NG 217

New game 217 is now ready.


Round 1: I L E A G L U S M

I had GALE, LEGAL, SILAGE ("green fodder preserved in a silo, silage pit, or mound"), an uncertain MILAGES (it is listed as a valid variant spelling), SULLAGE ("refuse, scum, or filth") / ULLAGES (ULLAGE: "the amount by which the contents of a container, tank, ship, etc. fall short of filling it"), and LEGALISM ("strict adherence, or the principle of strict adherence, to law or formulated rules").  After time I finally considered the -IUM fragment and saw GALLIUMS as another eight.

Those appear to be the only eights; the other sevens are GALLIUM, SEAGULL, MALLEUS (one of the small bones in the ear), ILLUMES (ILLUME being a poetical form of ILLUMINATE), LUGSAIL ("a quadrilateral sail bent upon a yard that crosses the mast obliquely"), GULLIES / LIGULES (LIGULE: "a thin, membranous outgrowth from the base of the blade of most grasses"), LIGULAE (one plural form of LIGULA: "a tongue-like or strap-shaped part or organ"), LIGULAS (the other plural form of LIGULA), and ALLIUMS (ALLIUM: "a flower or plant of the amaryllidaceous genus Allium, comprising bulbous plants with a peculiar pungent smell, including the onion, leek, shallot, garlic, and chive").

My selection: LEGALISM


Round 2: E E R T O T P A Z

I had TREE, OTTER, POTTER, OPERATE, and OPERETTA.

OPERETTA is the only eight; the other sevens are TREETOP, TRAPEZE, and EPAZOTE (a type of wild herb).

My selection: OPERETTA


Round 3: Target 510 from 100 75 3 5 1 1

Fairly straightforward; my usual technique of approximate-and-refine worked easily, with a slight tweak: 510 = 5*(100 + 1 + 1).  Then I considered using the factor of 3 instead to get the alternative solution 510 = 3*(100 + 75 - 5).

My selection: 510 = 5*(100 + 1 + 1)


Round 4: E E E G H R C I N

This was looking rather sparse until the final N made things a lot better.  I had GHEE ("clarified butter, used especially in Indian cookery"), HERE, CHEER, and CHEERING.

The sevens are GENERIC and GREENIE.

My selection: CHEERING


Round 5: N R A E R R O U C

I had EARN, ERROR, CORNER, and RANCOUR.

RANCOUR looks like the only seven; the other sixes are RANCOR (variant spelling of RANCOUR), CORNEA, ROARER, CURARE, and CORNUA (plural of CORNU: "a horn-like process of bone"; that is using "process" in the sense of "Biology a natural outgrowth, projection, or appendage").

My selection: RANCOUR


Round 6: Target 429 from 50 75 2 2 4 1

The standard method is clearly desirable, with the target only 4 away and some tweaking options available.  I found my way to 425 and thus the solution with 429 = (4 + 1)*75 + 50 + 2 + 2.

There's some trivial variations on that idea (swapping the 4 and the pair of 2's, etc.), but the only other significantly different solution is 429 = ((4 + 1)*50 + 2)*2 - 75.

My selection: 429 = (4 + 1)*75 + 50 + 2 + 2


Round 7: T E A T K H I O M

I had TEAT, TAKE, THETA, TOTEM, and eventually managed to get to six with HOTTIE.

HOTTIE looks like the only six; the othe fives are TITHE, MOTET / MOTTE ("a fort on top of a mound"), MATTE (American form of MATT: "lustreless and dull in surface"), HOMIE, HAKIM ("(in Muslim countries) a wise of learned man"), and MAHOE (a type of tree from New Zealand).

My selection: HOTTIE


Round 8: Target 597 from 75 5 6 2 5 1

The goal here was clearly to get to 600 as 8*75, then subtract 3 somehow.  Juggling making both the 8 and a 3 proved a little elusive, until I realised that I could make the 3 as 8 - 5 and then tweaking solved the rest: 597 = (6 + 2)*(75 - 1) + 5.

Again, there are some trivial variations (such as making the 8 as 5 + 6/2 instead), but there are two other solutions.  The first is straightforward in its way; assume that we want to keep the 2 and 1 aside for the final offset of 3, and get to 600 with the rest.  Phrased that way it might not take too much to find the solution of 597 = 6*(75 + 5*5) - 2 - 1.

The other solution is somewhat harder to find, I'd say, but could be considered as an upwards tweak from 525: 597 = (6 + 1)*(75 + 5 + 5) + 2.

My selection: 597 = (6 + 2)*(75 - 1) + 5


Round 9: USES LINKS

I got lost here in various fragments like -LESS and SKIN, but was not able to solve it within time.

My selection: [no answer]
Best: SULKINESS