NG 842

New game 842 is now available.

The re-run is episode 198; its rounds are here and its writeup is here.


Round 1: R I H S G O T A O

I had SIGH, RIGHTS, THORIAS, and GOATISH.

The other seven is AGISTOR (agent noun derived from AGIST: "to take in and feed or pasture (livestock) for payment").

My selection: GOATISH


Round 2: I R P K E A H I W

Bleah, an ill-fitting mix.  I had PIER, PIKER, and WREAK.  After time I checked up on PHREAK, but they only list PHREAKER or PHONE PHREAKING, not simply PHREAK.

The safe six here is HAWKER, with the other being PAKIHI ("NZ (in Westland district) patches of open, flat land, often swampy").  But the seven is PAWKIER* (PAWKY being listed as a variant of PARKY, colloquial for cold or chilly).

My selection: WREAK
Best: PAWKIER*


Round 3: Target 291 from 75 1 9 3 4 5

I went with the simple 291 = 4*75 - 9 and did not look for more.

My selection: 291 = 4*75 - 9


Round 4: F O B E A R A C S

I had BEAR, COBRA, COBRAS, BRACES, FRACAS, and CARAFES.

The other seven here is ROSACEA.

My selection: CARAFES


Round 5: I G L C P O M E I

I had CLIP, LOGIC, COMPILE / POLEMIC, and rightly rejected EPILOGIC (which does show up in my Scrabble list, though).

COMPILE / POLEMIC are the only sevens.  The sixes are COMPEL and POLICE.

My selection: POLEMIC


Round 6: Target 110 from 75 50 9 2 3 10

Another simple numbers target; I started with 110 = 2*50 + 10 then avoided the large number with 110 = (9 + 2)*10.

My selection: 110 = (9 + 2)*10


Round 7: E T E C O R N D U

I had COTE, ERECT, CORNET, CENTRED, and COUNTERED / RECOUNTED.

The eights in this mix are TROUNCED, DEUTERON (a deuterium nucleus, deuterium being an isotope of hydrogen), and DUECENTO ("the 13th century, used commonly with reference to Italian art and literature of that period").

My selection: COUNTERED


Round 8: Target 933 from 25 100 3 6 5 10

This was a tough one, particularly in comparison to the previous numbers rounds.  I had to settle for one away with 932 = 10*(100 - 6) - 3 - 5.

There are three solutions to this: 933 = (10*25 - 100 + 5)*6 + 3, 933 = (25 + 6)*(100/5 + 10) + 3, and 933 = (5*25 - 6)*(10 - 3) + 100.

My selection: 932 = 10*(100 - 6) - 3 - 5  [1 off]
Best: 933 = (10*25 - 100 + 5)*6 + 3


Round 9: BOUND DUET

Another case where the -ED fragment helps, which is not too surprising.

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