It was one of the longest-running game shows in the world, and the inspiration for Countdown on Britain's Channel 4.

It had been hosted since 1992 by Laurent Romejko, who was originally assisted by Arielle Boulin-Prat and Bertrand Renard, the latter two respectively checking words proposed by the contestants and providing solutions to the number problems the contestants fail to solve.

Starting on 17 September 2022, Boulin-Prat was replaced by Blandine Maire and Renard by Stéphane Crosnier, due to disputes over their salaries and the terms of their contracts.

Or Contestants signal that they have obtained the target number by saying le compte est bon ("the total is good"), then give the details of their calculations.

Both contestants score in this case if their results are identical or equally close to the target on either side.

In 1987, Daniel Defays implemented a computer program called "Numbo" which uses probabilistic parallel processing to model human performance in the game Le compte est bon.

The game originally used seven letters, increasing with time to eight and then nine; the 10-letter rule was instituted on 4 April 2010.

Before the regular letters and numbers rounds, a toss-up duel is played, with the winner earning a "sesame," or joker, that can be used in the final bonus game (introduced in 2016).

Each contestant, starting from the lowest-scored one, chooses which kind of problem they want to play with : numbers or letters.

Only the winning contestant plays this round, and they have two minutes to find the longest word possible in eight different 10-letter selections, receiving €100 per correct answer given.

If the contestant has a joker earned from the opening duel, they may call "sesame" and receive the €100 for the current letter selection.

If the contestant solves all eight selections without using the joker, they win an extra €100 for a daily potential maximum of €900.

Legend: An Australian version, called Letters And Numbers (the literal translation of the original), commenced airing on SBS on 2 August 2010.

[12] It closely followed the gameplay of the UK version, albeit with a slightly more modern set (with subtly animated background), but the clock, manual letterboards and whiteboard for the maths problems were all present.

Cijfers en Letters was broadcast in Flanders on the Flemish commercial television channel VTM from 1989 until 1993.

On Monday 20 November 1989, Mega Channel produced a new version of Grámmata kai Arithmoí with television host Kostas Papadonopoulos, but this was cancelled after 19 February 1990 after 15 episodes, as Papandonopoulos' schedule had more-important obligations and the producers were unable to find a replacement host.

Paroliamo is the name of the Italian version of the game, aired by Telemontecarlo and Rai Due for ten seasons.

The South African version was called "A Word or 2", and aired on SABC2, from 1998–2008,[13] hosted by Jeremy Mansfield.

Between the second and third round there was a duel that consists of finding two words on the same theme from the nine letters provided.

[15] The Swedish version was called Tänk till tusen, and aired on SVT1 from 21 December 1985 until 21 May 1988.

[17] The current long-running United Kingdom series Countdown began in 1982 on Channel 4 but still made by Yorkshire Television.

Unlike Des chiffres et des lettres' computerised displays, Countdown's letters and numbers are displayed as tiles physically placed on a board, with the time limit being measured using a huge analogue clock that stands behind the contestants, as opposed to a bar gradually filling in.

The top players during each series are invited back at its end to compete against each other for prizes that have included, at different times, a full leather-bound set of the Oxford English Dictionary, book tokens, and laptop computers.

An unsold pilot for a U.S. version titled Countdown was filmed on 18 September 1990 hosted by Los Angeles Radio personality Michael Jackson, announced by Charlie O'Donnell, and produced by the Guber-Peters Company (successor to Barris Industries now owned by Sony Pictures Television).

Then, the clock is started and both contestants have 30 seconds to come up with the longest word they can make from the available letters.