This game doesn't really need an explanation - it's the numbers game from Countdown for crying out loud. It's not the prettiest application ever, but at least it works. I wrote it to prove to myself that reasonably complicated programming can be achieved in Flash, having written a similar version (in AMOS) on an Amiga about ten years ago.

There are some small differences between this and the version you see in Countdown - for example it is possible to pick more than four large numbers - but there's a relatively faithful representation of the Countdown clock to make up for it.


Play the game

instructions

After the low-quality intro, select six numbers at random. You may choose either a large number (25, 50, 75 or 100), or a small number (1 to 10) at each point.

Once six numbers are selected a three digit target is generated. You are then given thirty seconds to reach the target number using the six smaller numbers and the four mathematical operators (plus, minus, multiply and divide)

A simple example: given the numbers 50, 9, 10, 5, 2, 1 the target 513 can be achieved as follows:

(50 x 10) + 9 + 5 - 1 = 513

entering your calculation

This is the tricky bit, and I'm sure there's a more user-friendly way of doing it. You will need to enter one line of your calculation at a time by clicking on the row of numbers at the top of the screen and the operator buttons below, pressing the "=" button after each line.

For the above example, this would mean entering the calculation as follows:

50 x 10 = 500
500 + 9 = 509
509 + 5 = 514
514 - 1 = 513

If you've made an error, click on "clear" to remove the current line. Click on "quit" to exit.
And that's about it - have fun!

UPDATE: One evening in the local, I discovered that the interactive quiz machine used a suspiciously similar method of calculation entry for its adaptation of the numbers game, so there must be some merit to it.

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