Currently only the short format, as seen on 8 out of 10 cats do countdown, is available in the game.
This means that there are 2 letter rounds, 2 numbers rounds and 1 conundrum round.
These are played in the order of:
Letters, Numbers, Conundrum, Letters, Numbers.
Multi Player
In multi player, the player who starts is randomly chosen.
Players alternate starting the round which means all players get the chance to choose the letters and numbers.
Letters Selection
At the beginning of each Letters Game round, contestants select a combination of nine letters from two stacks.
They can choose any mix of vowels (A, E, I, O, U) and consonants (all other letters), up to a total of nine letters.
The final combination must contain at least 3 vowels and 4 consonants. No letter may be used more than they are found in the selection.
Valid Words
To be considered valid, words must be found in a standard English dictionary and adhere to the rules of the English language.
Proper nouns, abbreviations, hyphenated words, and words requiring apostrophes are not allowed.
Scoring
Points are awarded based on the length of the word formed. The minimum length is 4 letters.
When the player achieves a valid word of 9 letters, they score 18 points (instead of 9).
Each player will score the points for their chosen valid word.
Numbers Selection
Individual numbers are chosen from 24 shuffled tiles, separated in 2 stacks.
There are 4 large numbers (25, 50 ,75, 100) and 20 small numbers (2 times the range of 1..10).
The player in control has to select 6 numbers, in whatever combination they desire.
A target number will be randomly chosen by the app. This target will be within 100 and (not including) 1000.
Valid Operations
The goal of this round is to reach (or get as close as possible to) the target number by using any of the 4 basic operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division.
Not all six numbers (or the numbers resulting from operations) have to be used. Any number can only be used once.
A subtraction may not result in a negative number. (Example: 5 - 12 is not allowed)
Division is only possible when there is no remainder. (Example: 12 divided by 5 is not allowed)
Scoring
Points are awarded based on how close the contestant gets to the target number.
10 points if the contestants get to the exact target number.
7 points for between 1 and 5 away from the target.
5 points for between 6 and 10 away from the target.
No points given if the result is more than 10 away from the target.
In the conundrum round, players are given a 9 letter anagram to make a valid word using all the letters. Every conundrum only has 1 correct answer. The same rules apply for valid words as in the letters round.
A contestant will only get one chance to find the word.
Scoring
10 points are awarded when a contestant finds the correct word.
No points are awarded in any other situation.