''Letters and Numbers'' is an Australian
game show
A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...
on
SBS One
SBS is a national public television network in Australia. Launched on 24 October 1980, it is the responsibility of SBS's television division, and is available nationally. In 2018, SBS had a 7.7% audience share.
As of 2022, SBS is the lowe ...
. It is hosted by former newsreader
Richard Morecroft
Richard Morecroft (born 20 January 1956) is an English-born Australian radio announcer, TV newsreader and presenter, and conservationist. He presented the Adelaide News bulletin, before becoming the long-running host of the nightly bulletin of ...
, co-hosted by
David Astle
David Astle (born 9 November 1961) is an Australian TV personality and radio host, and writer of non-fiction, fiction and plays. He also co-hosted the SBS Television (SBS) show ''Letters and Numbers'', as the dictionary expert, in company with Ri ...
and
Lily Serna
Lily Serna is an Australian mathematician and television presenter, best known for co-presenting the SBS game shows '' Letters and Numbers'' (2010−2012) and ''Celebrity Letters and Numbers'' (2021−), as well as the cooking show ''Destinati ...
. Although it is based on the
French game show ''
Des chiffres et des lettres
''Des chiffres et des lettres'' (, "numbers and letters") is a French television programme. It was created by Armand Jammot and tests the numeracy skills and vocabulary of two contestants. It is one of the longest-running game shows in the world ...
'', its structure is similar to the UK version of the show, ''
Countdown
A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...
'' - with the titular difference being used to avoid confusion with the Australian music program ''
Countdown
A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...
''.
The series began airing on 2 August 2010. On 22 June 2012 SBS announced its decision to "rest" the show and the final episode aired on 27 June 2012. Repeat episodes were still regularly shown on SBS as of 2022.
On 5 July 2021, SBS announced that ''Letters and Numbers'' would be revived in a new series hosted by comedian, journalist and actor Michael Hing. On 3 September 2021, it was revealed that the revival would be a celebrity version of the show, entitled ''
Celebrity Letters and Numbers
''Celebrity Letters and Numbers'' is an Australian comedy panel game show on SBS which premiered on 2 October 2021. It is a revived version of the game show ''Letters and Numbers'', which aired on SBS from 2010 to 2012, with an altered format ...
'', and that David Astle and Lily Serna would return to co-host the series which premiered on 2 October 2021.
Gameplay
Two contestants compete against each other in a series of nine rounds, split into three sections. The first two sections consist of two letters rounds followed by a numbers round; the third section consists of a letters round, a numbers round, and the conundrum round. After the first commercial break, Astle would present a story on the origins of particular words and phrases.
The winner of the game returns in the next show to face a new opponent; a player who wins six times is forced to retire, becoming a retired champion, in which case two new contestants will play the next game. Retired champions with the highest cumulative score may return for a special tournament at the end of each series. Every contestant also wins a ''
Macquarie Dictionary
The ''Macquarie Dictionary'' () is a dictionary of Australian English. It is generally considered by universities and the legal profession to be the authoritative source on Australian English. It also pays considerable attention to New Zealand ...
5th Edition'', signed by the presenters.
Letters round
One contestant chooses how many vowels and consonants they would like to make up nine randomly chosen letters. There must be at least three vowels and four consonants. The contestants then have thirty seconds to find the longest word that they can make out of these letters. Any word which appears in the ''Macquarie Dictionary'' is allowable, as well as some inflections. The contestant with the longest word is awarded one point for each letter in the word, but nine-letter words, informally called a "Full Monty", count double (thus scoring 18 points). If both contestants find words of equal length then each is awarded points. Proper nouns are not qualified during the Letters rounds.
Numbers round
One contestant chooses how many "small" and "large" numbers they would like to make up six randomly chosen numbers. Small numbers are between 1 and 10 inclusive, and large numbers are 25, 50, 75, or 100. All large numbers will be different, so at most four large numbers may be chosen. The contestants have to use
arithmetic on some or all of those numbers to get as close as possible to a randomly generated three-digit target number within the thirty second time limit. Fractions are not allowed—only integers may be used at any stage of the calculation.
For numbers selections, they are to be straightforward. The numbers are always placed in a fixed order (going Right to Left - Small numbers are placed first, then the large ones).
Points are awarded for the closest solution, and again both contestants score if the solutions are equally close, which can be in opposite directions to each other. 10 points are given for an exact answer, 7 points for a non-exact solution up to 5 from the target, and 5 points for a solution between 6 and 10 from the target. If neither contestant can get within 10, no points are awarded.
All combinations of large and small numbers have informal names:
Other informal names were "Kitchen Sink" (using all six numbers), "Scenic Route" (providing a complicated solution when a simpler one was available), and "Tweaking" (modifying a large number by addition or subtraction before multiplication, usually written out longhand for ease of understanding). E.g.
Conundrum round
A nine-letter
anagram made up of two smaller words is given to the contestants who must unscramble the word within the time limit of thirty seconds. The first person to buzz in and correctly identify the word wins 10 points. If a contestant answers incorrectly then they may not guess again and the other contestant has the remaining time to attempt to find the answer. If neither contestant buzzes in with a correct answer during the time limit then no points are awarded. If the scores are tied after the conundrum, tie-breaker conundrums are used until the match is decided.
Word Mix
Before the commercial break, the audience is given a "Word Mix"—an 8 letter anagram similar to the conundrum, but accompanied by a verbal clue. At the end of the break when the show returns, the anagram is revealed. This does not count towards the scores of the contestants. This is referred to as a 'Teatime Teaser' on the UK version.
Origin of Words
After the first ad break, after the reveal of the solution to the first word mix and before resuming gameplay, David Astle would present an "Origin of Words" segment, discussing the etymology of several words, usually with an oblique connection to each other.
List of series
At the end of each series, the eight best contestants, those who have acquired the highest cumulative score over the series are invited back to compete in a series of finals. The winner of each series receives a trophy.
Fisher and Fernando from Series 1 have also been rivals outside of ''Letters and Numbers'' since the 1990s, having been involved in other mind-puzzle games at tournament level, most notably the Channel News Asia Scrabble Masters tournament held in Singapore in 1999. On that occasion Fernando prevailed in an epic encounter, winning $25,000 to Fisher's $10,000.
After Series 5, the finals series from the first four series were repeated to prepare for the Masters series, which features all of the grand final winners and runners-up, except for Alan Nash, whom semi-finalist Toby Baldwin took his place.
Notes
Products
On 1 December 2010, the Letters and Numbers puzzle book was published. Since then, eight volumes have been produced. The puzzles inside are transcribed from each episode of the show. On 1 May 2012, a spin-off puzzle book was released titled ''Lily's Number Puzzles'', which focused on numbers games.
On 4 July 2012, a DVD titled ''Letters and Numbers: The Masters'' was released, containing all seven episodes of the Masters series.
See also
*''
Countdown
A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...
''
*''
Celebrity Letters and Numbers
''Celebrity Letters and Numbers'' is an Australian comedy panel game show on SBS which premiered on 2 October 2021. It is a revived version of the game show ''Letters and Numbers'', which aired on SBS from 2010 to 2012, with an altered format ...
''
*
Family Feud
''Family Feud'' is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. It features two families who compete to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes.
The show has had three separate runs, th ...
*
The Chase Australia
''The Chase Australia'' is an Australian television quiz show
A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be part ...
*
Wheel of Fortune (Australian game show)
''Wheel of Fortune'' is an Australian television game show produced by Grundy Television until 2006, and CBS Studios International in 2008. The program aired on the Seven Network from 1981 to 2004 and January to July 2006, aired at 5:00pm from ...
*
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Australian game show)
''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' is an Australian television game show which would offer a maximum cash prize of $1,000,000 for answering 15 successive multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty. The show was based on and follows the ...
References
{{reflist
External links
SBS Australia: ''Letters and Numbers''
Special Broadcasting Service original programming
2010 Australian television series debuts
2012 Australian television series endings
2010s Australian game shows
English-language television shows
Australian television series based on non-Australian television series