Countdown/Jeu des Chiffres et des Lettres - source code


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Are there any logophiles in Britain who were not glued to the TV every weekday at 4pm when Countdown came on? Originally a French TV game, Britain adopted it with vigor. (This independant web page is better than C4's)
(There's an infamous and not-very-true story about Countdown: http://www.okent.freeserve.co.uk/chance.htm - Countdown contestants, like Scrabble players - are notorious for playing the best word they can whether it is appropriate for a children's TV slot or not; I remember one young contestant (may have been Alan Saldhana at 15?) who played "lesbians" which was quickly glossed over by Richard Whitely. "Yes. Perfectly valid word. Hrmph.") There is also an incredibly good rendering of Countdown for Windows by Loz Archer, but it is executable only and the most blatant violation of copyright you could imagine! Complete with sound samples from TV, scans of Carol, the Countdown clock etc etc. It will not be included here, although I'm sure anyone with half a brain and a search engine will be able to find it.
Although not a word game, the problem of the "Numbers Game" in Countdown is an interesting one, and here are two solutions to it which attempt to imitate the inimitable Carol Vorderman.
See also Anagrams for generically similar programs. Or return to the Archive overview.
Countdown is a trademark of Channel Four.