Alpha Numeric

About

Alpha Numeric is a word and numbers puzzle game heavily inspired by (but in no way associated with) the cult U.K. T.V. game show Countdown, which itself is based upon a French T.V. show called Des chiffres et des lettres.

Find as many words as you can against the clock, and solve arithmatic problems within the time limit. Not sure what the word you found means? If you have a network connection, be it GPRS, EDGE, 3G, or WiFi, Alpha Numeric will look up the definition.

Wondering what the best word you could have found was? Alpha Numeric will tell you, and will show you the definition if it can find one.

New with version 2.0:

Play using English or French dictionaries.
Post new high scores to your Facebook wall
Post to your Facebook wall when you find a 9 letter word
Post the letters to your Facebook wall when you fail to find a 9 letter word that exists so your friends can see if they can find it

If you’re looking to try something different than the usual word scramble type game, this would be a good app to try. The math aspect to it gives it a different and challenging twist. -- The iPhone Mom

Rules

There can be from 1 to 11 rounds, with rounds lasting from 15 seconds to a minute.
Odd numbered rounds are letters rounds
Even numbered rounds are numbers rounds.

Letters Rounds

You must select 9 letters
There is no minumum / maximum for consonants or vowels
The dictionary used for English is SOWPODS
The dictionary used for French is ODS5
Upon selecting the ninth letter the clock will start
Points will be awarded for each word found within the time frame
Words must be at least 4 letters in length
You can erase a letter from your current word by taping the letter at the top of the screen
Points are allocated as follows:
- English:
  - A, E, I, L, N, O, R, S, T, and U are worth 1 point
  - D, and G are worth 2 points
  - B, C, M, and P are worth 3 points
  - F, H, V, W, and Y are worth 4 points
  - K is worth 5 points
  - J and X are worth 8 points
  - Q and Z are worth 10 points
- French:
  - E, A, I, N, O, R, S, T, U, and L are worth 1 point
  - D, G, and M are worth 2 points
  - B, C, and P are worth 3 points
  - F, H, and V are worth 4 points
  - J and Q are worth 8 points
  - K, W, X, Y, and Z are worth 10 points
Points will then be added for word length, 1 for each letter.
- 7 letter words will be multiplied by 1.25
- 8 letter words will be multiplied by 1.5
- 9 letter words will be multiplied by 3
At the end of the round the best possible word will be displayed

Numbers Rounds

You must select 6 numbers
Up to 4 large numbers can be chosen
Any number of small numbers can be chosen
There are 4 large numbers, 25, 50, 75, 100 chosen at random
There are 20 small numbers, 1-10 appearing twice, chosen at random
After the sixth number is selected a target will be randomly chosen, 100-999
The clock will start once the target is generated
The clock will stop when the target is reached or the time limit is up
You can erase last entered operation from your calculation by taping the calculation display at the top of the screen
Points are allocated as follows:
- Obtaining the target is worth 10 points
- If the target is obtained points will be added for round length - time taken
- Within 5 of the target, 7 points are awarded
- Within 10 of the target, 5 points are awarded
If the time limit is reached without an exact solution being found, one will be displayed, or the closest result if it isn't possible