NG 467

New game 467 is now available.


Round 1: E F A D M C M O S

I had FADE, FAMED, FACED, wondered about CAMMED (not valid), and SCAMMED.

SCAMMED appears to be the only seven, and the best to be done.  The sixes are COMMAS, FOAMED, MODEMS, CAMEOS, and DECAFS.

My selection: SCAMMED


Round 2: H E O I W R E D I

I had WIRE, WEIGHT, and (reluctantly) WHORED.

The more acceptable and common six is WEIRDO.  The other six is WIDGIE ("a female bodgie").

My selection: WHORED


Round 3: Target 655 from 25 50 100 75 9 3

I made a bit heavy weather of this.  It's hard to go past 9*75 as a start, but an offset of 20 feels a bit challenging.  Then I realised that 20 was 100/5, and found my way to 655 = 9*75 - 100/(50/25 + 3).

There are two other solutions, both using another way to make the 5 as 3 + 100/50.  They are 655 = 9*75 - 25 + 5 and 655 = 9*(75 - 5) + 25.

My selection: 655 = 9*75 - 100/(50/25 + 3)


Round 4: E A I S L N S F E

I had AISLE, SALINE / ALIENS, FLENSE ("to strip the blubber or the skin from (a whale, seal, etc."), wondered about SEALIFE (not valid, a little surprisingly), and then after rejecting FAILNESS happily spotted LEAFINESS.  After time I noted two sevens of FALSIES and FINALES.

There are no eights; the other sevens are FLENSES, FINESSE, FELINES, FINLESS, ENSILES (ENSILE: "to preserve (green fodder) in a silo"), FILASSE ("any of various vegetable fibres, other than cotton, processed for manufacture into yarn"), and SALINES (SALINE as a noun: "a saline health drink or medicine") / SILANES (SILANE being a certain type of chemical).

My selection: LEAFINESS


Round 5: T C C O N S I A E

I had COST, CISCO (a type of fish), ACTIONS, and CANOEIST / ACONITES.

The other eights are COSECANT, CONCEITS, and COCAINES.

But there is a nine here!  It is OSCITANCE, a noun derived from OSCITANT ("drowsy; inattentive").

My selection: CANOEIST
Best: OSCITANCE


Round 6: Target 553 from 100 7 4 9 2 8

I missed the option of making a 5 as 7 - 2, and hence missed the relatively simple solution of 553 = (7 - 2)*(100 + 9) + 8.  Instead I flailed around for a bit, and considered the offset from 400 which was 153.  I recognised that as 9*17, and a solution followed: 553 = 4*100 + 9*(8 + 2 + 7).  After time I realised the factorisation 7*79, and found the alternative solution 553 = (100 - 9 - 8 - 4)*7.

Seen while writing this up is another option of 553 = (4 + 2)*(100 - 9) + 7.

My selection: 553 = 4*100 + 9*(8 + 2 + 7)


Round 7: O E L I M T R A N

I had LIME, MOTILE, ELATION / TOENAIL, and TRAMLINE.  I also wondered about MENTORIAL, but did not like it enough.  Later checking confirms that it is not in the Macquarie, although it does show up in the Scrabble word list.  After time I noted other eights of RELATION / ORIENTAL.

The other eight is TERMINAL.

My selection: TRAMLINE


Round 8: Target 238 from 50 9 2 7 2 4

I started with 238 = 4*(50 + 9) + 2, then belatedly noticed the factorisation 7*34 and so found the alternative 238 = (4*9 - 2)*7.

My selection: 238 = (4*9 - 2)*7


Round 9: THROW RAKE

I eventually pulled out the WORK fragment, and the rest formed HEART / EARTH.  The latter was clearly better, and gave the solution.

My selection: EARTHWORK (9.7s)