NG 235

New game 235 is now ready for your enjoyment.


Round 1: D S E E S S A O N

I had SEED, SEEDS, and SEASONED.  After time I wrote down SEASONS as a seven.

SEASONED is the only eight, and the other seven here is SADNESS.

My selection: SEASONED


Round 2: D L B I E I O R K

I had BILE, BOILED, BROILED, wondered about BLOKIER (not valid), was uncertain about RIBLIKE (also not valid), and then happily found BIRDLIKE for eight.  The -LIKE fragments are pretty good for animals, anything else is luck of the draw.

BIRDLIKE is the only eight; the other sevens are RODLIKE and OILBIRD.

My selection: BIRDLIKE


Round 3: Target 335 from 100 25 4 9 2 7

I floundered a bit at first, distracted by the fact that 7*5 = 35 matches the ending component.  I also contemplated making the target as 9*25 + 100 + 10 but somehow could not see how to make the 10 from 4, 2, 7 at the time.  (Seen while writing this up: 335 = 9*25 + 100 + 2*7 - 4.  Sigh.)  But when I considered the offset from 400 the remaining small numbers lined up very nicely to give a solution: 335 = 4*100 - 7*9 - 2.

Also seen while writing this up is an alternative: 335 = 4*(100 - 25 + 7) + 9 - 2.

My selection: 335 = 4*100 - 7*9 - 2


Round 4: C U E T C E I R L

I had CUTE, CUTIE, CRUEL, LECTURE, CUTICLE, RETICULE ("a small purse or bag, originally of network but later of silk, etc."), and ELECTRIC.  Later checking confirmed that ULCERETIC was not valid.

Those appear to be the only eights listed; the other sevens are CIRCLET, RETICLE ("a network of fine lines, wires, or the like, placed in the focus of the objective of a telescopr") / TIERCEL (variant spelling of TERCEL: "a male hawk trained for falconry, especially the male peregrine falcon"), LEUCITE (a type of mineral), and UTRICLE ("a small sac or bag-like body, as an air-filled cavity in a seaweed").

My selection: RETICULE


Round 5: R H I A S C A U T

I had HAIR, HAIRS, CHAIRS, and SHARIA.  I knew there must be longer, but somehow I overlooked it.  After time I noted CHARTS / STARCH and then finally looked back at the HAIR fragment and saw HAIRCUTS for eight.  Bother.

The other eights are ARCHAIST and CITHARAS (CITHARA being a variant spelling of KITHARA: "a musical instrument of ancient Greece").  The sevens are HAIRCUT and CITHARA.

My selection: CHAIRS
Best: HAIRCUTS


Round 6: Target 658 from 100 25 9 5 1 1

A difficult target, but one away was easy enough by working down from 675.  I wrote that down as a fallback and in the end had to stay with that: 657 = 9*(100 - 25 - 1 - 1).  A while after time I noticed that the target was 7*94 (or 14*47), but could not work that observation into a solution.

With good reason, as the target is not achievable and one off is the best to be done.  What I listed is the only way to 657, and there are three ways to get to 659.

My selection: 657 = 9*(100 - 25 - 1 - 1)  [1 off]


Round 7: S F O A N H E E D

I had SOFA, NOSED, and DEAFENS.

The other sevens are SHEAFED and DASHEEN (another name for the taro plant).

My selection: DEAFENS


Round 8: Target 859 from 50 100 3 9 8 7

Somewhat disappointing, alas.  I wrote down the obvious 859 = 8*100 + 50 + 9 and then an alternative tweaked solution of 859 = 8*(100 + 7) + 3.

My selection: 859 = 8*100 + 50 + 9


Round 9: CHOSE FORK

Lots of fragments to choose from here, but the difficulty is getting the F and the K to cooperate.  When I finally considered the FORE- fragment I thought I was onto something, and although briefly distracted by the possibility of FOREHOCKS (mixing up a couple of horse terms) I got my way to FORESHOCK ("a lesser shock preceding the main shock of an earthquake") in the end.

My selection: FORESHOCK (16.5s)