NG 795

New game 795 is now available.

The re-run is episode 58; its rounds are here and its writeup is here.


Round 1: E S C O I M N F A

I had ICES, COMES, COSINE, ENCOMIA, FANCIES / FIANCÉS, MASONIC, CINEMAS, and FASCINE ("a long bundle of sticks bound together [...]").  After time I added FAMINES and MANIOCS.

Seven turns out to be the best to be done; the others are INCOMES, AMNESIC, ACINOSE ("consisting of acini", which are (in one definition) the small parts of a compound fruit like a blackberry or mulberry), ANOMIES (ANOMIE: "the state of alienation experienced as a result of the absence of social norms or values"), and CAMIONS (CAMION: "a strongly built truck or cart for carrying heaving loads").

My selection: ENCOMIA


Round 2: P E I A G H O K R

I had PAGE, PHAGE ("a virus for which the natural host is a bacterial cell"), knew from past checking that HOAGIE is not listed, GROPE, POKER, and GRAPH.  After time I checked up on PORKIE, finding that it was not valid (as expected).

The sixes that I missed were GOPHER, POKIER, HOKIER*, and OAKIER*.  But there is even a seven to be had here: GARPIKE, a type of fish.

My selection: POKER
Best: GARPIKE


Round 3: Target 725 from 100 75 10 8 1 7

A multiple of 25 is usually pretty easy, and such is the case here.  I noted two options: 725 = 8*100 - 75 and 725 = (10 + 1)*75 - 100.

My selection: 725 = 8*100 - 75


Round 4: E I P H N T C S U

I had PINE, THINE, PITCHES, PINCHES, and PUNCHES.  Note that if the final vowel had been an O then PHONETICS would have been available.

However, the U also produces a nine: PUNCHIEST.  Gah, I should have seen that.  There are no eights, and the other sevens are PUNIEST / PUNTIES (plural of PUNTY: "an iron rod used in glassmaking for handling the hot glass"), INSPECT / PECTINS, ETHNICS / STHENIC ("sturdy; heavily and strongly built"), ECHINUS (a kind of sea urchin), and SPHENIC ("wedge-shaped").

My selection: PITCHES
Best: PUNCHIEST


Round 5: B X C N D A E O A

I had BAND, DANCE, BEACON, DEACON, and amused myself with the obviously invalid BACONED and BACONADE (when life gives you bacon...).

Six is, indeed, the best to be done.  The others are COAXED and CANOED / ACNODE ("Geometry a node [...] at which the tangents to two curves are imaginary and distinct").

My selection: BEACON


Round 6: Target 225 from 50 25 4 9 2 10

Another multiple of 25, and even easier than the previous one.  I noted down 225 = 9*25 and left it at that.

My selection: 225 = 9*25


Round 7: R L R I O L E B S

This is a round that highlights the Macquarie's inconsistency with listing plural forms.  I had ROIL, ROLLER, BROILER, BROILERS, and BROLLIES* (first case in point, as BROLLY is listed but the plural form is not given as would be required for the show).

That is all the eights listed.  The other sevens are BOILERS / LIBEROS (LIBERO: "Volleyball a defensive player restricted to the back row, often the smallest player and the best at passing"), ROLLERS, BORRIES (BORRIE: "Chiefly Victoria Colloquial a piece of excrement"), and LORRIES* (as I've mentioned many times before, LORRY is listed but not the plural form).

It was strange to me that BILLER is not in the Macquarie, so BILLERS is not valid.

My selection: BROILERS


Round 8: Target 829 from 75 3 8 2 10 5

The target is near 11*75, and that observation led me to the solution 829 = (8 + 3)*75 + 2*10/5.  Then I noted an alternative solution of 829 = 10*(75 + 8) - (3 - 2).

My selection: 829 = (8 + 3)*75 + 2*10/5


Round 9: TRIED FIRE

The -ED ending was clear enough, and the rest was not too bad.  My time here is not really representative, as I made the mistake of revealing this conundrum while watching videos and promptly got distracted.

My selection: TERRIFIED (28.2s)