NG 239

New game 239 is now available.


Round 1: N S G E E R I S I

I had a dubious GENS (not valid, I believe; GEN looks like a mass noun), GENES, GREENS, SINGERS, NEGRESS (technically invalid; NEGRO is listed with both uppercase and lowercase forms, but NEGRESS only gets a passing mention capitalised), INGRESS, and GENESIS.

There is an eight here: GREISEN is "an altered rock of granitic texture composed chiefly of quartz and topaz; commonly tin-bearing", and so GREISENS is the eight.  The other sevens are GREISEN, RESIGNS / SIGNERS, RISINGS, SEISING (SEISE: "to put in seisin or legal possession of"), and SEINERS (agent noun derived from SEINE: "to fish with a seine", where SEINE in this latter case is "a fishing net which hangs vertically in the water, having floats at the upper edge and sinkers at the lower") / SEREINS (SEREIN: "a very fine rain falling from a clear sky after sunset") / SERINES (SERINE being a type of amino acid).

My selection: GENESIS
Best: GREISENS


Round 2: F C V E O A R L A

I had COVE, an unsure FOVEA (valid: "a small pit or depression in a bone or other structure"), COVER, AREOLA, ORACLE, FOECAL, CARAFE, and ACEROLA (a type of tree).

The other seven is CARAVEL ("a kind of small three-masted ship used especially by the Spaniards and Portuguese").

My selection: ACEROLA


Round 3: Target 849 from 50 100 3 7 10 10

The standard method is clearly an option, and that requires making a 1 from 10/10.  Fortunately the others can yield the required 850, and the corresponding solution was 849 = 7*100 + 3*50 - 10/10.

My selection: 849 = 7*100 + 3*50 - 10/10


Round 4: L M N O E I P D O

I had LEMON, IMPLODE, and EIDOLON ("an image; a phantom; an apparition").

Those are the only sevens.

My selection: IMPLODE


Round 5: T A U S S E P A C

I had TAUS, SAUTÉS, wished one of those A's had been an I for SPACESUIT, and then found CUSPATE for seven.  After time I noted ASPECTS as another seven.

Seven appears to be the best on offer.  The others are TEACUPS, SUSPECT, UPCASTS / CATSUPS, CUESTAS (CUESTA: "a landform characterised by an asymmetrical ridge with an abrupt cliff on one side forming the escarpment and a gentle slope on the other forming the back slope"), and PETASUS ("a low-crowned, broad-brimmed hat worn by ancient Greeks and Romans, often represented as worn by Hermes or Mercury").

My selection: CUSPATE


Round 6: Target 341 from 75 100 7 9 1 10

I recognised the target as 11*31, but it was clearly more attractive to make it as 350 - 9.  Getting to 350 required a little work, but it was manageable, and the end result was 341 = (7 - 1)*75 - 100 - 9.

My selection: 341 = (7 - 1)*75 - 100 - 9


Round 7: P C N E A A H M A

I had CANE, PECAN, CANAPÉ, wanted a final G for CHAMPAGNE but was disappointed, rightly rejected PEACHMAN, and settled on PANACHE.

Seven is the limit; the other are CHAPMAN (an archaic term for "a hawker or pedlar"), CHAPMEN (plural of CHAPMAN), and PANACEA.

My selection: PANACHE


Round 8: Target 320 from 75 25 6 10 9 4

Again, the standard method applies handily; I went with 320 = 4*75 + 25 - 9 - 6 + 10.  Then I considered what was involved in working up from 320 to get 320 = 9*25 + 75 + 10 + 6 + 4.

My selection: 320 = 4*75 + 25 - 9 - 6 + 10


Round 9: SLAMS BEER

I was nowhere near solving this, alas; I got hung up on the -LESS fragment, with BREAMLESS and AMBERLESS the only feasible options.  I delayed, hoping to find something better, but ended up chancing AMBERLESS and it was not correct.

My selection: [invalid -- AMBERLESS (12.9s)]
Best: ASSEMBLER