; earwax"), and rightly rejected ENCHROME.

Seven is the limit; the other is MOUCHER* (MOUCH being listed as a variant spelling of MOOCH, but only MOOCHER is given).

My selection: CERUMEN


Round 6: Target 609 from 75 50 2 1 9 6

Putting aside the offset of 9, the rest is easy enough: 609 = 2*6*50 + 9.  I also noted an alternative of 609 = (6 + 2)*75 + 9.

My selection: 609 = 2*6*50 + 9


Round 7: I K D A N A O T W

A mix almost as bad as round 2; I had DANK and KATION (variant spelling of CATION).

Six is the limit here; the others are DAIKON and ATWAIN ("Archaic in twain; in two; asunder").

My selection: KATION


Round 8: Target 827 from 50 75 3 9 4 5

I was tempted by both the options of 11*75 + 2 and 900 + 3*9, but was not able to get them to work.  Within time the best I could manage was one away with 826 = 9*75 + 3*50 + 5 - 4.

Quite a while after time I considered the alternative of 875 - 48, getting there with a tweak of 827 = 9*(75 - 5) + 4*50 - 3.

My selection: 826 = 9*75 + 3*50 + 5 - 4  [1 off]
Best: 827 = 9*(75 - 5) + 4*50 - 3


Round 9: ARMY SCOUT

The Y often goes at the end, with the most common endings being -LY, -ITY, or -ARY.  Only the latter was an option here, leading to the answer of CUSTOMARY.

My selection: CUSTOMARY (6.0s)