Countdown-related merchandise
Looking for Christmas presents for a Countdown-obsessed relative/friend? Look no further! Countdown, like many great TV shows, has had it's fair share of merchandise, ranging from electronic games to board games, quiz books and more mundane things like mugs and keyrings. This page takes a look at all of these articles, and determines which ones are worth buying, or are best left on the shelf.
THE COUNTDOWN BOARDGAME (Spears Games, 1997, £??.??)
This is the newest version of the ever-popular countdown boardgame (anyone
remember the old one which featured the blue plastic tray that came in two
halves? ...Never mind), and one of the better ones. It comes complete with all
the letters (sorted into consonants and vowels, as per usual), plus the numbers
game cards, all present and correct. It even has a sort of CECIL, except it
isn't electronic and probably isn't in Leeds, but it crunches numbers easily
enough (once you've figured out how to get it to work). As always, it also
features 280 conundrums (presumably from the mind of Michael Wylie, but there's
no way of telling for sure), and the board has a nice textured feel, so the
cards won't slip when their in place, should someone accidentally sneeze. The
set also includes an egg-timer to time the 30 seconds. The scorecards are one
little gripe- while they are double sided, they only service the 9-round game
(but then again, it was made 4 years before the 15 round game started). However,
it's a minor problem, and I have myself designed some 15-round replacement
cards, which I will publish on the internet if anyone really wants them.
Overall, I'd give the game 8/10- while I got my copy of the game free, I would
recommend it to anyone. You can even make up your own rules if you want!
(Board Game is copyright 1997 J. W. Spear & Sons plc).
COUNTDOWN: SPREADING THE WORD by Damian Eadie and Michael Wylie (Granada Media,
2001, £9.99)
This is the book that Countdown fans must, I repeat, absolutely MUST get their
hands on. A behind-the-scenes look at exactly what goes on in the making of the
show (virtually no stone is left unturned), as well as random puzzles in case
you get bored (hardly likely), and some of the all-time classic matches that you
might want to "relive". I'd be hard-pressed to do this book justice in a 400
word review, so let me sum it all up by saying that it's witty, informative,
never gets dull, and worth the price alone for Damian's relating of a story in
which he didn't wait for a contestant to say "come in" before entering the
changing room (chapter 13, in case you were wondering)...
Overall: 10/10. No Countdown fan should be without it.
(The contents of the book are copyright Granada Media Group ltd. 2001)
More to come...
Nebagram 2003