NG 138

New game 138 is now available.


Round 1: W G M P I U U I T

I had WIMP and GIMP.  Horrid mix to start off the game with.

Indeed, four is the best on offer.  The others are TWIG, TIPI (variant spelling of TEEPEE), and IMPI ("a group of Bantu warriors").

My selection: WIMP


Round 2: L B O N G E T N O

Not much better a mix to continue with; I had LONG, NOBLE, OBLONG, and BONNET.

The other sixes are BELONG and GOBLET.  GENTOO is a type of penguin, but only listed as part of the term GENTOO PENGUIN.

But there is a seven to be unearthed here: BOOTLEG.

My selection: OBLONG
Best: BOOTLEG


Round 3: Target 211 from 75 7 1 3 6 6

The standard method is pretty clearly the way to go, and the offset of 14 is straightforward to come by.  I opted for the version 211 = 3*75 - 7 - 6 - 1, but there's a few variations.

My selection: 211 = 3*75 - 7 - 6 - 1


Round 4: S N I N S O C K O

Bleah, the vowel duplication continues.  I had INNS, SINS, SCIONS (SCION: "a descendant"), and ONIONS.

It was almost a round with potential -- the Macquarie is not quite Americanised enough to accept the full monty of COONSKINS, alas.  So six does seem to be the best available, with the others being SICKOS, SNOOKS (SNOOK: "the Spanish mackerel [...]"), SNICKS, and probably CONINS (CONIN being a variant spelling of CONIINE: "[...] the active principle of the poison hemlock").

My selection: ONIONS


Round 5: R L H L E I E C A

I had HELL, HILL, CHEER, CALLER / CELLAR, wondered about LEACHER (not valid), CHIRAL ("Chemistry of or relating to a molecule which has no elements of symmetry; asymmetric; dissymmetric"), and CHILLER.  I was thinking of the noun at first, but this also falls under the umbrella of the single-syllable rule for adjectives.

Seven is the best on offer; the others are HELICAL and CHARLIE ("a fool; a silly person").

My selection: CHILLER


Round 6: Target 367 from 50 7 2 9 4 3

The standard method is clearly attractive, with a variety of tweaks on offer.  I started with 367 = (50 + 3)*7 - 4 and 367 = (50 + 2)*7 + 3, then switched tacks to try and make it as 360 + 7.  After some playing around I emerged with 367 = 4*9*50/(3 + 2) + 7.

My selection: 367 = (50 + 3)*7 - 4


Round 7: S S N R E A A R E

Gah, the duplication is back with a vengeance, but at least the letters are semi-decent.  I had NESS (invalid, as it turns out; Chambers lists it as meaning "a headland" but the Macquarie does not have it), SNARES, ARENAS, and then a slew of uncertain or dubious attempts: SNARERS (valid), RESNARES (invalid), NEARERS (invalid), and ARSENES (also invalid; I was thinking that ARSENE was some chemical derivative of arsenic, but it turns out I was thinking of ARSINE).  Fortunately I did end up choosing the valid word from this list.

But the eight on offer is RARENESS.  I looked at the -NESS fragment but did not spot this; well done to those who did.

The other sevens are ERASERS, EARNERS, and ARRASES (ARRAS: "a wall hanging").

My selection: SNARERS
Best: RARENESS


Round 8: Target 925 from 100 4 2 1 10 3

I got lost at first in some unproftable lines -- trying to descend from 10*100, mostly.  If only intermediate fractions were allowed I would have had an easy 925 = 100*(10 - 3/4).  A mental step back and working up from 900 was obviously more sensible, and I found 925 = (10 - 1)*(100 + 3) - 2 as one solution.  Then I considered the 25*37 option, a little surprised to get it to work with 925 = 25*(3*(10 + 2) + 1).

My selection: 925 = (10 - 1)*(100 + 3) - 2


Round 9: INK BARROW

I was fortunate to pull out the WORK fragment early, and so to find BRAINWORK as the answer.

My selection: BRAINWORK (2.5s)