NG 128

New game 128 is now available.


Round 1: B M S I A D O G O

Meh, another unpromising mix to start with.  I had BIAS, MAIDS, GOODS, and wondered about GOOMBAS but correctly decided against that.  After time I saw ADOBO as another five (and ADOBOS as maybe a six as a result) and then BIOGAS ("a gas, mainly methane and carbon dioxide, formed by the digestion by bacteria of biological material or waste [...]") as a safe six.

Six looks like the best to be done, with the others being DOGMAS, AMIGOS / IMAGOS (IMAGO: "an adult insect"), and GOMBOS (GOMBO being a variant form of GUMBO).

My selection: MAIDS
Best: BIOGAS


Round 2: F O A A U S L H N

I had SOFA, FOULS, FLASH, wondered about UNLASH, and SAUNA.  After time I noted HALONS as a plural form that I've been uncertain about in the past; I think it's still dubious, quite frankly.

I think I must have been distracted at some point, because I did not try UNLASH.  That was a poor result, as UNLASH is valid and six is the best to be done.

The other sixes are FAUNAL (the adjective derived from FAUNA), FAUNAS (one plural form of FAUNA), and UHLANS (UHLAN: "one of a body of mounted soldiers first known in Europe in Poland, usually carrying lances").

My selection: FLASH
Best: UNLASH


Round 3: Target 710 from 50 75 10 9 4 2

Disappointingly easy; the factor of 10 stands out and the resulting solution of 710 = (75 - 4)*10 is easy to find.

My selection: 710 = (75 - 4)*10


Round 4: S E T I M O S A S

I had TIES, TIMES, MOIST, ATOMISES, and MOSSIEST.  For a moment I thought that MISSTATES was there, but fortunately I caught that error in time.

The other eight here is MASSIEST.

My selection: ATOMISES


Round 5: R W C E E U R T T

I had CREW, RECUR, CUTTER, TURRET, and then a late spot of CURETTE ("a scoop-shaped surgical instrument used for removing diseased tissue from body cavities such as the uterus, etc.").

The other seven here is UTTERER.

My selection: CURETTE


Round 6: Target 997 from 75 25 50 100 7 5

The first step was to get to 1000, which I did in rather complicated fashion to get to two off with 995 = 7*(100 + 50) - (75 - 25) - 5.  Then I realised I could make a 10 using the 5, and that let me get a solution with 997 = 100*50/5 - 75/25.

My selection: 997 = 100*50/5 - 75/25


Round 7: L N C I E E D D O

I had LINE, DECLINE, and DECLINED.

That looks like the only eight; the other sevens are ENCODED, CODEINE, CINEOLE (variant spelling of CINEOL, a type of terpene ether also known as eucalyptol), and ELOINED (ELOIN being a variant spelling of ELOIGN: "to remove (oneself) to a distance").

My selection: DECLINED


Round 8: Target 663 from 25 100 75 50 1 5

The standard method suggests getting to 650 or 675; the latter may be formed from the large numbers alone, but this does not seem directly helpful for more than six away.  But I spotted an alternative way to the 675 which allowed a tweak for the required correction: 663 = (5 + 1)*(100 - 50/25) + 75.

My selection: 663 = (5 + 1)*(100 - 50/25) + 75


Round 9: IDIOT CANT

The -ATIC and -ANIC fragments are generally worth a look, but -ATION is more attractive and leads fairly directly to the answer of DICTATION.

My selection: DICTATION (3.6s)