NG 201

New game 201 is now available.


Round 1: T F S I O I T A R

I had FIST, FOIST, RATIOS, and TRAITS / ARTIST.  I wondered about FARTIST, but was not surprised to see later that the Macquarie did not have it.

Six does seem to be the limit here, with the others being STRAIT / STRATI (plural of STRATUS, a type of cloud), TAROTS / STATOR ("Electricity the fixed part of an electrical machine (motor or generator) which contains the stationary magnetic circuits"), OTITIS ("inflammation of the ear"), FORTIS ("pronounced with considerable muscular tension and breath pressure, resulting in a strong fricative or explosive sound: f and p are fortis, as compared to lenis v and b"), and AORIST ("a tense of the Greek verb expressing past action without implication as to whether the action was momentary, continuous, completed, etc.").

My selection: ARTIST


Round 2: R F A A A G S M E

I had AFAR, wondered about FRAG (it is listed: "(in computer games) the killing of the other player's representation"), was likewise unsure about FRAGS, FARMS, GAMES, GAMERS, and FRAMES.  I also considered but correctly rejected SEAFARM (two words), FARMAGE, and EARGASM (I expect this to make it into the dictionary eventually; it is in some of them already).

There is a seven here, though.  An AGRAFFE is "a metal clip used to hold in place the temporary cork used in a champagne bottle during fermentation"; in this sense it has the alternative spelling AGRAFE, and so AGRAFES is good for seven.

The other sixes are AGRAFE, MARGES (arguably, since MARGE is listed as colloquial for margarine), AGAMAS (AGAMA being a type of lizard), and SAMARA ("an indehiscent, usually one-seeded, winged fruit, as of the casuarina").

My selection: FRAMES
Best: AGRAFES


Round 3: Target 344 from 100 8 7 10 5 1

Normally I would try to get to 300 or 400 and adjust, but it takes a little work to get to either of those.  Instead I started pulling out factors of 2, determining that the target was 2*172 = 4*86 = 8*43, and then it was easy: 344 = (5*10 - 7)*8.

My selection: 344 = (5*10 - 7)*8


Round 4: U B C C O E R T D

I had CUBE, COURT, COURTED, and an uncertain OUTBRED (valid, as it turns out).  I also noted that if that E had been an A then ABDUCTOR would have been on offer.

Seven is the limit; the others are DOUBTER / REDOUBT ("an independent earthwork built within a permanent fortification to reinforce it") / OBTRUDE ("to thrust forward or upon a person, especially without warrant or invitation") and EDUCTOR.

My selection: COURTED


Round 5: O R N U E T G B A

I had RUNE, noted the NEURO- fragment, GRUNT, TONGUE, OUTRAGE, amused myself by considering OUTGRABE, then spotted OUTRANGE and recalled from episode 355 that it was valid.  I also noted that if only that B had been an E then ENTOURAGE would have been a full monty there.  The next vowel was an E, too.  Oh, well.

The other eight is BURGONET ("an open helmet usually with pivoted peak and hinged cheekpieces").  There's a decent selection of sevens: NEGATOR, GAUNTER, OUTBRAG, BURGEON, GUNBOAT, and BARONET / REBOANT ("resounding loudly").

My selection: OUTRANGE


Round 6: Target 744 from 100 9 2 8 7 2

Shades of the previous numbers game here; this time I recognised the number as 8*93 directly, and it was a short step to 744 = 8*(100 - 7).

My selection: 744 = 8*(100 - 7)


Round 7: P T H E U A M W I

I had PATH, an uncertain THEMA (not valid), WHITE, IMPUTE, and EMPATH.  I started to choose EMPATH as my six but as I was doing so it occurred to me that I mostly saw the term in science fiction contexts and it might not be listed, so I switched to IMPUTE.  As it turns out EMPATH would have been acceptable.

The other six is the computing term UPTIME.

My selection: IMPUTE


Round 8: Target 634 from 100 9 1 5 6 3

This was a good case for successive approximation; I started with 6*100, tweaked that to 6*105, and finished it off with 634 = 6*(100 + 5) + 3 + 1.  I also noted the alternative tweak of 634 = 6*(100 + 9) - 5*(3 + 1).  After time I looked at the nearby 630, leading me to consider 7*90 and finding another option of 634 = (100 - 9)*(6 + 1) - 3.

My selection: 634 = 6*(100 + 5) + 3 + 1


Round 9: STARTLE ME

I ended up choosing this conundrum explicitly after being presented with the very similar SEMESTRAL (which I failed to solve).  SEMESTRAL is in the Macquarie, but I thought this made a better conundrum... for now.

My selection: [N/A -- conundrum chosen explicitly]
Best: STREAMLET