LaunchBox Logo Back to Home Page
Illustration of Countdown

Countdown

Overview

Countdown is a Channel 4 TV show which has continued into the 2010s, 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.

Developers
Macsen Software
Platform
Amstrad CPC
Genre
Puzzle
Alternate Names
No information available
Wikipedia
No information available
Video
No information available

Media

Box - 3D

Countdown - Box - 3D (Europe) - 258x463
Europe -  258 x 463

Box - Back

Countdown - Box - Back (Europe) - 755x1200
Europe -  755 x 1200
Countdown - Box - Back (Europe) - 1129x1400
Europe -  1129 x 1400

Box - Front

Countdown - Box - Front (Europe) - 1120x1400
Europe -  1120 x 1400
Countdown - Box - Front (Europe) - 712x1200
Europe -  712 x 1200

Box - Spine

Countdown - Box - Spine (Europe) - 147x1200
Europe -  147 x 1200
Countdown - Box - Spine (Europe) - 143x1400
Europe -  143 x 1400

Cart - Front

Countdown - Cart - Front (Europe) - 1115x706
Europe -  1115 x 706
Countdown - Cart - Front (Europe) - 558x351
Europe -  558 x 351

Clear Logo

Countdown - Clear Logo (null) - 400x175
400 x 175

Screenshot - Gameplay

Countdown - Screenshot - Gameplay (null) - 384x270
384 x 270