NG 313

New game 313 is now available.


Round 1: L L E I U R M C T

I had LIEU, wondered about MULLER (valid: "any of various mechanical devices for grinding"), UTRICLE ("a small sac or bag-like body, as an air-filled cavity in a seaweed"), and wondered about MULCTER (not valid; MULCT is, though: "to deprive of something by trickery").  I'd noted that a U instead of the C would have allowed the element TELLURIUM, but it was not until considerable time later that I spotted the eight of TELLURIC ("of or relating to the earth; terrestrial").

TELLURIC is the only eight, and UTRICLE the only seven.  There's a reasonable number of sixes, of which I'll just mention METRIC, MILLER, MULLET, and TILLER.

My selection: UTRICLE
Best: TELLURIC


Round 2: V N S L U E S I T

I had LUNES (LUNE: "anything shaped like a crescent or a half-moon"), UNLESS, was rightly dubious about UNITLESS (not valid), was uncertain about UNLIVES (valid -- UNLIVE is "to live down"), and settled on INVESTS for seven.  After time I noted LISTENS as another seven.

The eight here is UTENSILS.  The other sevens are UTENSIL / LUNIEST (LUNY being a variant form of LOONY), INSULTS, SNIVELS, UNVEILS, ENLISTS / TINSELS, and TUSSIVE ("of or relating to a cough").

My selection: INVESTS
Best: UTENSILS


Round 3: Target 376 from 100 50 1 10 6 10

I first thought that this might be made as 10*37 + 6, but that did not seem very manageable.  Looking to get close I considered starting with 6*50, and realised that I could tweak my way from there to a solution of 376 = (50 + 10 + 1)*6 + 10.

My selection: 376 = (50 + 10 + 1)*6 + 10


Round 4: G P A K O E I H D

I had PAGE and HIKED.  A bit after time I spotted the seven of HAPKIDO, and was surprised when it was not listed.  The other potential longer-than-five here was HOAGIE, but that has come up before and I knew it was not listed.

So five is the best to be done; the others are POKED, HOPED / EPHOD ("a kind of Hebrew priestly vestment, especially that worn by the high priest"), GAPED / PAGED, PIKED, PHAGE ("a virus for which the natural host is a bacterial cell"), OKAPI, APHID, PODGE ("a podgy person"), GEOID ("an imaginary surface which coincides with the mean sea level over the ocean and its extension under the continents"), PODIA (one plural form of PODIUM), PAGOD (an archaic variant of PAGODA), and GOPAK ("a traditional male Russian dance characterised by high leaps").

My selection: HIKED


Round 5: S R E I A R P C T

I had RISE, ARISE, REPAIRS / PARRIES, PRACTISE, and a risky PRACTISER.  I also briefly contemplated RACESTRIP (not valid), but decided that PRACTISER was much the better option.  It was too tempting to pass up, and fortunately PRACTISER turns out to be valid.

There's a decent selection of eights here: ERRATICS (ERRATIC as a noun: "an erratic or eccentric person"), CRISPATE ("crisp or curled") / PICRATES (PICRATE: "a salt or ester of picric acid")/ PARETICS (PARETIC: "someone who has general paresis", which is "incomplete motor paralysis"), RESCRIPT, and PERISARC ("the horny or chitinous outer case or covering with which the soft parts of hydrozoans are often protected").

My selection: PRACTISER


Round 6: Target 182 from 75 100 3 7 4 2

Rather straightforward by simply adding the largest available number at each time: 182 = 100 + 75 + 7.

My selection: 182 = 100 + 75 + 7


Round 7: O D B T O G M I W

I had BOOT, BIGOT, spotted the WOOD fragment but could not see anything plausible from it, segued to GOOD and thus GOODWIT (not valid), then realised that I was thinking of GODWIT (a type of bird).

GODWIT looks like the only six; the other five is GOMBO, a variant form of GUMBO.

My selection: GODWIT


Round 8: Target 755 from 100 2 3 8 7 5

I started with 7*100 and then tweaked my way to one answer of 755 = 7*(100 + 8) - (3 - 2).  I then found the perhaps more straightforward option of 755 = 7*100 + (8 + 3)*5, and finally used the factor of 5 for a solution of 755 = (100 + 8*7 - 3 - 2)*5.

My selection: 755 = 7*100 + (8 + 3)*5


Round 9: RUSE SLEDS

I considered DRESS and LESS, but it wasn't until the second or third time that I looked at LESS that I found UDDERLESS.  Nothing better presented itself, so that's what I went with and indeed it is the correct answer.

My selection: UDDERLESS (18.1s)