NG 278

New game 278 is now available (apologies for the lateness).


Round 1: N G C O C A T A O

I had CONGA, COGNAC, and OCTAGON.  If only one of those C's had been an L then OCTAGONAL would have been available.

OCTAGON is the only seven, and COGNAC the only six.  One of the more findable other fives is TANGO.

My selection: OCTAGON


Round 2: F A B S I E S D I

I had BIAS, BIASES, wondered about BIASSED (apparently valid in Scrabble, but not listed in the Macquarie), and was similarly unsure about DIBASES (not valid either, although DIBASIC is; I may have been thinking of the rock DIABASE).  It took disappointingly long after time for me to see the seven of DAISIES.

DAISIES is the only seven.  The other sixes are BIASED / ABIDES, IBISES, ASIDES / DAISES (DAIS: "a raised platform, as at the end of a room, for a throne, seats of honour, a lecturer's desk, etc."), and DIESIS ("Music the difference between a major and a minor semitone").

My selection: BIASES
Best: DAISIES


Round 3: Target 436 from 25 6 9 1 9 3

I started off with descent from 450, and that got me to one away with 435 = (25*3 - 1)*6 - 9.  The nearby 432 is 9*48 and thus a somewhat formable number, but that only got me to one away again with 435 = 9*6*(9 - 1) + 3.

It's a tough target to reach -- with those small numbers mostly divisible by 3 there's little room for adjustments.  It took me a while after time to unearth a solution, noting that the target was 6 away from 442 which is 2*13*17.  That yielded the answer 436 = (25 + 9)*(9 + 3 + 1) - 6.

There is only one other solution, which comes from 486 - 50: 436 = 9*9*6 - (3 - 1)*25.

My selection: 435 = 9*6*(9 - 1) + 3  [1 off]
Best: 436 = (25 + 9)*(9 + 3 + 1) - 6


Round 4: A N I R M R T U E

I had RAIN, MARTIN, ATRIUM, MURIATE, TRAINER, and RUMINATE.

RUMINATE is the only eight; the other sevens are MINARET / RAIMENT, MINUTER, ERRATUM, MARINER, MANURER, MURRAIN ("any of various diseases of cattle [...]"), and MURRINE (variant spelling of MURRHINE: "relating to a stone or stone-like substance of Roman times used for wine cups and other vessels").

My selection: RUMINATE


Round 5: B O T L I M O P S

I had BOLT, LIMBO, PISTOL, IMPOST, and wondered about POLOIST.  I decided against it, but that was the wrong decision -- POLOIST is valid.

The other seven is the safer anagram of it: TOPSOIL.  The other sixes are BLIMPS, LIMBOS, PILOTS / SPOILT, BLOOMS, OBOIST, and maybe POLIOS.

My selection: PISTOL
Best: TOPSOIL


Round 6: Target 846 from 25 4 10 3 8 9

I started off trying to use the 10 as a multiplier, getting to two away with 844 = (3*25 + 9)*10 + 4.  Then I considered the factorisation 3*282 and found the solution 846 = ((25 + 4)*10 - 8)*3.  That factors further to give 9*94, leading to the alternative solution 846 = (25*4 - 3*(10 - 8))*9.

My selection: 846 = ((25 + 4)*10 - 8)*3


Round 7: E G P C H S A T I

I had CHASE, PATCHES, and PASTICHE / HEPATICS (HEPATIC: "a medicine acting on the liver").

The other eight is PISTACHE, a variant form of PISTACHIO.  The other sevens are HEPATIC / APHETIC ("of, relating to, or due to aphesis", where APHESIS is "(in historical linguistic process) the gradual disappearance of an unstressed initial vowel or syllable, as in mend from amend"), AITCHES, PITCHES, CAGIEST, ASEPTIC / PACIEST / SPICATE ("(of a plant) having spikes"), HEPCATS (HEPCAT being colloquial for "an expert performer, or a knowing admirer, of jazz"), and SPATHIC ("Mineralogy like spar").

My selection: PASTICHE


Round 8: Target 297 from 100 10 1 9 6 4

The target is 11*27 or 9*33, but I started with the option of 3*99 to get 297 = (9 - 6)*(100 - 1).  Revisiting the idea of 9*33 let me use small numbers alone with 297 = (10 + 6*4 - 1)*9.

My selection: 297 = (9 - 6)*(100 - 1)


Round 9: DUCK MAKER

Only a little rearrangement required in this form; the two K's constrain the possibilities quite strongly and it did not take me long to get to MUCKRAKED.

My selection: MUCKRAKED (2.1s)