NG 275

New game 275 is now available.


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

I had LEAN, ANOLE (a type of lizard), LANES, and SEASONAL.

SEASONAL is the only eight; there do not appear to be any sevens.

My selection: SEASONAL


Round 2: B U T M B R E E N

I had UMBER and NUMBER.  After time I confirmed that there was no such word as BENUMBER, and noted another six of BUTENE.

The other sixes are NEUTER / TENURE / TUREEN / RETUNE, BENUMB, BRUNET (variant form of BRUNETTE) / BURNET (a type of herb), and TUBBER (someone who installs or uses a tub, apparently).

But the seven here is EMBRUTE, a variant form of IMBRUTE ("to degrade to the level of a brute").

My selection: NUMBER
Best: EMBRUTE


Round 3: Target 131 from 50 100 3 9 6 7

I started with an unenlightening 131 = 100 + 50 - 3 - 7 - 9, then turned my attention to other options.  I spotted the possibility of 50 + 81 which gave me 131 = (6 + 3)*9 + 50, and then with further playing around managed to get 128 + 3 to work with 131 = (9 + 7)*(6 + 100/50) + 3.

My selection: 131 = (6 + 3)*9 + 50


Round 4: P D C W A D T I U

I had PACT, DUCAT, amused myself with DUCATI (but it is not listed, of course), and then ADDICT for six.

Six is the limit (not surprising on such ill-matched letters); the other is ADDUCT ("Physiology to draw towards the main axis (opposed to abduct)").

My selection: ADDICT


Round 5: K R D I G P A S E

I had DIRK, GRID, SPARK, PRAISED, and wondered about but rightly rejected PARKSIDE.  After time I noted down some of the other sevens that I had seen within time: GRASPED, DESPAIR, DARKIES (DARKIE being a type of fish), and SPARKIE.

There is one eight to be had here: GARPIKES (GARPIKE being another name for GAR, a type of fish).  The other sevens are GARPIKE, SPARKED, ASPIRED / DIAPERS, and SPARGED (SPARGE: "to scatter or sprinkle").

My selection: PRAISED
Best: GARPIKES


Round 6: Target 429 from 75 100 1 2 4 10

The standard method is to make this as 425 + 4; I started with 429 = (10 - 2 - 1)*75 - 100 + 4 and then saved a number with 429 = (10/2)*100 - 75 + 4.

My selection: 429 = (10/2)*100 - 75 + 4


Round 7: G R E R O H R E O

I had OGRE, ERROR, and HORROR.  I considered ROGERER along the way, but correctly thought that it would not be listed.

HORROR is the only six, and the other five is ROGER.

My selection: HORROR


Round 8: Target 269 from 25 6 8 7 8 9

My first thought was to make this as 11*25 - 6, but making an 11 from those small numbers is not an easy task.  Fortunately I stumbled over an alternative option once I considered the easy multiples of 25, ending up with 269 = 8*25 + 7*9 + 6.

My selection: 269 = 8*25 + 7*9 + 6


Round 9: TEACH GIRL

I got lost in the -IGHT fragment here, with the best I could think of being RACELIGHT and that wasn't good enough.

My selection: [no answer]
Best: LETHARGIC