NG 811

New game 811 is now available.

The re-run is episode 74; its rounds are here and its writeup is here.


Round 1: V G I U M R H A I

Wow, what a terrible mix.  I had GRIM and HAIR.  I also considered HARUM (but, as expected, it is only listed as part of HARUM-SCARUM) and GURAMI as a possible alternative spelling of GOURAMI, but was right to reject them both.

There are a few fives here: VIRGA ("rain or snow that is dissipated in falling and does not reach the ground, commonly appearing in trails descending from a cloud layer"), MAURI ("(in traditional Maori belief) the life force or animatory principle"), IHRAM ("the dress worn by Muslim pilgrims to Mecca [...]"), and VIGIA ("Nautical a mark on a navigational chart indicating a hazard or supposed hazard, the precise location and nature of which is uncertain").

My selection: GRIM
Best: VIRGA


Round 2: D N E D O O P C E

I had DONE, PONCED, POONCE, was dubious about POONCED (not valid), and DEPONED (DEPONE: "to give testimony").  After time I checked up on CODEPEND, but as expected it is not valid; CO-DEPENDENT is listed, but in any case it has a hyphen.

The other seven here is ENCODED.

My selection: DEPONED


Round 3: Target 691 from 75 100 2 6 4 9

My immediate instinct was to start with 9*75, and the offset of 16 was easy enough to come by: 691 = 9*75 + 4*(6 - 2).  (Seen just now is the cuter 691 = 9*75 + (100 - 4)/6.)  Then I realised that adjusting from 700 made more sense, and gave 691 = 4*(100 + 75) - 9.

My selection: 691 = 4*(100 + 75) - 9


Round 4: N S L E R A B U L

I had LENS, LEARNS, NEBULAR, and NEBULAS.

The possible eight here is RUBELLAS; I'm still a bit uncertain as to whether that should be pluralisable.  The other sevens are RUBELLA, ALLURES / LAURELS, BALLERS (BALLER being listed as a variant spelling of BALLA: "Chiefly US Colloquial a very rich man"), and BRANLES (BRANLE: "an early French country dance performed by dancers linked in a circle").

My selection: NEBULAS
Best: RUBELLAS (maybe)


Round 5: M C S O A T T O B

I had an uncertain COMS (valid, as it turns out, with COM being listed as colloquial for "a communist"), COMAS, MASCOT, was hoping for a final vowel with an E yielding COMATOSE, and COMBATS.

The other sevens are BOTTOMS, TOMCATS, and SCOTOMA ("loss of vision in a part of the visual field; a blind spot").

My selection: COMBATS


Round 6: Target 244 from 25 50 100 10 2 10

Starting with 10*25 seemed like a good way to get close, and the adjustment was possible: 244 = 10*25 - 10 + 2 + 100/50.  I was also able to get the factorisation 2*122 to work with 244 = (100 + 10 + 10 + 2)*50/25.  Finally I noted another option of 244 = (10/2)*50 - 10 + 100/25.

My selection: 244 = 10*25 - 10 + 2 + 100/50


Round 7: I E I I P C H S R

I had EPIC, CHIPS, PRICES, PERISH, and CHIRPS.  I considered ICESHIP (I knew that ICEBOAT was valid), but was right to avoid it.  A little after time I finally saw SPICIER for seven.

The other sevens are CIPHERS / SPHERIC (variant form of SPHERICAL).

My selection: PERISH
Best: SPICIER


Round 8: Target 426 from 100 3 5 8 1 1

The target is 6*71, but that is not very useful.  Instead I tweaked my way up from 400 with 426 = (3 + 1)*(100 + 8) - (5 + 1).

Just now I have realised that the factorisation 3*142 is much more useful, giving 426 = 3*(100 + 5*8 + 1 + 1).

My selection: 426 = (3 + 1)*(100 + 8) - (5 + 1)


Round 9: TIDY CAIRN

I jumped in prematurely with the invalid INDICTARY.

My selection: [invalid -- INDICTARY]
Best: RANCIDITY