NG 490

New game 490 is now available.


Round 1: O P U E R N W A B

I had PURE, OWNER, APRON, POWER, and BORANE ("a hydride of boron [...]").  After time I wondered about UPBORN (invalid) and UPBEAR (valid), and then saw WEAPON as a safer six.

The only seven here is the one I was close to above: UPBORNE.  The other sixes are UPBORE, URBANE, UNWRAP, UNROBE / BOURNE (variant spelling of BOURN: "a bound; limit"), and PAWNER / ENWRAP.

My selection: BORANE
Best: UPBORNE


Round 2: H R N E E T E O D

I had NETHER, THRONE, and DETHRONE.

The other eight is THRENODE, a variant form of THRENODY ("a song of lamentation, especially for the dead").  The sevens are ENTERED, THRONED / THORNED, THEREON, and ERODENT ("eroding; erosive").

My selection: DETHRONE


Round 3: Target 364 from 25 1 3 3 1 2

The target is 7*52, which is 14*26.  The 26 part is clear, and the rest works out well enough; I started with 364 = (25 + 1)*(3*(3 + 1) + 2) and then noted the alternative of 364 = (25 + 1)*2*(3 + 3 + 1).

My selection: 364 = (25 + 1)*2*(3 + 3 + 1)


Round 4: L R S N A P S I O

I had SNARL, PLANS, SNARLS, SPIRALS, PASSION, PRISONS, and PARISONS (PARISON: "a preliminary shape or blank, from which a glass article is to be formed").

PARISONS appears to be the only eight; the other sevens are PARISON / SOPRANI, PARSONS, SAILORS, and SPRAINS.

My selection: PARISONS


Round 5: U K B E T A I R C

I had TUBE, BEAUT, TUCKER, and BUCKET.  After time I found TACKIER for seven.

The other sevens are BRACKET, TRUCKIE, and BRUCITE (a mineral).

My selection: BUCKET
Best: BRACKET


Round 6: Target 631 from 100 25 50 75 4 5

The target is 625 + 6, and 625 is always worth a look when the large numbers are around.  I found two ways to make a 6, and they both worked out: 631 = (100 - 75)*25 + 50/5 - 4, and 631 = 5*(100 + 25) + 4*75/50.

My selection: 631 = 5*(100 + 25) + 4*75/50


Round 7: E A F T C J O T D

I had FATE, FACET, speculatively wrote down FAUCET but the U never turned up, CATTED (CAT as a verb: "to flog with a cat-o'-nine-tails"), and JOTTED.

The seven is CODETTA ("a short coda").  The other sixes are COATED, FATTED, and COTTED ("(of wool) having become partially felted or matted whilst on the sheep's back").

My selection: JOTTED
Best: CODETTA


Round 8: Target 595 from 50 2 7 2 1 8

Applying the standard method means getting to 600, which is clearly 2*50*6, with the 6 potentially being either 7 - 1 or 8 - 2.  Neither immediately leaves an offset of 5 available, but the latter at least leaves us with odd numbers, and a quick tweak with the 1 allows us to make the 5 as 7 - 2: 595 = ((8 - 2)*50 + 1) - 7.  Then I noticed the factor of 7, with cofactor 85, and found an alternative solution of 595 = (2*(50 - 8) + 1)*7.

My selection: 595 = (2*(50 - 8) + 1)*7


Round 9: HELM BLOBS

It's a bit ingenuous to claim this one, as my "divide a potential conundrum into two words" generator presented me with BOMBSHELL, presumably as either BOMB + SHELL or BOMBS + HELL.  Oh, well.

My selection: BOMBSHELL