NG 513

New game 513 is now available.


Round 1: S U E T R U S A C

I had SUET, SUTURE, SUTURES, AUTEURS, CASTERS, noted that if one of the U's had been an E instead then SECATEURS would have been available, and considered SEACRUST but rightly rejected it.  After time I noted ACTRESS as another seven.

Seven is the best to be done here; the others are CURATES / CAUTERS (CAUTER is listed as a variant form of CAUTERY: "an escharotic substance or a hot iron used to destroy tissue"), SAUCERS / CAUSERS / SUCRASE (a certain enzyme) / CESURAS (CESURA being a variant spelling of CAESURA: "English Prosody a break, especially a sense pause, usually near the middle of a verse, and marked in scansion by a double vertical line [...]"), RECASTS, and CUESTAS (CUESTA: "a landform characterised by an asymmetrical ridge with an abrupt cliff on one side forming the escarpment and a gentle slope on the other forming the back slope").

My selection: SUTURES


Round 2: E E N I A F W D F

I had FAIN, WEANED, DEFINE, AFFINE (not valid, to my surprised; it's a mathematical term, but I thought it was common enough to count), and EFFENDI ("History (a Turkish title of respect for government officials, etc.)").

The other seven is AFFINED ("related; connected").  The other sixes are DEAFEN, FAWNED, and NAFFED* (from the phrase NAFF OFF: "Colloquial to go away").

My selection: EFFENDI


Round 3: Target 630 from 25 50 5 2 3 1

The target is right near 625, which is always provocative.  I used that for the simple 630 = 25*50/2 + 5.

My selection: 630 = 25*50/2 + 5


Round 4: O R D N T L A E H

I had TORN, RANTED, THORNED / THRONED, LEOTARD, decided OTHERLAND was too much of a stretch, and HANDLER.  After time I noted ETHANOL as another seven.

A little surprisingly to me, seven is the limit on this mix.  The others are LOATHED, LOATHER, ANOTHER, TALONED, ENTHRAL, ALTHORN (a musical instrument), and DELATOR.

My selection: LEOTARD


Round 5: C S U I E O M S T

I had ICES, COMES, MISCUES, MOUSIEST, COSTUMES, and then considering the invalid COSTUMISE led me to CUSTOMISE.

CUSTOMISE is the only nine.  The other eight is COITUSES.  The other sevens are COSTUME, CUSTOMS, CESIUMS, COSIEST / COTISES (COTISE: "a narrow diminutive of a bend"; it also has verb senses), CUEISTS / CUTISES (CUTIS: "the corium or true skin, beneath the epidermis") / ICTUSES (ICTUS: "Pathology a stroke, as sunstroke"), SITCOMS / COSMIST (derived from COSMISM: "the philosophy of cosmic evolution"), and SOMITES (SOMITE: "any of the longitudinal series of segments or parts into which the body of certain animals is divided").

My selection: CUSTOMISE


Round 6: Target 652 from 25 50 75 3 7 5

I started by getting to 650, but used up the 5 in the process and could not make an offset of 2.  Still, it sufficed for one away to get 653 = 5*(75 + 50) + 25 + 3.  Then I looked at getting to 650 without using up the 5 (so as to preserve the options of 5 - 3 or 7 - 5 for the final 2) and found a solution: 652 = 7*(75 + 25) - 50 + 5 - 3.

My selection: 652 = 7*(75 + 25) - 50 + 5 - 3


Round 7: A E G C I O Y N G

I had CAGE, CAGEY, OCEAN, AGENCY, CAGING, and COINAGE.

A moderately rare case of the -ING ending only being good for six letters, while longer words existed.  The eight in this mix is GYNOECIA (plural of GYNOECIUM: "the carpel, or the carpels collectively, of a flower").  The other seven is GYNECIA, a variant spelling of GYNOECIA.

My selection: COINAGE
Best: GYNOECIA


Round 8: Target 809 from 100 75 1 2 2 7

I went through a few complicated variations of 1 away; the one that I wrote down is 810 = 7*(100 + 2 + 2 + 1) + 75.  (Rather simpler: 808 = (7 + 1)*(100 + 2/2).)  The target is unreachable, so one off is the best to be done.

My selection: 810 = 7*(100 + 2 + 2 + 1) + 75  [1 off]


Round 9: DOUBT RING

I failed to extract OBTRUD(E) from the non -ING letters, and thereafter got even further lost without progress.

My selection: [no answer]
Best: OBTRUDING