Responses to the FAQ

[Kai Laddiman]

I can't get through to the podcasts.

[Charlie Reams]

I've lost Episode 1 (was that what you were clicking on by any chance?) If anyone has a copy, I'd quite like to have it back.

[Ben Wilson]

I've lost Episode 1 (was that what you were clicking on by any chance?) If anyone has a copy, I'd quite like to have it back.

Get your sweet self on msn and I'll let you have it.

[Charlie Reams]

Get your sweet self on msn and I'll let you have it.

This just seems to beg for a Phil Reynolds gag...

[Phil Reynolds]

Get your sweet self on msn and I'll let you have it.

This just seems to beg for a Phil Reynolds gag...

As does that...

[Hannah O]

Thanks for the useful link collation! I'm sorry to say I posted just to look good and say "Nice Fat Boy Slim reference", but I thought I'd better stay on topic! The Experiences page is certainly a valuable resource for future contestants.

[Ben Hunter]

Get your sweet self on msn and I'll let you have it.

This just seems to beg for a Phil Reynolds gag...

As does that...

[Charlie Reams]

Where's the content, Ben? You'll have an army of angry bisexual mothers after you if you're not careful.

[Ben Hunter]

c4countdown.co.uk has some recognition from the channel 4 website: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/countdown

[Charlie Reams]

I've split this into a separate topic so that n00bs don't get confused about what's the FAQ and what's random discussion. If people have questions that they think I should address in the FAQ, post them here.

[Jason Larsen]

Did you lose your very first podcast by accident, Charlie?

[Gavin Chipper]

From the FAQ

Most people have no idea how good the top players really are.

Really? When they try and compete against them at home but get trounced on a regular basis doesn't that give them a clue?

[Kirk Bevins]

Really? When they try and compete against them at home but get trounced on a regular basis doesn't that give them a clue?

Does Charlie mean people can't differentiate between how good Kai is compared with say Conor? To them they're both young quality octochamps. To them they don't realise Conor is coming out with ALBEDOS, RENEGADO which are maximums in their selections and normal people don't realise how often Conor hits the maximum and just how good he is in relation to other pros. Nor do they realise how much effort the top players put in. Nor do they realise that HETAIRA or POLONIES are high probability words but are deemed much 'harder' than TANGELO or DACOITS, which some of my friends would rank in equal difficulty.

Am I close?

[Ian Fitzpatrick]

Really? When they try and compete against them at home but get trounced on a regular basis doesn't that give them a clue?

Does Charlie mean people can't differentiate between how good Kai is compared with say Conor? To them they're both young quality octochamps. To them they don't realise Conor is coming out with ALBEDOS, RENEGADO which are maximums in their selections and normal people don't realise how often Conor hits the maximum and just how good he is in relation to other pros. Nor do they realise how much effort the top players put in. Nor do they realise that HETAIRA or POLONIES are high probability words but are deemed much 'harder' than TANGELO or DACOITS, which some of my friends would rank in equal difficulty.

Am I close?

You've hit the nail on the head with the sentence I've highlighted. I certainly never realised it until I came on this forum.
I salute you all.

[Jon O'Neill]

Really? When they try and compete against them at home but get trounced on a regular basis doesn't that give them a clue?

Does Charlie mean people can't differentiate between how good Kai is compared with say Conor? To them they're both young quality octochamps. To them they don't realise Conor is coming out with ALBEDOS, RENEGADO which are maximums in their selections and normal people don't realise how often Conor hits the maximum and just how good he is in relation to other pros. Nor do they realise how much effort the top players put in. Nor do they realise that HETAIRA or POLONIES are high probability words but are deemed much 'harder' than TANGELO or DACOITS, which some of my friends would rank in equal difficulty.

Am I close?

I think you're on the nail. Two great examples as well.

[Charlie Reams]

Yup. I actually stole the phrase from Raccoon though.

[Jason Larsen]

I see that, Charlie, but why would you say something about Michael?

[Jon Corby]

Subject: Countdown and C4C FAQ (includes Useful Links)

The second is because people seem less inclined to start throwing around bile when they have their name attached to it; and, contrariwise, when people do throw bile around, you know they mean it.

I'd like to be named as an exception to this please

[Kai Laddiman]

Really? When they try and compete against them at home but get trounced on a regular basis doesn't that give them a clue?

Does Charlie mean people can't differentiate between how good Kai is compared with say Conor? To them they're both young quality octochamps. To them they don't realise Conor is coming out with ALBEDOS, RENEGADO which are maximums in their selections and normal people don't realise how often Conor hits the maximum and just how good he is in relation to other pros. Nor do they realise how much effort the top players put in. Nor do they realise that HETAIRA or POLONIES are high probability words but are deemed much 'harder' than TANGELO or DACOITS, which some of my friends would rank in equal difficulty.

Am I close?

I really think that, having looked back at how well I did, I sucked mega on the show compared to now. I really wanted to compare to such people but I was a bit under-prepared. I missed some really obvious stuff whereas others (like Conor) are getting amazing stuff. It's a shame really that I can't go back on right now, cos I would metaphorically kick butt compared to my first attempt. Ah well.

*All hail Countdown legends*

[Ben Hunter]

I really think that, having looked back at how well I did, I sucked mega on the show compared to now. I really wanted to compare to such people but I was a bit under-prepared. I missed some really obvious stuff whereas others (like Conor) are getting amazing stuff. It's a shame really that I can't go back on right now, cos I would metaphorically kick butt compared to my first attempt. Ah well.

*All hail Countdown legends*

Your world knowledge was definitely not what it is now, but you had excellent consistency and temperment, strengths that many other Countdowners don't have.

[Kai Laddiman]

I really think that, having looked back at how well I did, I sucked mega on the show compared to now. I really wanted to compare to such people but I was a bit under-prepared. I missed some really obvious stuff whereas others (like Conor) are getting amazing stuff. It's a shame really that I can't go back on right now, cos I would metaphorically kick butt compared to my first attempt. Ah well.

*All hail Countdown legends*

Your world knowledge was definitely not what it is now

I have no knowledge of our obviously flat world whatsoever.

[Jojo Apollo]

Yep it certainly is an eye opener, I had considered myself an average player (sometimes a bit above average on a good day) before I came on here, but playing the apterous game and getting hammered on a regular basis by the regulars, I now consider myself below average. All great fun though

The conundrums are solved blindingly quickly and the vast range of words people come up with, have you scratching your head in amazement (so many words I have never even heard of ), the average standard seems far higher than on the TV show. Also I was too used to saying the Numbers game aloud , instead of writing/typing it down ( the correct bracket placements are giving me nightmares lol)

Hopefully I can be more competative in future with more practise.

[Kirk Bevins]

The conundrums are solved blindingly quickly and the vast range of words people come up with, have you scratching your head in amazement (so many words I have never even heard of ), the average standard seems far higher than on the TV show.

Naturally those on a Countdown practice site are going to have enthusiasm for the show and are likely to be very good. In fact, a lot of series champions/octochamps and future upcoming stars play on apterous so don't put yourself down too much. The standard on the TV is very much worse than that of apterous, unless you're watching people like David O'Donnell or Neil Zussman for instance.

[Neil Zussman]

The conundrums are solved blindingly quickly and the vast range of words people come up with, have you scratching your head in amazement (so many words I have never even heard of ), the average standard seems far higher than on the TV show.

Naturally those on a Countdown practice site are going to have enthusiasm for the show and are likely to be very good. In fact, a lot of series champions/octochamps and future upcoming stars play on apterous so don't put yourself down too much. The standard on the TV is very much worse than that of apterous, unless you're watching people like David O'Donnell or Neil Zussman (Cheers Kirk ) for instance.

...And unless you're watching a certain Kirk Bevins of course.

[Jojo Apollo]

The conundrums are solved blindingly quickly and the vast range of words people come up with, have you scratching your head in amazement (so many words I have never even heard of ), the average standard seems far higher than on the TV show.

Naturally those on a Countdown practice site are going to have enthusiasm for the show and are likely to be very good. In fact, a lot of series champions/octochamps and future upcoming stars play on apterous so don't put yourself down too much. The standard on the TV is very much worse than that of apterous, unless you're watching people like David O'Donnell or Neil Zussman for instance.

Cheers, that is reassuring to hear, especially from a great player such as you. Could I ask whether you will be appearing on the TV show as a contestant in the near future?

[Kirk Bevins]

Could I ask whether you will be appearing on the TV show as a contestant in the near future?

Yes you can.

[Jimmy Gough]

Could I ask whether you will be appearing on the TV show as a contestant in the near future?

*sigh* We already know Kirk becomes an octochamp with a total of 892, missing just one 9 - ALLANTOIC - and managed to get 7/8 conundrums, being narrowly beaten to FREEZABLE. My personal highlight was his fifth game maxing every round but round 3, in which he missed the difficult TORTRIX. Well done though Kirk, let's hope we have a max game come the finals. . (oh yeah....errr... spoiler, sorry).

[Jojo Apollo]

Could I ask whether you will be appearing on the TV show as a contestant in the near future?

Yes you can.

Cheers that's all I wanted to know.

[Gavin Chipper]

Really? When they try and compete against them at home but get trounced on a regular basis doesn't that give them a clue?

Does Charlie mean people can't differentiate between how good Kai is compared with say Conor? To them they're both young quality octochamps. To them they don't realise Conor is coming out with ALBEDOS, RENEGADO which are maximums in their selections and normal people don't realise how often Conor hits the maximum and just how good he is in relation to other pros. Nor do they realise how much effort the top players put in. Nor do they realise that HETAIRA or POLONIES are high probability words but are deemed much 'harder' than TANGELO or DACOITS, which some of my friends would rank in equal difficulty.

Am I close?

I dunno - I think when people like Julian/Craig/Conor were doing their runs, they were clearly visibly better than "normal" octochamps such as Kai (sorry Kai - and I didn't even swear). On maximums, the viewers won't always know what the maximum is, but when some players have DC bettering them far less frequently than others, and also coming out with more obscure words, it does show. And just seeing players score well over 100 most times stands out. They might not know how much effort they put in or how some words are harder than others, but that doesn't change the point. And if they think they might have been that good without much effort they are likely to be even more freaked out at their ability and consider them to be some sort of alien.

Your "casual viewer" might not know all the ins and outs and might view a top player's skill from a different perspective, but I don't see any reason to suggest they wouldn't see how good they are compared to other good players.

[Michael Wallace]

Yup. I actually stole the phrase from Raccoon though.

Really? When did that happen?

[Charlie Reams]

Yup. I actually stole the phrase from Raccoon though.

Really? When did that happen?

You said it to me on MSN in reference to, ohhh, some player who thought they were a lot better than they are.

[Michael Wallace]

You said it to me on MSN in reference to, ohhh, some player who thought they were a lot better than they are.

...your mom?

[Jason Larsen]

Charlie, that's funny but true!