NG 155

New game 155 is now available.


Round 1: E O I N N K L T F

Yeesh, I struggled here.  I had NINE, an uncertain ENOKI (I thought I'd checked it before and been disappointed; in any case, the Macquarie does not list it), FLINT, and KNIFE.  After time I noted TINKLE and TEFLON for six.

There is a seven, though: NONLIFE.  The other sixes are INTONE, ONLINE, LINNET (a type of songbird), FOLKIE ("someone who likes or performs folk music"), OLEFIN (a type of hydrocarbon), and NEKTON ("the aggregate of actively swimming organisms at the surface of the sea").

My selection: KNIFE
Best: NONLIFE


Round 2: T A D I D E S O P

I had ADIT, DIET, DIETS, POSTED, ADIPOSE ("fatty"), and OPIATES.

The other sevens are ADOPTED, PADDIES, DEPOSIT / POSITED / DOPIEST / TOPSIDE, TOADIES / IODATES, TOADIED / IODATED, TODDIES, and OPIATED.

But the eight here, ably found by commenter Victor, is the mineral DIOPTASE.

My selection: OPIATES
Best: DIOPTASE


Round 3: Target 938 from 25 75 50 100 1 2

Too easy for anyone who recalls me going on about 937½: 938 = (25*75 + 1)/2.

My selection: 938 = (25*75 + 1)/2


Round 4: S U C O R E S D A

I had SOUR, SCOUR, COURSE, SOURCES, and CAROUSED.

That's the longest to be had; the other eights are CAROUSES and CRUSADES.  Some sources would allow CRUSADOES (with CRUSADO being a variant spelling of CRUZADO, an old Portuguese coin), but it's not listed.

My selection: CAROUSED


Round 5: O A E L N T L X B

I had ALOE, ALONE, ETALON (a type of interferometer, and a classic Countdown word), NOTABLE, and wondered about BALLONET.  I couldn't recall encountering it before, so I stayed with NOTABLE.  After time I wrote down BALLET and OBLATE as other sixes.

NOTABLE is the only seven, but BALLONET is valid and the only eight; it means "an air or gasbag compartment in a balloon, etc., used to control buoyancy and maintain shape".

The other sixes are BALLOT, BOATEL ("a hotel beside the water with a marina for people arriving in boats"), EXTOLL (variant spelling of EXTOL), LOBATE ("having a lobe or lobes"), and TOLANE (variant spelling of the chemical compound TOLAN).

My selection: NOTABLE
Best: BALLONET


Round 6: Target 582 from 75 100 6 3 1 8

Starting down from 600 seems clear, and the offset of 18 is also divisible by 6.  I started with the tweaked version of 582 = 6*(100 - 3), and then also noted down an untweaked option of 582 = 8*75 - 3*6.

My selection: 582 = 6*(100 - 3)


Round 7: E A A C R R R M O

I had RACE, RACER, wondered about ROAMER (valid), wonderd about CORMER (not valid; I think I crossed ORMER (a type of abalone) with CORNER in my head), MACRO, WONDERED about CARROM (it is valid, a variant spelling of CAROM), and finally settled on ROARER as my six.  After time I found CAMERA and checked up on CAMARO but it's not a word.

Longer is possible; the sevens are ARMORER and CAMORRA ("a society or group associated with blackmail, robbery, etc.").  The other sixes are REMORA. ARREAR (usually used in plural form, but the singular is also valid), and CAEOMA ("(in fungi) an aecium in which the spores are formed in chains and not enclosed in a peridium").

My selection: ROARER
Best: CAMORRA


Round 8: Target 601 from 100 25 1 6 7 6

I doubt anyone would be hard put to find 601 = 6*100 + 1 from this mix.

My selection: 601 = 6*100 + 1


Round 9: KFC LINGER

Pull out the -ING and FRECKLING is all that is left.  Just got to avoid trying the incorrect FLICKERING instead.

My selection: FRECKLING (1.6s)