NG 420

New game 420 is now available.


Round 1: I N H O T D N I R

I had THIN and THORN.  After time I saw INTRON (but it turns out not to be listed) and THIRD.

The six here is NITRID, a variant form of NITRIDE.  But there is a seven to be had: TINHORN (an American colloquialism: "a pretentious or boastful person, especially a gambler, who makes false claims to power, influence, resources, etc.").

My selection: THORN
Best: TINHORN


Round 2: R C O M U C G A E

I had CORM ("a short, swollen upright stem-base in which food is stored, as in the gladiolus"), OCCUR, COUGAR, and COURAGE.

The other seven is MORCEAU ("an excerpt or passage of poetry or music").

My selection: COURAGE


Round 3: Target 387 from 50 1 8 9 6 10

I noticed the factor of 9 early; the cofactor is 43, and that was easy enough to make, giving the solution 387 = 9*(50 - 6 - 1).  Looking at more prosaic options, I found 387 = 8*50 - 10 - 9 + 6.

My selection: 387 = 9*(50 - 6 - 1)


Round 4: I A F O A N S D L

I had FAIN, SLAIN, ANODAL, and an uncertain LADINOS (LADINO: "an uncontrollable horse, steer, etc.; a stray").  Unfortunately I got my wires crossed a bit between LADINOS (valid) and LATINOS (invalid), and so stayed with ANODAL.  Whoops.

The other seven is INFOLDS (INFOLD being a variant form of ENFOLD).

My selection: ANODAL
Best: INFOLDS


Round 5: B R D S K A F A A

I had BARDS, FARADS (FARAD: "the derived SI unit of capacitance [...]'), and wondered about BARAKA (or even BARAKAS), but was right to avoid it.

Apparently ABFARAD is an obsolete term for a gigafarad, but it's not used these days and not listed in the Macquarie.  That rules out ABFARADS also, of course, and it turns out that FARADS is the only six and the best to be done.

My selection: FARADS


Round 6: Target 693 from 50 100 8 9 7 1

The target is 63*11, or 7*9*11, which can be paired up a few ways.  The simplest seems to be 693 = (100 - 1)*7, but I also noted 693 = (100/50 + 8 + 1)*9*7.

My selection: 693 = (100 - 1)*7


Round 7: I R U S H R T E O

I had RUSH, SHIRT, HURRIES, SHORTER, and SOUTHER.  After time I noted other sevens of HIRSUTE ("hairy"), RUSTIER, RIOTERS, TROUSER (valid without a final S as an adjective, such as trouser leg), SHOUTER, and was not surprised that SHOUTIER was not valid.

There is an eight to be had, however: HERITORS (HERITOR being an archaic form of INHERITOR).  The other sevens are HERITOR, HOISTER / SHORTIE, HORSIER, HURTERS (HURTER: "a supporting or strengthening part"), RHETORS (RHETOR: "a master or teacher of rhetoric"), ROISTER, ROUTERS / TOURERS, and RUSHIER.

My selection: HURRIES
Best: HERITORS


Round 8: Target 349 from 50 4 6 2 2 8

The lack of odd numbers provides a little challenge, but fortunately they are mostly cooperative this time.  The target is 7*50 - 1, and the 7 could be (8 + 6)/2 with the 1 being 2/2.  That's too many 2's, of course, but a little tweak sorts if out: 349 = ((8 + 6)*50 - 2)/2.  A perhaps more straightforward solution is 349 = 6*(50 + 8) + 2/2.

My selection: 349 = ((8 + 6)*50 - 2)/2


Round 9: ENVIES ASH

The -INESS fragment brought rewards in the form of HEAVINESS.  There is actually a second solution of EVANISHES (EVANISH apparently being an archaic variant of VANISH), but I decided that the second answer was acceptable.

My selection: HEAVINESS (a couple of seconds)