NG 689

New game 689 is now available.

The re-run is episode 392; its rounds are here and its writeup is here.


Round 1: T S I A E M W F R

I had SATE, STEAM, MAESTRI (plural of MAESTRO), and WARMEST.  After time I noted other sevens of SMARTIE and FIRMEST.

The eight here, very well found by Sam, is WARTIMES.  The other sevens are WARTIME, WARIEST / WAITERS, FAIREST, FRETSAW / WAFTERS, and IMARETS (IMARET: "(in Turkey) a hospice for pilgrims, etc.").

My selection: WARMEST
Best: WARTIMES


Round 2: U L I I N R P M L

Horrible letters.  I had RUIN and PILUM (a type of javelin used by the Romans; alas, it turns out not to be listed).  After time I noted LUPIN as another five.

The best to be done here is the seven of MILLRUN (another name for MILLRACE: "the channel in which the current of water driving a millwheel flows to the wheel").  The sixes are PURLIN ("a timber or piece laid horizontally on the principal rafters of a roof to support the common rafters") and LIMULI (plural of LIMULUS, a type of crab).

My selection: [invalid -- PILUM]
Best: MILLRUN


Round 3: Target 888 from 25 50 4 3 7 6

The target is 12 away from 900, which in turn is 12*75.  That gives the factorisation 12*74, and thus 888 = 3*4*(50 + 25 - (7 - 6)).  Then I considered other ways to make the 900 and found a short tweak: 888 = 3*(6*50 - 4).

My selection: 888 = 3*(6*50 - 4)


Round 4: C S E A E J L A T

I had CASE, CEASE, CASTLE, ELATES, CASEATE ("to undergo caseous degeneration; become like cheese in consistency and appearance"), and LACTASE ("an enzyme capable of hydrolysing lactose into glucose and galactose").

The other sevens are CELESTA ("a musical instrument consisting essentially of steel plates struck by hammers, and having a keyboard") and ACETALS ("a class of compounds of aldehydes or ketones with alcohols").  But the common eight which I missed is ESCALATE.

My selection: LACTASE
Best: ESCALATE


Round 5: T N T O E R O I O

Bleah, too many vowels by far.  I had TONE, TENOR, ROTTEN, TOONIE (the Canadian two-dollar coin), and INTORT ("to twist inwards, curl, or wind").

The seven in this mix is TRITONE.  The other sixes are TINTER / RETINT, ENROOT, TOOTER, TRITON ("any of various marine gastropods [of a certain family]"), TONITE (an explosive), and ORIENT / TONIER*.

My selection: ROTTEN
Best: TRITONE


Round 6: Target 519 from 3 10 7 4 9 9

I first considered the option of 10*51 + 9, since both the 10 and 9 were available.  Getting to 51 with the remainder as feasible, and gave me the solution 519 = (7*9 - 3*4)*10 + 9.

My selection: 519 = (7*9 - 3*4)*10 + 9


Round 7: I G E O M A D C T

I had GAME, IMAGE, COMEDIA (alternative spelling of KOMEDYA: "a once-popular Philippine dramatic form dealing with the conflict between Christians and Moors in early medieval Europe"), DEMOTIC ("of or relating to the common people; popular"), and DOGMATIC.

The other sevens are GODETIA and GAMETIC.

My selection: DOGMATIC


Round 8: Target 727 from 50 7 2 10 6 1

Getting to 700 with 7*2*50 seemed like the obvious starting point, and I was able to tweak my way to a solution of 727 = 2*(7*50 + 10) + 6 + 1.

Seen while writing this up is an alternative of 727 = 7*(2*50 + 10 - 6) - 1.

My selection: 727 = 2*(7*50 + 10) + 6 + 1


Round 9: NICE TRAIT

I chose this conundrum; in retrospect it is harder than I thought it might be, with lots of common letters and not that big of a hook to get one started.  The -ATE ending turns out to be the way to go, with -ICATE extending to the answer of INTRICATE.

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