Serious Game Classification

Countdown is a Channel 4 TV show which has continued into the 2000s, despite the death of original host Richard Whiteley in 2005. It's a words-and-numbers game show, and the original format of 6 letters games, 2 numbers games and a conundrum, is recreated here. There is no computer opponent, so 2 people are required.

In the letters round, a selection of 9 letters is formed by alternately choosing a vowel or consonant, and the players have 30 seconds to find the longest available word. Generated letter combinations are not always realistic with the show. As in Computer Scrabble, the full dictionary is not stored in memory, so the game will ask if the words you enter are real. The longest word scores its length, with 18 points for a 9 letter word - both players score for equal length words.

The numbers game also takes 30 seconds, and involves choosing 6 numbers from a set including 25,50,75 and 100 as well as 2 each from 1-10. Choose how many large numbers you want, and the set is chosen randomly. A three-figure target is randomly generated, and you have 30 seconds to add, subtract, multiply and divide to get as close to it as possible.

The conundrum finishes the show - it's a 9-letter anagram, which the first player to solve buzzes in to give his answer, scoring 10 points if correct. [source:mobygames]

Distribution : Retail - Commercial
Platform(s) : Amstrad CPC - ZX Spectrum

Links

• http://www.mobygames.com/game/countdown_/