NG 473

New game 473 is now available.


Round 1: H I L E N C I G U

I had LINE and CEILING.

The other seven is LECHING.  The sixes are CLUING, LICHEN, HIEING, CUEING, NUCLEI / LEUCIN (variant form of LEUCINE, an amino acid), and ECHINI (plural of ECHINUS, a kind of sea urchin).

My selection: CEILING


Round 2: A I I H P N B D A

I had PAIN and PANDA, noting that a final O would have allowed OPHIDIAN (another term for a snake).  After time I noted down APHID as another five.

If only I had combined the two observations I could have found the eight of APHIDIAN (adjective derived from APHID).  There is a seven here, too: DAPHNIA (a type of crustacean).  The only six is BHINDI, another name for okra.

My selection: PANDA
Best: APHIDIAN


Round 3: Target 381 from 25 100 75 6 1 7

Applying the standard method gives an offset of 6, which is promising.  I went with 381 = (100/25 + 1)*75 + 6, then found another option of 381 = 6*(75 + 1) - (100 - 25).

My selection: 381 = (100/25 + 1)*75 + 6


Round 4: I C E R O S N M A

I had RICE, SCORE, CRIMSON, ROMANCES, and ROMANISE ("to put into roman type").

There's no nines here, despite the good letters.  The other eights are SCENARIO, INCOMERS / SERMONIC, MORAINES (MORAINE: "a ridge, mound, or irregular mass of boulders, gravel, sand, and clay, transported in or on a glacier") / ROMAINES (ROMAINE being a type of fabric, and also another name for cos lettuce), and CARMINES / CREMAINS ("the remains of a cremated body").

My selection: ROMANCES


Round 5: E D E K T R O T C

I had TEED, DETER, ROCKETED, and was dubious about DOCKETER (not valid) and COTTERED (also not valid -- only noun senses of COTTER are listed).

The other eight is DETECTOR.  The seven is TETRODE ("a radio valve containing four electrodes [...]").

My selection: ROCKETED


Round 6: Target 150 from 25 100 75 5 3 7

Unfortunately trivial.  Oh, well.  I wrote down 150 = 100 + 75 - 25 and 150 = 3*(75 - 25), and left it at that.

My selection: 150 = 100 + 75 - 25


Round 7: T R B W E O M U L

I had BREW, TOWER, TROUBLE, and TUMBLER / TUMBREL ("one of the carts used during the French Revolution to convey victims to the guillotine").  After time I checked up on TUBEWORM, and was surprised to find it was valid.  I saw it well within time, but assumed it was wishful thinking.  Oh, well.  (The Macquarie has TUBE WORM as the main form, but TUBEWORM as an acceptable alternative.)

The other sevens are TEMBLOR ("a tremor; an earthquake"), MOULTER, and BOULTER ("a long, stout fishing line with several hooks attached").

My selection: TROUBLE
Best: TUBEWORM


Round 8: Target 198 from 25 7 1 10 2 4

I first looked at the 98, noting it was 7*14, which led by slightly circuitous reasoning to 198 = ((10 + 4)*7 + 1)*2.  Then I looked at the more usual approach of 200 - 2 to get 198 = (7 + 1)*25 - 2.  (A simpler option would be 198 = (4*25 - 1)*2.)  Finally I used various factors to get 198 = (7 + 4)*2*(10 - 1).

My selection: 198 = (7 + 4)*2*(10 - 1)


Round 9: DIRTY ROOM

I chose this conundrum after being presented with the similar (but not in the Macquarie) DORMITARY.

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