NG 812

New game 812 is now available.

The re-run is episode 75; its rounds are here and its writeup is here.


Round 1: C P M O I F D E N

Gah, I blanked on this one.  I had COMP, COMPED, IMPEND, rightly rejected COMPEND (although it is in the Scrabble list), and MEDICO.  Just after time I finally saw the seven of DEMONIC.

The other seven here is CONFIDE, and I'm vexed about missing that.

My selection: MEDICO
Best: DEMONIC


Round 2: S G B O A A T I M

I had BOGS, BOATS, BIOGAS, and GAMBITS

BASMATI is not valid since it is only part of the term BASMATI RICE; that makes GAMBITS the only seven and the best to be done.

My selection: GAMBITS


Round 3: Target 618 from 100 50 25 10 6 10

My thoughts immediately turned to making this as 6*103, and fortunately I was able to make that work, albeit in roundabout fashion with 618 = 6*(100 + (25 - 10) / (50/10)).  Then I saw the simpler 618 = 6*(100 + 50/25 + 10/10).  A bit after time I found the more straightforward 618 = 6*100 + 10 + 10 - 50/25.

My selection: 618 = 6*(100 + (25 - 10) / (50/10))


Round 4: A I L A D G S T U

I had DIAL, SALAD, DISTAL, was uncertain about GLADIUS (it's Latin for 'sword', but also used in English to specifically mean the type of sword used by Roman soldiers; however, it is not in the Macquarie), and was thus happy to settle on the safer DUALIST.

DUALIST is the only seven here; the other sixes are ADULTS, GUILDS, TAIGAS, STALAG, AUDITS, STADIA, GUILTS, GASLIT, DULIAS (DULIA: "veneration and invocation given to saints as the servants of God and friends of God"), and SITULA ("an ancient bucket-shaped vessel").

My selection: DUALIST


Round 5: R W B O H Z E A R

I had BROW, BARROW, ABHOR, and rightly rejected ABHORER (a bit to my surprise, there is a suitable entry under ABHOR but it is spelled ABHORRER).  After time I noted ZEBRA and RAZOR as other fives, and HARBOR as another six.

The remaining sixes are HARROW, BEZOAR ("a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, especially ruminants, formerly reputed to be efficacious against poison"), and BRAWER (by application of the single-syllable rule to BRAW: "Scottish fine or fine-looking; excellent").

My selection: BARROW


Round 6: Target 342 from 50 1 7 7 10 3

The target is 9*38, but that seemed hard to apply.  Instead I went with the standard method option of 342 = 7*50 - 7 - 1.  Then I realised that the target was near the cube of 7, allowing me to get a solution in small numbers alone: 342 = 7*7*(10 - 3) - 1.

My selection: 342 = 7*7*(10 - 3) - 1


Round 7: S E D A C O F E C

I was rightly dubious about DACES (the plural form is given explicitly as DACE only), then had CODAS, FAECES, ACCEDES, and DEFACES.

Those are both sevens listed.  The other sixes are ACCEDE, DEFACE, CEASED, and DECAFS.

My selection: DEFACES


Round 8: Target 263 from 9 6 8 3 2 9

A technique I commonly use with six small numbers is to divide by the largest available number, and try to get near to that result with the rest.  In this case, the target is clearly near 9*30, and I could approximate the 30 as 3*9 + 2 = 29.  In fact, 9*29 is closer to the target, being only two away.  The remaining small numbers cooperated, giving me the solution 263 = 9*(3*9 + 2) + 8 - 6.  Then I noticed a way to make the 30, leading to an alternative solution of 263 = 9*(3*8 + 6) - (9 - 2).

My selection: 263 = 9*(3*9 + 2) + 8 - 6


Round 9: SLICED GNU

I was distracted at this point, so it took me longer than it should have to stop the timer.  Whoops!

My selection: SECLUDING (12.3s)