NG 793

New game 793 is now available.

The re-run is episode 56; its rounds are here and its writeup is here.


Round 1: M I T S D E A K L

I had MIST, MISTED, MISTAKE, DILATES, STALKED, and MISDEALT.

The other eights are MASTLIKE and the American spelling MEDALIST.  The other sevens are MISDEAL / MISLEAD / MEDIALS (MEDIAL: "a medial linguistic element", where that second sense of "medial" is "within a word or syllable; neither initial nor final"), DETAILS, MILDEST, MISDATE, and TALKIES / LAKIEST*.

My selection: MISDEALT


Round 2: E C P R N O S A D

I had PONCE, CRONES, PARDONS, DANCERS, RESPOND, PERSONA, and PANDORES (PANDORE being a type of lute) / OPERANDS.

I thought there was something better here, but could not put my finger on it.  The word checker turned it up: ENDOCARPS (ENDOCARP: "the inner layer of a pericarp, as the stone of certain fruits").  The other eights are ENDOCARP and ENDOSARC ("the endoplasm of a protozoan (opposed to ectosarc)").  SCOREPAD is not listed.

My selection: OPERANDS
Best: ENDOCARPS


Round 3: Target 749 from 100 7 3 3 2 5

The factorisation 7*107 stood out, leading to 749 = 7*(100 + 5 + 2).

My selection: 749 = 7*(100 + 5 + 2)


Round 4: O R L S N A I B A

I had LORN, SALON, ABRASION, and SOLARIA.  After time I checked up on BASINAL (not listed) and BAILORS (valid).

The other eights are BARONIAL and ORINASAL ("Phonetics sounded with the voice issuing through the mouth and nose at the same time, as the nasalised vowels in French").  The other sevens are ALBINOS and BASILAR ("related to or situated at the base, especially the base of the skull").

My selection: ABRASION


Round 5: H R E B L N I E E

I had HERB, BRINE, REBEL, INHERE, and HEELER.  After time I noted another six of HEREIN.

The sevens that I missed are BEELINE and BERLINE ("a saloon car with a movable glass partition behind the driver's seat").  The other sixes are REHEEL, BELIER, BERLIN (another name for a BERLINE), LIERNE ("a short connecting rib used in Gothic vaulting"), and EELIER*.

My selection: INHERE
Best: BEELINE


Round 6: Target 564 from 100 50 2 9 4 9

My first thought was to start with 9*50 + 100, but that only gets us to one away.  Switching tacks, I looked at the descent from 600, and the difference of 4*9 = 36 happily lent itself to a solution: 564 = 4*(100 + 50 - 9).

My selection: 564 = 4*(100 + 50 - 9)


Round 7: C U O G O T O D S

Ergh, horrible stuff.  I had an invalid COUT (I meant to write down COOT, and only just noticed the error now), OUTGO, SCOOT, and STOOD.  After time I noted GOODS as another five, but could not better it.

Five is the limit here; the others are SCOUT, COOTS, OUTDO, DUCTS, GOUTS / GUSTO, DOCOS, and DOUCS (DOUC being a type of monkey).

My selection: STOOD


Round 8: Target 428 from 100 50 10 3 5 2

The target is 4*107, but I could not see how to make that work.  My thoughts then turned to 425 + 3, but again I could not make something of it.  Finally I considered options of 430 - 2 and 420 + 8, finding success with the latter: 428 = 10*(50 + 2) - 100 + 5 + 3.

My selection: 428 = 10*(50 + 2) - 100 + 5 + 3


Round 9: TIMED SIFT

The MIS- beginning was handy here, coupled with the -ED ending to give me MISFITTED.  I got a little distracted by -IEST first, though.

My selection: MISFITTED (6.5s)