Letters round · Numbers round · Conundrum
Countdown Solver
Solve all three Countdown rounds in one place. Type the nine letters to find the longest word, enter the six numbers and the target to see the working step by step, or unscramble the conundrum. Words are checked against 61,000+ British English words.
Updated 8 October 2026 · By the LetterCracker team
Your six numbers and the target
- All three rounds
- Step-by-step numbers working
- British English dictionary
- Free, no sign-up
How it works
How to use the Countdown solver
Pick the round you are playing, type what is on the board, and the solver does the rest. It works for the Channel 4 show, the Countdown board game, apps and any practice game that uses the same rules.
- 1
Letters round
Type the nine letters on the board. The solver lists every word you can make with each letter used once, longest first, with the points it would score.
- 2
Numbers round
Enter the six numbers and the three-digit target, then press Solve numbers. You get an exact answer if one exists, or the closest possible, with every step shown.
- 3
Conundrum
Type the nine scrambled letters. The solver unscrambles them into the nine-letter word, and lists every answer if more than one word fits.
Worked example. For the letters TOPRANIOE the longest word is OPERATION, a nine-letter word worth 18 points. Seven-letter options include PAINTER, POINTER, PORTION and PROTEIN, which score 7 each.
The game
Countdown rules and scoring
Countdown is a Channel 4 word and numbers game show in which two contestants race a 30-second clock through letters rounds, numbers rounds and a final nine-letter conundrum.
The show was the first programme broadcast on Channel 4, on 2 November 1982, and is based on the French game show Des chiffres et des lettres. Colin Murray is the host, Rachel Riley runs the numbers board, and lexicographer Susie Dent sits in Dictionary Corner, where words are checked against the Oxford Dictionary of English.
| Round | How it works | Scoring |
|---|---|---|
| Letters | A contestant picks nine letters, choosing vowel or consonant each time. There must be at least three vowels and at least four consonants. Both players then make the longest word they can. | One point per letter. A nine-letter word scores 18. |
| Numbers | Six numbers are drawn from the small numbers (two each of 1 to 10) and the large numbers (25, 50, 75 and 100). A random target from 100 to 999 is set, and players reach it with +, −, × and ÷. | 10 for exact, 7 if 1 to 5 away, 5 if 6 to 10 away. |
| Conundrum | A nine-letter word is shown scrambled. The first player to buzz in with the right answer wins. | 10 points. |
Who scores? In the letters and numbers rounds only the better answer scores. If both contestants give equally good valid answers, they both score.
Letters round
Countdown letters solver: finding the longest word
The letters solver checks every word in a 61,000-word British English list against your nine letters. A word counts only if it uses each letter no more times than it appears on the board, the same rule the show uses.
Longest first
The top result is the longest word on the board, with its points. Every shorter word follows, grouped by length, so you can see what a safe answer would have been.
British spellings
The word list is built for UK English, so COLOUR, CENTRE and ORGANISE are accepted. US-only spellings such as COLOR are not.
What the show rejects
Proper nouns, abbreviations and hyphenated words are not valid on Countdown, and they are left out here too. A very rare word may still differ from the Oxford Dictionary of English.
Numbers round
Countdown numbers solver: how the working is found
The numbers solver tries combinations of your six numbers with addition, subtraction, multiplication and division until it reaches the target. When there is no exact answer it keeps the closest result, so you always see the best score possible.
Numbers round rules in short: each number can be used once, you don't have to use them all, and every step must give a whole positive number. No fractions and no negative numbers, at any stage.
Example: 75, 50, 2, 3, 8, 7 to make 812
- 75 + 50 = 125
- 125 − 8 = 117
- 3 − 2 = 1
- 117 − 1 = 116
- 116 × 7 = 812
All six numbers are used here, but that is not required. The trick is spotting that 812 is 7 × 116, then building 116 from what is left.
Conundrum
Countdown conundrum solver
The conundrum is the last round of each game, and it often decides the result. The scrambled letters are usually arranged to look like two words, which makes the real answer harder to see. The solver ignores the disguise and checks only the letters. For example, SONDAGRUE unscrambles to DANGEROUS and TRACESHOR to ORCHESTRA.
Strategy
Countdown tips for every round
Use the solver to check your answers after each round, then use these habits to find them yourself next time.
Choose letters that combine
S, T, R, N and E sit inside many long words. Three or four vowels usually give the most options; five vowels rarely do.
Bank a word, then upgrade
Lock in a safe six-letter word in the first ten seconds, then spend the rest of the clock looking for seven letters or more.
Hunt for endings
Look for -ING, -ED, -ER, -EST and -IER in the letters. Set the ending aside and arrange what is left in front of it.
Get near the target first
Multiply a large number by a small one to land close to the target, then add or subtract the remaining numbers to close the gap.
Work backwards from the target
Ask whether the target divides by one of your small numbers. If 812 is 7 × 116, you only need to make 116.
Read conundrums as one word
Ignore the two-word disguise. Look for prefixes such as RE-, UN- and OVER- and endings such as -TION, -ING and -OUS.
More tools
More puzzle solvers on LetterCracker
FAQ
Countdown solver questions
Do you have to use all the numbers in Countdown?
No. You can use as many or as few of the six numbers as you like, but each one only once.
Which dictionary does Countdown use?
The show checks words against the Oxford Dictionary of English. LetterCracker uses a British English word list, so almost every valid answer matches, though rare words may differ.
What are the large numbers in Countdown?
25, 50, 75 and 100. The small numbers are two each of 1 to 10, and the contestant chooses how many large numbers to take, from none to all four.
How many vowels are there in a Countdown letters round?
At least three vowels and at least four consonants, so between three and five vowels in total.
How many points is a nine-letter word worth?
18 points. Every other word scores one point per letter, so the nine-letter bonus doubles the usual score.
Is the Countdown solver free?
Yes. It is free with no account, and it works on phones, tablets and desktop browsers. LetterCracker is not connected to Channel 4 or the Countdown programme.
Stuck on a word wheel too?
The LetterCracker word wheel solver finds the nine-letter word and every word that uses the centre letter, from the same British word list.