NG 813

New game 813 is now available.

The re-run is episode 76; its rounds are here and its writeup is here.


Round 1: I K I S A T M S I

Bleah, so many I's.  I had TASK, TASKS, and MASKS.

Not surprisingly, five is the limit here.  The others are SKIMS, MISTS, MASTS, AMISS / SIMAS (SIMA: "Geology the rock which is the major component of the oceanic crust [...]"), SKITS, TIKIS, TAMIS ("a cloth sieve or strainer"), SKATS (SKAT being a type of card game), SATIS (SATI: "a Hindu widow who immolated herself [on the funeral pyre of her husband]"), SAKIS (SAKI being a type of monkey), MITIS ("Also, mitis metal.  a malleable iron produced by fusing wrought iron with a small amount of aluminium rendering the product fluid enough to cast"), KISTS (KIST being a variant spelling of CIST in the sense of "a prehistoric sepulchral stone tomb or casket"), and KATIS (KATI being a variant spelling of CATTY, the unit of weight).

My selection: TASKS


Round 2: R I T P T N I O N

Gah, more I's?  And a generally unhelpful mix regardless.  I had PRINT and POINT.  It was only after time that I finally saw the sixes of PINION and TRITON ("any of various marine gastropods [of a certain family]").

The other sixes are INTORT ("to twist inwards, curl, or wind") and TROPIN (variant spelling of TROPINE, a certain chemical).  But there is a seven here: INTROIT ("any psalm or anthem sung, or prayer said, at the beginning of divine service in a Christian church").

My selection: PRINT
Best: INTROIT


Round 3: Target 639 from 50 25 2 10 5 4

The target is clearly 9*71, but I was not able to make both the 9 and the 71 at once.  Instead I considered it as 625 + 14; the 14 can be made as 10 + 4, and a little thought produced a solution: 639 = 5*(2*50 + 25) + 10 + 4.  Then I saved a number by making the 625 differently, with 639 = 25*50/2 + 10 + 4.

My selection: 639 = 25*50/2 + 10 + 4


Round 4: R E A F W U C E T

Finally some good vowels!  I had FEAR, WAFER, REFACE, was uncertain about FACTURE (valid: "the act, process, or manner of making anything; construction"), CURATE, and CURFEW.  Unfortunately for me, I decided against risking FACTURE.  After time I noted FAUCET and REFUTE as other sixes, and a bit later saw the seven of FEATURE.

The remaining sevens are FURCATE ("to form a fork; divide into branches") and WAFTURE ("the act of wafting").

My selection: CURFEW
Best: FEATURE


Round 5: U U M F L R I A L

I had FILM, FRAIL, MURAL, and ALLIUM ("a flower or plant of the amaryllidaceous genus Allium, comprising bulbous plants with a peculiar pungent smell, including the onion, leek, shallot, garlic, and chive").  After time I noted down the more common six of ARMFUL.

The remaining six here is FULMAR (a kind of bird).

My selection: ALLIUM


Round 6: Target 497 from 100 50 25 75 10 5

The target is 7*71, but although a 71 is easy enough to come by it does not seem compatible with the 7.  So I switched to the standard method and soon found 497 = 5*100 - 75/25.

My selection: 497 = 5*100 - 75/25


Round 7: E S O B R E G N N

I had ROBES, GREBES (GREBE being a type of bird), GONERS, and GENRES.  After time I noted BEGONE as another six, and observed that an I instead of one of those E's would have given BEGINNERS.

NEGROES is proper, so the only seven here is ENROBES.  I'm a bit vexed to have started with ROBES and then not found this!

My selection: GENRES
Best: ENROBES


Round 8: Target 247 from 25 50 5 2 1 8

The standard method applies easily, although for some reason I made the 3 in roundabout fashion: 247 = 5*50 - (25 - 1)/8.  I also noted another option of 247 = 5*(50 + 1) - 8, but for some reason it is only now that I have seen 247 = 5*50 - 2 - 1.

My selection: 247 = 5*50 - (25 - 1)/8


Round 9: TO NIGERIA

A lot of vowels here, and those don't play well with the -ING ending.  That might be enough to hint at using -ATE instead.

My selection: [N/A -- chosen]
Best: ORIGINATE