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Cifras y Letras

From Countdown
A game of Cifras e Letras (Galician) in progress.

Cifras y Letras was a Spanish game show developed from Des chiffres et des lettres in the same way as Countdown. It was broadcast between 1991 and 2013. During the 1990s, it was shown on the channel La 2 on Televisión Española and was presented by Elisenda Roca, in which time a main focus of the show was a much more relaxed atmosphere, with the music used on the show being set to a controversial theme. The other presenters were Paco Lodeiro, Goyo González and Paola Bontempi. Since 2002, most of the program consisted of computer generated components on screen. It also held a variation broadcast in Latin American (Mexico), and also the Galician version: "Cifras e Letras". On 15 January 2024, the show returned to La 2 with its third iteration (hosted by Aitor Albizua) which strongly resembles the current french version.

Format and scoring

Like DCeDL, the game was divided into three disciplines.

Letters games

Selections were generated by each contestant alternately selecting either a vowel or a consonant. Words which they declare must have been in the Diccionario de la Real Academia Española (or Diccionario Xerais in the Galician version). Like the French version, conjugated verb forms were not allowed but participles (present, past and infinitive) were allowed. Unlike both Countdown and DCeDL, plurals were not allowed. From May 2008, feminine forms became invalid, but this rule didn't apply to the Galician version. As in Countdown, contestants received one point per letter in a valid longest word, and a score of 18 points was awarded for a nine-letter word (in Cifras y Letras, the set flashed if the word was correct). The "Professores" of letters were: Octavio Iglesias, Antonio Elegido, Yolanda Castaño and María Canosa. The current "Professor" is Elena Herraiz.

Numbers games

The players attempted to solve a numbers game with the exact same format as Countdown, but they had 45 seconds to do so instead of the 30 seconds available on Countdown. This was just as on the original French version. Also unlike Countdown, contestants received just eight points for a correct numbers game in the La 2 version, or nine points in all other versions. If neither contestant achieved the exact target, the closest was awarded six points (provided their solution was correct). Since 2024, 10 points are given for the correct solution and 7 points for the closest solution. The "Professores" of numbers were: Paz Morillo, Inmaculada Llorens, Irene Mora, Gema Ramos, Paz de Alarcón, Sheila Izquierdo, Paola Bontempi, Yaiza Guimaré and Jorge Mira. The current "Professor" is David Calle from "Unicoos" YouTube channel.

Duels

Just like the "Duel traditionnel" ("traditional duel") in DCeDL, Cifras y Letras featured a duel where the players were shown two words jumbled together along with a clue, and had to buzz in with the correct pair of unscrambled words within 30 seconds to earn 10 points. However, if a contestant buzzed in and got the answer wrong, their opponent received 10 points. For example, TOLCAOIDC with the clue "Dos frutos de las palmas" ("Two fruits of the palms"). The solution is DATIL (date) and COCO (coconut).

Order of rounds

The version of Cifras y Letras on La 2 (1991–1996) had 10 rounds in the format NLLNLLNLLN.

In 2002, it was extended to 13 rounds in the format NLLNLLDNLLNLL, until 3 September 2007 when the duel was scrapped (except for the Galician version).

In 2024, the game adopted the scheme of the current french version:

  • Duel for "La llave" ("The key", a bonus for the Final round, which not affects the main game scores)
  • 5 pairs of alternating Letters Games and Numbers Games
  • 4 different Duels
  • The Final round for the winner of the main game

See also

External Links