NG 367

New game 367 is now available.


Round 1: I S T U C E I A N

I had SUIT, SUITE, CUTIES, and wondered about SITUANCE but rightly avoided it.  After time a fresh look produced AUNTIES for seven.

The Macquarie does not allow ACUITIES, but there is a valid eight: CUTINISE ("to make into cutin"; CUTIN is "a transparent waxy substance constituting together with cellulose the cuticle of plants").

The other sevens are INCITES, CUISINE, UNITIES, SINUATE ("bent in and out; winding; sinuous"), and TUNICAE (plural of TUNIC in the biological sense: "any covering or investing membrane or part, as of an organ").  NUT CASE is listed, but only as two words.

My selection: CUTIES
Best: CUTINISE


Round 2: O R C I J I N N A

I had CANON, NINJA, ANION ("a negatively charged ion [...]"), and took a punt on AIRCON.  Fortunately that paid off!

The other sixes are IRONIC and NIACIN.  But there was a seven I should have found: ANIONIC, the adjective derived from ANION.

My selection: AIRCON
Best: ANIONIC


Round 3: Target 541 from 25 5 8 4 9 6

The standard method suggests making this as 25*22 - 9, and a little investigation produced a solution: 541 = (4*5 + 8 - 6)*25 - 9.

My selection: 541 = (4*5 + 8 - 6)*25 - 9


Round 4: T O F E T I R M E

I had TOTE, FITTER, and EMITTER.  After time I noted TERMITE as another seven.

There is an eight here, and sadly one that I had considered but rejected without even writing it down: FORETIME ("former or past time; the past").  Oh, dear.  The other seven is MOFETTE ("a noxious emanation, consisting chiefly of carbon dioxide, escaping from the earth in regions of nearly extinct volcanic activity").

My selection: EMITTER
Best: FORETIME


Round 5: S S E E H A G E R

I had SEES, SAGES, and GREASES.  After time I confirmed that there was no such word as SHEERAGE (nor SHEERAGES).

Seven is the best on offer, with the other being HEARSES.

My selection: GREASES


Round 6: Target 701 from 75 100 50 6 5 10

I started by getting to 750, and the rest fell easily into place: 701 = 75*10 - 50 + 6 - 5.

My selection: 701 = 75*10 - 50 + 6 - 5


Round 7: T E E B D N M W I

I had BEET, BEND, MINTED, and TWINED.  I had a brief flight of fancy about TIDEMEN (not valid), but not seriously.

The seven here is BEDTIME.  The other sixes are DEMENT, BETIDE, NEWBIE, ITEMED, and EMETIN (variant spelling of EMETINE, a certain chemical that causes vomiting).

My selection: TWINED
Best: BEDTIME


Round 8: Target 707 from 50 100 1 10 1 2

The factorisation 7*101 is clear, and tempting.  I went with 707 = (10 - 2 - 1)*(100 + 1), but also wrote down the alternative 707 = (50/10 + 2)*(100 + 1).

My selection: 707 = (10 - 2 - 1)*(100 + 1)


Round 9: A VIBE HOUR

Not much I can say about the thought processes here -- the answer just appeared quickly.

My selection: BEHAVIOUR (1.2s)