NG 411

New game 411 is now available.


Round 1: M O S A I J E T T

I had SOMA ("the body of an organism as contrasted with its germ cells"), MISO, JAMS, and ATOMISE.  Considerably after time I added TOASTIE as another seven.

The other sevens are ATOMIES (plural of ATOMY, either archaic for "an atom" or obsolete for "a skeleton"), ATOMIST, and MATIEST* (via MATEY).

My selection: ATOMISE


Round 2: P B D L E E O E N

I had BLED, BLEED, and BLEEPED.  After time I noted NEEDLE as a six.

BLEEPED looks like the only seven.  The other sixes are BEEPED, DEEPEN / PEENED (PEEN: "to treat by striking regularly all over with the peen of a hammer"), OPENED / DEPONE ("to give testimony"), ELOPED, PEELED, BLONDE, BENDEE (a type of tree), and BLENDE ("sphalerite; zinc sulfide").

My selection: BLEEPED


Round 3: Target 192 from 100 8 5 1 6 9

I recognised the target as 3*64, which is 6*32, and a little rejigging produced a solution of 192 = 6*8*(5 - 1).  I also wrote down a standard solution of 192 = (6 - 5 + 1)*100 - 8.

My selection: 192 = 6*8*(5 - 1)


Round 4: D A U S R W A F I

I had SARD, WARDS, AWARDS, and spotted both SUDARIA and FUSARIA but thought from past checking that neither plural form was listed.  This was correct in the case of FUSARIA (FUSARIUM: "any of various fungi of the genus Fusarium [...]"), but not in the case of SUDARIUM ("a cloth for wiping the face; a handkerchief"), so I cost myself a good result.  A shame.

SUDARIA is the only seven; the other sixes are DWARFS, FRAUDS, AFRAID, SAFARI, RADIUS, and FARADS.

My selection: AWARDS
Best: SUDARIA


Round 5: H R M E N I E I C

I had HERM, MINER, HEREIN, ERMINE, and MINCER.  After time I noted MENHIR as another six, but sevens eluded me.

There are sevens to be had, though: HIRCINE ("of, relating to, or resembling a goat"), EIRENIC (variant spelling of IRENIC: "peaceful"), CRIMINE (variant spelling of the interjection CRIMINY), and CHIMERE (variant spelling of CHIMER: "a loose upper robe, especially of a bishop, to which the lawn sleeves are usually attached").

My selection: ERMINE
Best: EIRENIC


Round 6: Target 876 from 75 4 2 8 10 1

Getting close with 75*12 = 900 seemed clear, and the offset of 24 was also divisible by 12, revealing the factorisation 73*12 and thus the solution 876 = (75 - 2)*(8 + 4).

My selection: 876 = (75 - 2)*(8 + 4)


Round 7: O F S E T O A L M

I had FOES, FOOTS, FLOATS, and MALTOSE.  After time I noted FOLATES as another seven.

The other sevens are FLOTSAM, FOOTLES, and OSTEOMA ("a tumour composed of osseous tissue").

My selection: MALTOSE


Round 8: Target 815 from 75 100 50 10 3 10

It seemed clear that the target should be made as 825 - 10, and I managed to unearth a solution that way: 815 = (10 + 3)*75 - 100 - 50 - 10.

My selection: 815 = (10 + 3)*75 - 100 - 50 - 10


Round 9: HARE CLANG

I tried the -ANGE fragment at first, then -ANGLE.  Looking at the leftover letters for the latter gave me ARCH, and the adjustment of ANGLE to ANGEL was then easy.

My selection: ARCHANGEL (10.1s)