NG 410

New game 410 is now available.


Round 1: R O A S T N B R I

I had SOAR, ROAST, BRANTS (BRANT being another name for BRENT, a type of goose), RATIONS, and BASTION / OBTAINS.  A shame about that sixth consonant, as a fourth vowel could have been an E for BARITONES or an O for ABORTIONS.  It would have been an A, as it turns out, but that would still have allowed ABRASION for eight.

That said, there are two eights here: ARBORIST and TABORINS (TABORIN: "a small tabor", which is a type of drum).  The other sevens are TABORIN and BARRIOS (BARRIO: "(in Spain and countries colonised by Spain) one of the divisions into which a town or city, together with the contiguous rural territory, is divided").

My selection: BASTION
Best: TABORINS


Round 2: M S D A B I A E Z

I had DAMS, MAIDS, MAIZES, AMAZES, and AMAZED.

The seven here is DIABASE (a type of rock).

My selection: AMAZES
Best: DIABASE


Round 3: Target 243 from 25 100 4 8 4 1

The target is the fifth power of 3, which has provocative factors of 27 and 9, but I could not get that to work.  Switching tacks to the standard method, I was able to find the right approach after a while: 243 = (8/4)*(100 + 25 - 4) + 1.

My selection: 243 = (8/4)*(100 + 25 - 4) + 1


Round 4: D E M O L T A N R

I had MODE, MODEL, MANTLE, wondered about MANTLED (valid), MOLTEN, and LOMENTA (plural of LOMENTUM: "a dry fruit derived from one carpel which breaks up transversely into one-seeded segments at maturity").  After time I noted another seven of OMENTAL (adjective derived from OMENTUM: "a fold or duplication of the peritoneum passing between certain of the viscera [...]").

Despite the good letters, seven appears to be the limit.  The other sevens are LEOTARD / DELATOR (agent noun derived from DELATE: "to inform against; denounce or accuse"), EARLDOM, TALONED, ALMONER, DORMANT / MORDANT ("caustic or sarcastic, as wit, a speaker, etc."), MORDENT ("a melodic embellishment consisting of a rapid alternation of a principal note with a supplementary note a semitone below it [...]"), MANDREL ("a spindle, axle, bar, or arbor, usually tapered, pressed into a hole in a piece of work to support the work during the machining process, as between the centres of a lathe"), and TELAMON ("a figure of a man used like a supporting column").

My selection: LOMENTA


Round 5: S G R E I O L A D

I had RISE, ORGIES, GLORIES, and SERAGLIO / GIRASOLE (variant spelling of GIRASOL: "a variety of opal which reflects a floating luminous glow") / GASOLIER (a chandelier for gas-lamps).  After time I noted DARIOLES (DARIOLE: "a type of small, cup-shaped mould") as another eight.

The new rules make a nine here: DIALOGERS* (DIALOG being listed as an American spelling of DIALOGUE, and DIALOGUER being listed).  The other eights are DIALOGER* and GOLIARDS (GOLIARD: "one of a number of wandering scholars, clerics, or students in Germany, France, and England, chiefly in the 12th and 13th centuries, noted for their rioting and intemperance, and as the authors of satirical Latin verse").

My selection: SERAGLIO
Best: DIALOGERS*


Round 6: Target 234 from 25 2 6 3 7 10

Again there is a factor of 9, but somehow I ignored the standard option of 234 = 9*25 + 9, with 9 = 3 + 6 and 9 = 7 + 2 in some order.  Instead I noted that 9*26 is also 3*78, and parlayed that into a solution of 234 = (7*10 + 6 + 2)*3.  (I think this was because I had observed 234 = 10*25 - 7 - 3 - 6, and so went hunting for a solution in small numbers alone.)

My selection: 234 = (7*10 + 6 + 2)*3


Round 7: I R N F I T C P E

I had RIFT, PRINT, FINITE, PINCER / PRINCE, and INFECT.  After time I noted that an H instead of the F would have allowed NEPHRITIC, and a G instead of the C would have yielded FINGERTIP.

The sevens in this mix are NIFTIER, CITRINE / INCITER / NERITIC ("of or relating to the shallow waters near land") / CRINITE ("a fossil crinoid"), and the rock PICRITE.

My selection: FINITE
Best: CITRINE


Round 8: Target 986 from 25 100 1 2 9 5

It seems pretty clear that starting from 10*100 is a good thing to do, and the offset is 14.  That 14 is 9 + 5, and that tilted the scales in favour of making the 10 as 2*5.  A tweak finished it off, yielding 986 = 5*(2*100 - 1) - 9.

My selection: 986 = 5*(2*100 - 1) - 9


Round 9: IN OCTAGON

I chose this conundrum after being presented with the similar CONTAKION (apparently a variant spelling of KONTAKION, a type of hymn).

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