Bizz buzz

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Bizz buzz (also known as fizz buzz, or simply buzz) is a group word game frequently encountered as a car game or a drinking game.

1 Play
2 Example
3 Variations
4 Other Uses
5 References

[edit] Play

Players generally sit in a circle. The player designated to go first says the number "1", and each player thenceforth counts one number in turn. However, any number divisible by three is replaced by the word bizz and any divisible by five by the word buzz. Numbers divisible by both become bizz buzz. A player who hesitates or makes a mistake is either eliminated or must pay a forfeit, such as taking a drink.

[edit] Example

A typical round of bizz buzz starts like this:

1, 2, Bizz, 4, Buzz, Bizz, 7, 8, Bizz, Buzz, 11, Bizz, 13, 14, Bizz Buzz, 16, 17, Bizz, 19, Buzz, Bizz, 22, 23, Bizz, Buzz, 26, Bizz, 28, 29, Bizz Buzz, 31, 32, Bizz, 34, Buzz, Bizz, ...

[edit] Variations

Different divisors such as 7 can be used in place of 3 and 5.
Instead of (or in addition to) replacing numbers that have 3, 5, or 7 as a factor, the game can be played by replacing the actual digit with "bizz" or "buzz":

1, 2, Bizz, 4, Buzz, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, Bizz, 14, Buzz, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, Bizz, 24, Buzz, 26, 27, 28, 29, Bizz, Bizz, Bizz, Bizz, Bizz, Bizz Buzz, Bizz, Bizz, Bizz, Bizz, 40, 41, 42, Bizz, 44, Buzz, ...

In this variation, sometimes only the actual digit is replaced, so 23 becomes "twenty-bizz" and 50 is "buzzty".

Different words or gestures can replace "bizz" or "buzz".
The game can be played in a mathematical base other than 10. For example, playing in base 5 would proceed as follows:

1, 2, Bizz, 4, Buzz, Bizz, 12, 13, Bizz, Buzz, 21, Bizz, 23, 24, Bizz Buzz, 31, 32, Bizz, 34, Buzz, Bizz, ...

Note, this order also presents when counting in base 10 as everyone is usually too drunk to notice any mistake.

[edit] Other Uses

Fizz Buzz has been used as an interview screening device for computer programmers ^[1]^[2]. Creating a list of the first 100 Fizz Buzz numbers is a very small problem for any would-be computer programmer, so interviewers can easily sort out those with insufficient programming ability. A lot of controversy exist in various comments on internet whether this question alone judges the skills of a computer programmer.