NG 376

New game 376 is now available.


Round 1: C H W U A E S L I

I had CHEW, CHEWS, CHISEL, WHALES, and SLUICE.  After time I noted CASHEW as another six.

There is one seven here: CAULIES (CAULIE being a colloquial term for a cauliflower).  The other sixes are CLAUSE, WHILES, AWHILE, CHAISE, CHELAS (CHELA: "(in India) a disciple of a religious teacher") / LACHES ("Law neglect to do a thing at the proper time, especially such delay as will bar a party from bringing a legal proceeding", CHIELS (CHIEL: "Scottish a child"), HELIAC (alternative form of HELIACAL: "relating to or occurring near the sun [...]"), WHEALS (WHEAL: "a mine"), and, of course, SHEILA.

My selection: WHALES


Round 2: M A G D B E N O E

I had GAME, GAMED, ABDOMEN, and BONDAGE.  A little after time I spotted the eight of BEMOANED.

BEMOANED is the only eight.  The other sevens are ENDGAME and DOGBANE (a type of plant).

My selection: ABDOMEN
Best: BEMOANED


Round 3: Target 158 from 25 3 10 1 4 3

Making the target as 6*25 + 8 seemed worth investigating, and I went with the tweak of 158 = (3 - 1)*(3*25 + 4).  Seen just now is the alternative 158 = (10 - 4)*25 + 3*3 - 1.

My selection: 158 = (3 - 1)*(3*25 + 4)


Round 4: C E T S C S O T A

Looks like the newer method of generation still produces some unfortunate duplication still.  Oh, well.  I had CESS, SETS, COSTS, TASTES, COASTS, TOASTS, CASTES, and ACCESS.  I briefly thought that CASSETTE was present, but alas that needed a second E.

There are sevens here, though: ACCOSTS, COSTATE ("bearing ribs"), and STACTES (STACTE: "one of the sweet spices which composed the holy incense of the ancient Jews [...]").

My selection: TASTES
Best: ACCOSTS


Round 5: I X U A S G R E N

I had AXIS, SUGAR, and SEARING / ERASING.

The other sevens are GUINEAS and REGAINS / GAINERS / REGINAS (REGINA: "reigning queen") / SERINGA (a type of tree) / EARINGS (EARING: "a small rope attached to a cringle of a sail and used in reefing, etc.").

My selection: ERASING


Round 6: Target 721 from 10 8 6 7 5 9

The target is 7*103, but I started off with the approach of 720 + 1 instead since the 720 was easy, ending up with 721 = 10*9*8 + 7 - 6.  Then I reverted back to the 7*103 approach, getting 721 = (9*10 + 8 + 5)*7.  (Seen just now are alternatives of 721 = ((10 + 8)*6 - 5)*7 and 721 = ((10 + 8 - 6)*9 - 5)*7.)  A bit after time I managed to find another solution via 9*81 - 8: 721 = (7*10 + 6 + 5)*9 - 8.

My selection: 721 = 10*9*8 + 7 - 6


Round 7: R I D P M E O T D

I had PRIM, PRIMED, PERIOD, PERIDOT, and IMPORTED.

IMPORTED looks like the only eight; the other sevens are DIOPTRE ("a unit of refractive power of a lens [...]") / DIOPTER (American spelling of DIOPTRE), DERMOID ("skin-like"), and TROMPED.

My selection: IMPORTED


Round 8: Target 568 from 50 25 4 3 1 10

The target is 8*71, and both halves were easy enough: 568 = (10 + 1 - 3)*(50 + 25 - 4).  Then I looked at working up from 500; the offset of 68 is 25 + 43, and tweaking finishes it off: 568 = (50 + 4)*10 + 25 + 3.

My selection: 568 = (10 + 1 - 3)*(50 + 25 - 4)


Round 9: MILD MERGE

The pair of M's go well together, and with -ED in action the possibilities are reduced, leading to GLIMMERED.

My selection: GLIMMERED (7.5s)