Space Countdown 2020

So thanks to a friend for pointing this out, Des Chiffres et Des Lettres returned with a brand new look and a new-ish format to France 3 a few weeks ago in a bid to appeal to the youths, presumably:

Here’s what we’ve gleaned, which may or may not be completely accurate:

• The show now has three distinct parts: the standard figures and letters bits, a duels segment, and in what must surely be a format first, a bonus round for cash prizes.
• The first part begins with a “sesame”, a speed duel, the winner of which can determine whether the tenth and final round of the first part is a numbers or letters game.
• Ten rounds are played, alternating between 30-second letters games and 40-second numbers games (down from the traditional 45). Players no longer pick letters alternately, each player now gets to select the letters for an entire round. But they do so by declaring how many vowels they want in the line-up and ten letters are drawn (it’s been ten since 2010). Furthermore you’re awarded a minimum of seven points for winning a letters game now. Numbers games are unchanged except for time, unlike in Countdown players don’t get to choose how many big numbers there are.
• In the second segment there are five duels played – if you haven’t seen DCEDL they’re a bit like Conundrums but a bit different – spell the long word, find two words that fit a category amongst the ten letters, finding a ten letter proper noun and a shorter common noun within it, tough mental calculation, that sort of thing. There are five of them worth 7 points each.
• It used to be each match was a best of three episodes but it now sounds like one loss and you’re gone. The winner gets to play the bonus round. 8 sets of letters, two minutes, and they have to find a word of the length asked for for each set. €100 for each set beaten so €800 to be won total.

So there we are. They fit a lot into that half hour.