NG 325

New game 325 is now available.


Round 1: A P A D O A G P D

I had PAGODA.  That was it.

Not surprisingly, PAGODA is the only six, and the best on offer.  The only five is an archaic variant of it: PAGOD.  The fours are GOAD, PAPA, DOPA ("a non-protein amino acid [...]"), DADA (not like PAPA, but rather an art/literature movement of the early 1900s), and DADO ("the part of a pedestal between the base and the cornice or cap").

My selection: PAGODA


Round 2: X I R T E T H N O

I had a joking TRIX, EXIT, TRITE, and HOTTIE.  I wondered if there might be a chemical called TETROXIN, but not nearly enough to try it.  (It turns out that there is a drug called TERTROXIN, which was close, although it's not in the Macquarie. TETROXID is, though, as a variant spelling of TETROXIDE, so it was kind of close to a word.)  After time I noted EXTORT as another six, and that a second O instead of the H would have yielded EXTORTION.

There are two sevens available: TRITONE and THORITE.

My selection: HOTTIE
Best: TRITONE


Round 3: Target 390 from 100 75 25 1 5 5

The offsets for the standard method are 10 and 15.  The pair of 5's can provide the 10, although some tweaking may then be needed.  I first went with 390 = 5*(75 - 1) + 25 - 5, then used a purer factorisation with 390 = (75 + 100/25 - 1)*5.

My selection: 390 = 5*(75 - 1) + 25 - 5


Round 4: W O E S U T F A T

I had WOES, STOW, and WASTE.  I was pretty sure (correctly so) that OUTWASTE / OUTSWEAT would not be valid.  This seems a ripe mix for OUT- words that are not in the Macquarie.

Indeed, my Scrabble list suggests these eights and sevens, none of which is listed: OUTWASTE, OUTFEAST, OUTFAST, and OUTEATS.  That last one always feels a little odd, as OUTDRINK is listed but not OUTEAT.

There are several sixes here: ASTUTE / STATUE, FOETUS, OUTSET, OUTSAT, and OUTSAW.

My selection: WASTE
Best: ASTUTE


Round 5: N O H B E L E I C

I had BONE, HELICON ("a tuba in coiled form to be carried over the shoulder in cavalry bands"), and ECHELON.

The other sevens are CHOLINE (a certain alcohol in the chemistry sense), CINEOLE (variant spelling of CINEOL: "[...] a terpene ether found in eucalyptus and other essential oils [...]"), and ELENCHI (plural of ELENCHUS: "a logical refutation; an argument which refutes another argument by proving the contrary of its conclusion").

My selection: ECHELON


Round 6: Target 245 from 7 4 8 10 3 5

I noted that the target was 5*49, and thus the solution 245 = (4 + 3)*7*5.

My selection: 245 = (4 + 3)*7*5


Round 7: S L T M B R U A I

I had LUST, BARIUMS, and MISTRAL ("a cold, dry, northerly wind common in southern France and neighbouring regions").  After time I noted BURIALS as another seven, and that replacing the M with an N would have allowed TRIBUNALS.

No nine on offer, but there are eights: ALTRUISM / ULTRAISM ("extremism") and TUMBRILS (TUMBRIL being a variant spelling of TUMBREL: "one of the carts used during the French Revolution to convey victims to the guillotine").

The other sevens are TUMBRIL, ULTIMAS (ULTIMA: "the last syllable of a word"), LUMBARS (LUMBAR as a noun: "a lumbar vertebra, artery, or the like"), TRIBALS ("(chiefly in India) people living within tribal communities"), TIMBALS (TIMBAL being another name for a kettledrum), and SIMULAR ("someone or something that simulates").

Update: Sam Gaffney points out that there is a full monty after all: BRUTALISM ("a modern architectural style expressing structure and using materials with machine-like directness").

My selection: BARIUMS
Best: ALTRUISM


Round 8: Target 196 from 50 100 2 1 9 8

The target is the square of 14, but that seemed difficult to exploit directly.  I went with 196 = 2*(100 - 1 - (9 - 8)) at first, then found an alternative of 196 = (50 - 1)*8/2.

My selection: 196 = (50 - 1)*8/2


Round 9: WINE LOVER

I chose this after being presented with the variant spelling WOLVERENE.  Not that I expect I would have solved it even with this spelling.

My selection: [N/A -- conundrum chosen explicitly]
Best: WOLVERINE