NG 374

New game 374 is now available.


Round 1: A F E S H C A I B

I had SAFE, SHEAF, CHAFES, FASCIAE (plural of FASCIA: "a long flat board covering the ends of rafters"), and tried to recall if BIFACES was valid (it is not, although BIFACIAL is listed).

FASCIAE is thus the only seven.  The other sixes are FASCIA, CHIEFS / FICHES (FICHE being an acceptable alternative form of MICROFICHE), CHAISE (a type of carriage), BACHES (BACH being colloquial for "a bachelor"), FACIES ("a general appearance of something naturally occurring, as a particular flora, fauna or ecological community"), and CASBAH (variant spelling of KASBAH: "the older quarter of a Middle Eastern or North African city, often containing the marketplace").

FACIA is listed as an alternative spelling of FASCIA, so presumably one of FACIAE or FACIAS should be acceptable as a plural form.  I'd be hard put to guess which the show would have accepted, however.

My selection: FASCIAE


Round 2: U J N O M I A H L

I had MUON, MIAOU, and HALOUMI (a type of cheese).

HALOUMI is the only seven; the sixes are OILMAN, ALUMNI / LUMINA (one plural form of LUMEN: "Optics the derived SI unit of luminous flux [...]"), MOULIN ("a nearly vertical shaft or cavity worn in a glacier by surface water falling through a crack in the ice"), INHAUL ("a rope for hauling in a sail or spar"), and HAMULI (plural of HAMULUS: "a small hook or hooklike process, as at the end of a bone").

My selection: HALOUMI


Round 3: Target 108 from 75 4 10 8 7 3

With such a low target I naturally wanted a solution without using the large number.  The target is a familiar number, being 9*12 amongst other factorisations.  That was the first approach I went with, getting the solution 108 = (10 + 7 - 8)*3*4.  Then I looked at the factorisation 6*18 to find the alternative 108 = (10 - 4)*(8 + 7 + 3), and finally managed to save a number using 3*36 and 108 = (4*7 + 8)*3.

My selection: 108 = (7*4 + 8)*3


Round 4: K E T S O A D N T

I had STOKE, STOKED, DONATES, noted that another E instead of the K would have allowed DETONATES, rightly rejected TOESTAND, and TOASTED.

Seven is the best to be done; the others are KNOTTED, ATTENDS, DANKEST, NOTATES, and NOTATED.

My selection: TOASTED


Round 5: E N M S O T I R O

I had an uncertain MENS (valid: "a toilet for men"), OMENS, MOISTEN, MONSTER, TORSION, and MOTORISE.  While flipping through the dictionary afterward to confirm the validity of MOTORISE I spotted that MONITORS was another eight.

There is a nine in this mix!  It is REMOTIONS (REMOTION: "the act of removing; removal").  The similar (and perhaps more plausible-sounding) MOTIONERS is not valid.  The other eights are REMOTION, EMOTIONS / MOONIEST, SNOOTIER, ROOMIEST, MOONRISE, and MESOTRON (an obsolete term for a MESON).

My selection: MOTORISE
Best: REMOTIONS


Round 6: Target 102 from 50 25 10 8 2 5

Another low target, and again I was after a more interesting solution than (say) 102 = 50 + 5*10 + 2.  Instead I focused on the factoriation 102 = 6*17, eventually emerging with 102 = (50/25 + 5 + 10)*(8 - 2).

My selection: 102 = (50/25 + 5 + 10)*(8 - 2)


Round 7: W L R E A D A V R

I had EARL, AWARD, WAVER, and LARDER.

The two sevens in this mix are DRAWLER and AWARDER.  The other sixes are REWARD / DRAWER / WARRED / WARDER and LARVAE.

My selection: LARDER
Best: AWARDER


Round 8: Target 428 from 100 75 50 25 9 6

The provocative nearby target is 450, being both 9*50 and 6*75.  The offset is 22, and there is an easy tweak to one away with 429 = 9*(50 - 75/25) + 6.  But I spotted an alternative option for making the 22 as 6*3 + 4, which can be turned into (6*75 + 100)/25.  The resulting solution is 428 = 9*50 - (6*75 + 100)/25.  (The 9*50 and 6*75 could be swapped in that solution, something that I only just realised.)

There are a few other solutions, but the one I like is 428 = 6*9*(100 + 75)/25 + 50.

My selection: 428 = 9*50 - (6*75 + 100)/25


Round 9: ACE LIVING

I chose this conundrum after being presented with the similar (but unlisted) VIGILANCY.  Mind you, I did not solve that one, so might well not have solved this version.  (That said, the -ANCE fragment is something that I do look for, so I might have.)

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