What is apterous?
The first thing to say is that apterous is definitely not Countdown. It is not endorsed by Countdown, Channel 4 or anyone important at all. However, it is a game with rounds including numbers, letters and conundrums. This may sound familiar. You can play against your friends over the Internet, or other people's friends if you don't have any of your own. To play, just register and then log in. If you're having problems, head over to our FAQ and, if that doesn't work, please do email me and I'll do my best to help.
Current Duel Leaders
| # | Player | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonny D | — |
Format: 14 rounds of 25 seconds.
[Vote for the next Duel's format]
Latest Pencils
Top Dog
| # | Player | % |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dave Robjohns | 31% |
These are the finest bones dug up lately,
in Mr Dog's opinion (patent pending).
Discussions
29
5
12
Players 'online'
Game feature request by Dominic McMulkin. Status: Accepted. Priority: 3.
Hi Charlie, I wonder if you'd be interested in 'booting' players from the site say after 15 minutes of inactivity? For example, you have players who are apparently in the room just sitting there, doing ... [Read more] [More feature requests]
32 0 7
Lingering tournament games: fixed
Announcement by Charlie Reams. Status: Unconfirmed.
I *think* the lingering issue with lingering tournament games is now fully fixed. The expected behaviour is: * If a tournament game is not played, it may still continue to show up for around 2 weeks after ... [Read more] [More miscellany]
20 0 16
November 2020 dictionary update (large!)
Announcement by Charlie Reams. Status: Unconfirmed.
From tomorrow, we will be adding 3668 new words https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XG4VcwZuZzmsKby-6nnsRx88i0GIgRfs2XtG2HctYqQ/edit#gid=2056118993 and removing 236 words https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XG4VcwZuZzmsKby-6nnsRx88i0GIgRfs2XtG2HctYqQ/edit#gid=2056118993 ... [Read more] [More miscellany]
8 1 6
Weekend Cryptic Crossword
Miscellaneous topic by Adam Finlay. Status: Unconfirmed.
Those that do cryptic crosswords are probably sorted for this weekend. However I had a go at creating one myself. Feel free to have a go and also to let me know your thoughts, this is my first one! PDF: ... [Read more] [More miscellany]
6 0 0
Press R shortcut for random choice numbers
Game feature request by Callum Todd. Status: Unconfirmed.
A keyboard shortcut for random choice would be great. R seems like the best option. [Read more] [More feature requests]
7 2 1
Crtl+E forces bot to solve
Game feature request by Jon O'Neill. Status: Unconfirmed.
It would be good if this shortcut could be used in games against bots. It's already the shortcut for ending round early anyway, which is effectively the same thing in a Conundrum. [Read more] [More feature requests]
33 2 4
In-game variant instructions to be more self-contained
Game feature request by Gevin Chapwell. Status: Unconfirmed.
When I do the Daily Duel, I sometimes go to the rules section after I've accepted the game just to remind me what I'm supposed to do. But with some of them it doesn't actually tell you. For example, with ... [Read more] [More feature requests]
3 2 9
"Unofficial" focal finals for 2020?
Brainstorm by Rhys Benjamin. Status: Unconfirmed.
Having spent a lot of Lockdown 1 making the FOCAL pages in the wiki less shit http://wiki.apterous.org/2020_FOCAL_season I wondered if it was worth having a mini-tournament of the current top 8 (or however ... [Read more] [More miscellany]
3 1 3
Spoilers 2020 now open!
Announcement by Rhys Benjamin. Status: Unconfirmed.
I believe these days you do a ticket as well to announce your tournament - Spoilers 2020, Apterous's one and only Spoilage tournament (there's a reason for that) is now open! https://www.apterous.org/to_tourney.php?tourney=3151 ... [Read more] [More miscellany]
25 2 11
Unplayed tournament games to be removed when the tournament ends
Game feature request by Alex H. Status: Unconfirmed.
I still get a number of tournament games which were unplayed showing up in my 'current games' even though the tournament has ended so it's pretty pointless having them. Currently getting some from the ... [Read more] [More feature requests]
4 0 0
Goatdown picking stats broken down by number of vowels already picked
Game feature request by Ian Volante. Status: Unconfirmed.
The goatdown stats on this page (https://www.apterous.org/statland.php?section=best_pick_goatdown) are interesting, but I from a conversation that I'm having at the moment, I've realised that also breaking ... [Read more] [More feature requests]
44 1 7
Des O’Connor (1932-2020)
Game feature request by Rhys Benjamin. Status: Unconfirmed.
According to Sky News, Des O’Connor has passed away. I propose his role as a host on here be reinstated, even if it’s just the default dialogue. [Read more] [More feature requests]
11 7 3
Conundrum Attacks by Difficulty
Variant idea by Matt Hall. Status: Unconfirmed.
Not sure if this has been suggested before or if others agree, but I think a welcome addition would be if a user could choose to only face conundrums of difficulty 10, 9,8...etc. Not sure how practicable ... [Read more] [More variant ideas]
16 5 4
Maximums for different variants on Lexplorer
Website feature request by Gevin Chapwell. Status: Unconfirmed.
On Lexplorer, you can find the maximums from a selection, but only in the normal variant. I think it would be good to be able to do this for other variants, such as Aegilops, Omelette etc. [Read more] [More feature requests]
12 6 6
New item idea: Life, the Universe, and Everything
Game feature request by Callum Todd. Status: Unconfirmed.
We already have the Fruit Machine item for 777, the Subtitle for 888, the Flake and Ambulance for 99 and 999 respectively, and most recently the microphone and megaphone for 1212 and 121212. I think that ... [Read more] [More feature requests]
12 3 0
"Words using" issue
Website feature request by Dylan Taylor. Status: Unconfirmed.
I have found that whenever I click on a word which I have found under the "Words using..." list, it will then open the "Words using..." list immediately once the new page loads, even without clicking it. ... [Read more] [More feature requests]
12 3 4
Integrate Countdown’s dictionary rules on Apterous to help jugde dictionary errors better
Website feature request by Philip Aston. Status: Unconfirmed.
I never dream of getting overly hung up on dictionary errors because it's time wasting to obsess, but having had recent experience of contributing to these, I thought I’d suggest something which I hope ... [Read more] [More feature requests]
11 0 3
Truncated Lexplorer results
Website feature request by Martin Hurst. Status: Unconfirmed.
When you search for something (e.g. a prefix of SUPER) within Lexplorer that has over 100 results, it truncates the list to seemingly the first 100 alphabetically - could there be an option (or make it ... [Read more] [More feature requests]
12 1 5
Un-truncating Results
Website feature request by Noel Mcilvenny. Status: Unconfirmed.
When results on Lexplorer are truncated, is there any way of seeing all of them? For example, if I want to see all 8 letter words ending in ISE, at the minute I just get the first 100 alphabetically. [Read more] [More feature requests]
12 0 6
Option to practise 5,6,10,11,& 13 letter rounds.
Game feature request by Liam O. Status: Unconfirmed.
Now that we have Beanstalk to enjoy and the challenges that such a format presents, it would be awesomely nice to be able to practise the different round lengths without committing to a marathon 26 rounder. ... [Read more] [More feature requests]
News
30 November 2020
- News: Updated ProRanks for this week.
- Vincent Barcet's 152 - 0 game with Apterous Prune received a nomination for Game of the Week. [×15]
- Elliott Mellor's 151 - 141 game with Apterous Rex received a nomination for Game of the Week. [×8]
- Wesley Barton's 114 - 23 game with Thomas Carey received a nomination for Game of the Week. [×2]
- Andy SC commented on Apterous Council Elections 2021: West Suffolk.
- Andy SC commented on Apterous Council Elections 2021: Stratford-Upon-Avon.
- Mr Dog awarded the dog bone for best Top Dog performance to Fiona T, who lasted 15 rounds with a target of 6. Woof!
- Andy SC commented on Apterous Council Elections 2021: Newham.
- Andy SC commented on Apterous Council Elections 2021: Walsall.
- The Duel was won by Chris Hare with a score of 99 from 110.
29 November 2020
- Eoin Jackson commented on Wesley Barton's game with Thomas Carey. [+4 others]
- Sam Cappleman-Lynes commented on Weakest Link Numbers Tournament 2020: Round 22 - Omelette.
- Dave Robjohns tied the high score for Omelette Numbers Attack with 200 points, and tied the record number of maximums with 20 maxes.
- Adam Dexter commented on Premier League 2020/21: Match-week 7.
- Dave Robjohns tied the high score for Touchdown Numbers Attack with 200 points, and tied the record number of maximums with 20 maxes.
- Rhys Benjamin commented on his game with The Duellist.
- Dave Robjohns tied the high score for Touch Jnr Conundrum Attack with 200 points, and tied the record number of maximums with 20 maxes.
- Elliott Mellor tied the record number of maximums for 15 Rounder with 15 maxes.
- Oliver Garner tied the record number of maximums for Junior 15 Rounder with 15 maxes.
- Thomas Cappleman's 144 - 31 game with Apterous Nude received a nomination for Game of the Week.
- Jojo Apollo tied the record number of maximums for Nice 9 with 9 maxes.
- Chris Hare's 137 - 0 game with Apterous Prune received a nomination for Game of the Week.
- Chris Hare tied the high score for Hyperlock 15 with 137 points.
- Chris Hare tied the record number of maximums for Unlimited Jnr 15 with 15 maxes.
- Chris Hare tied the record number of maximums for Unlimited Jnr 15 with 15 maxes.
- Andy Platt commented on Eoin Jackson's game with Apterous Prune.
- Chris Hare tied the record number of maximums for Unlimited Jnr 15 with 15 maxes.
- Chris Hare tied the record number of maximums for Unlimited Jnr 15 with 15 maxes.
- J Bartram's 75 - 74 game with John Carpenter received a nomination for Game of the Week.
- Matthew Tassier commented on Weakest Link Numbers Tournament 2020: Round 21 - Nasty. [+2 others]
- Chris Hare tied the record number of maximums for Unlimited Jnr 15 with 15 maxes.
- Vincent Barcet's 141 - 0 game with Apterous Prune received a nomination for Game of the Week. [×16]
- Elliott Mellor's 200 - 190 game with Apterous Prime received a nomination for Game of the Week.
- Elliott Mellor's 197 - 117 game with Apterous Plum received a nomination for Game of the Week.
- Jonny D commented on Weakest Link Numbers Tournament 2020: Round 19 - Duckdown. [+2 others]
- Elliott Mellor tied the record number of maximums for 15 Rounder with 15 maxes.
- Adam Finlay tied the record number of maximums for Junior 9 Rounder with 9 maxes.
- Elliott Mellor tied the record number of maximums for Nasty Numbers Attack with 20 maxes.
- Elliott Mellor tied the high score for Omelette Numbers Attack with 200 points, and tied the record number of maximums with 20 maxes.
- Charlie Reams commented on Vincent Barcet's game with Apterous Prune.
- Vincent Barcet tied the record number of maximums for French 15 Rounder with 15 maxes.
- Robin M's 84 - 125 game with Apterous Velvet received a nomination for Game of the Week.
- Andy SC commented on Apterous Council Elections 2021: Hartlepool.
- Mr Dog awarded the dog bone for best Top Dog performance to Thomas Cappleman, who lasted 16 rounds with a target of 7. Woof!
- The Duel was won by 6 people (Jim Goloboy, Vincent Barcet, Callum Todd, Thomas Cappleman, Gevin Chapwell and Thomas Carey) with a score of 100 from 100.
28 November 2020
- New: Players are now logged out after 10 minutes of inactivity, so you can be confident that most players listed as being Online at actually online (even if busy). [Discussion]
- Improved: Nicer display when logging in or after being logged out.
- Chas Maxwell tied the high score for Conundrum Attack with 200 points, and tied the record number of maximums with 20 maxes.
- Fiona T tied the record number of maximums for 9 Rounder with 9 maxes.
- Tim Down's 197 - 77 game with Apterous Plum received a nomination for Game of the Week.
- Rob Foster tied the record number of maximums for 15 Rounder with 15 maxes.
- Vincent Barcet set a new high score for French 15 Rounder with 152 points.
- Eoin Jackson commented on Apterous Winter Tournament 2020: Sign Ups and Entries.
27 November 2020
- Improved: Much better link detection in tickets, game comments, aptomails etc. (See ticket for full details.) [Discussion]
- Fixed: The Superstats page for Numbers success by pick is back. [Discussion]
25 November 2020
- News: Philip Aston has been crowned champion of Apterous Football League Cup (2020)!
24 November 2020
- News: Game of the Week was won by Conor Travers's 194 - 138 Bullet Letters Attack win against Apterous Prime! This week's vote is now open.
23 November 2020
- News: Updated ProRanks for this week.
22 November 2020
- New: Lexplorer can now find words that stem both from and to your given word. [Discussion]
20 November 2020
- News: Ronan M Higginson has been crowned champion of AptoLeague (S3 Cup)!
- New: There's now a leaderboard for the most contested head-to-head match ups. [Discussion]
- New: apterous History: May 2020.
- New: apterous History: June 2020.
- New: apterous History: July 2020.
- New: apterous History: August 2020.
- New: apterous History: September 2020.
- New: apterous History: October 2020.
17 November 2020
- News: Game of the Week was won by Elizabeth Beer's 200 - 0 Nasty Numbers Attack win against Apterous Prune! This week's vote is now open.
16 November 2020
- News: Updated ProRanks for this week.
10 November 2020
- News: Game of the Week was won by Jack Worsley's 157 - 139 15 Rounder win against Thomas Carey! This week's vote is now open.
9 November 2020
- News: Updated ProRanks for this week.
3 November 2020
- News: Game of the Week was won by Elliott Mellor's 131 - 121 15 Rounder win against Apterous Rex! This week's vote is now open.
2 November 2020
- News: A total of 32 Duel Necklaces were awarded for October 2020.
- News: Updated ProRanks for this week.
1 November 2020
- News: The Duel for October 2020 was won by Elliott Mellor!
31 October 2020
- News: Carlo Harrison has been crowned champion of AptoLeague (S4 League)!
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