Showdle

Showdle makes you guess the series of the day by comparing it to the shows you propose: year, number of seasons, genre, format and network are aligned in columns. The counter starts at sixteen guesses and a timer announces the next grid. The whole styling embraces the old television motif, from the pixelated TV Showdle logo to the pixel font, and the site is by Wilson Cissel.

1. Type a show title into "Enter TV show title…" and submit with Guess.
2. The table just below shows its six columns: Show Title, Year, Seasons, Genre, Format, Network. The five metadata columns bear an ⓘ; Show Title does not.
3. A title missing from the database returns "Error: Show not found." at no cost: the counter does not move.
4. The "Guesses Remaining" counter decreases with valid guesses, while "Next puzzle in" counts down the time remaining until the next series.

Because guessing a series from its metadata plays on turf film buffs don't necessarily own: knowing how many seasons a comedy ran and on which network it aired is pure TV culture, not cinema recall. And the site turns that into an object, complete with its pixelated TV logo.

Feedback is tabular rather than color-based: each guess is read as six metadata fields set against the hidden series. What is certain, however, is the grammar of the columns and the very gentle penalty for unknown titles, which show an error and leave the counter unchanged.

Daily Grid

One series per day, sixteen guesses, with the countdown to the next displayed at the top of the page.

Past Puzzles

A Past Puzzles button and a "Play a Past Puzzle" section provide access to previous grids.

• Sixteen guesses is comfortable: the first ones can serve as probes (an older series, a sitcom, a cable production) to bracket year, format and network before aiming precisely.
• A typo costs nothing since an unknown title is not deducted. It's worth trying the exact spelling rather than a cautious approximation.