NG 323

New game 323 is now available.


Round 1: A E A S H S S I T

I had SHEA (a type of tree), ASHES, rejected HASTIES / SEATISH, and ASSETS.  After time I noted HEISTS as another six, and then SIESTAS as a seven.

The other sevens are STASHES and ASHIEST.

My selection: ASSETS
Best: SIESTAS


Round 2: N N P C D H O O O

I had POND, POOCH, CONDO, and PONCHO, and briefly pondered COPHOOD, but rightly rejected it.  After time I noted CODON as another five.

Those are the only fives; the other six is PHONON: "a quantum of energy in a solid body manifest in atomic or molecular vibrations".

My selection: PONCHO


Round 3: Target 192 from 100 25 75 4 8 6

I recognised the target as 6*32, and thus the solution 192 = 4*6*8.

My selection: 192 = 4*6*8


Round 4: N O R W O R T S I

I had WORN, WORTS, and TORSION.  I also noted that a K instead of the T would have allowed IRONWORKS.

The other seven is NITROSO (a chemical term: "containing the group NO-").

My selection: TORSION


Round 5: O E R E F E S L T

I had FORE, FREE, FREES, FORESEE, and FEELERS.  After time I checked up on FELTERS, but it is not valid.

The other sevens are FLORETS (FLORET: "a small flower"), FLEETER, and REFLETS (REFLET: "an effect of lustre, colour, or iridescence on an object (as a piece of pottery) due to reflection of light") / TELFERS (TELFER being a variant spelling of TELPHER: "a travelling unit, car, or carrier in a telpherage", where a TELPHERAGE is "a transport system in which cars or carriers are suspended from or run on wire cables or the like, especially one in which the cars are individually operated by electricity").

My selection: FORESEE


Round 6: Target 249 from 75 100 25 50 6 6

I almost missed the simple option here, but fortunately recalled that the large numbers could make 250 by simple addition and so got a solution of 249 = 100 + 75 + 50 + 25 - 6/6.

After time I considered that the offset of 1 was also an offset of 24, makeable as 6*100/25, leading to the alternative solution 249 = 6*50 - 75 + 6*100/25, shortenable by tweaking to 249 = 6*(50 + 100/25) - 75.

My selection: 249 = 100 + 75 + 50 + 25 - 6/6


Round 7: M C E C I T A U R

I had MICE, TIME, MURIATE, and MURICATE ("shaped like the murex").  There were a few near-nines here, such as CIRCULATE, RHEUMATIC, or MICTURATE.

The other eight is CRUCIATE ("cross-shaped").  The other sevens are CERAMIC / RACEMIC ("denoting or relating to any of various organic compounds in which racemism occurs") and URAEMIC ("relating to uraemia").

My selection: MURICATE


Round 8: Target 357 from 25 100 10 9 5 8

The target is clearly 7*51, but that seemed hard to use.  I started with a one-off 358 = 25*10 + 100 + 8, then spotted the option of descending down from 375 to get the solution 357 = (100 - 25)*5 - 10 - 8.

My selection: 357 = (100 - 25)*5 - 10 - 8


Round 9: DIRE SCENE

I was lost here, unable to find my way to the actual answer of RESIDENCE.

My selection: [no answer]
Best: RESIDENCE