The six modes
Find the country: tap the named country on the map. Name the country: choose the name of the highlighted one. Capitals: match countries and capitals in either direction. Flags: match flags and countries. Bigger or smaller: which of two countries has more people or more land. Name them all: type every country of a region before the time runs out.
Regions and levels
Every mode works with ten sets of countries: the world, the six continental regions, the 30 largest countries by area, the 30 most populous, and 29 small states under 3,000 km². The level changes both which countries come up and how close the wrong options are: Easy uses the best-known countries with wrong options from elsewhere, Medium most of the region with wrong options from the same continent, Hard leaves out the easiest quarter and offers the nearest neighbours.
Points and streaks
Every correct answer earns a base of 100, and quick fingers add a bonus of up to 50: all of it when you answer inside two seconds, none of it once twelve seconds have passed. Asking for a hint cuts that question’s points in half. Consecutive right answers form a streak, cheered at 5, at 10 and at each further multiple of five. A personal best is stored for each mode, region and level combination.
Hints
In questions with four options the hint removes two wrong ones. In the map mode it draws a ring around the area where the country is and zooms there; the ring is deliberately off-centre. In Name them all it shows the first letters of a missing country and costs 15 seconds. Bigger or smaller has no hint.
Map and keyboard
Drag to move the map, pinch or scroll to zoom, or use the plus, minus and full-view buttons. A tap is a press and release without moving, so dragging never answers by mistake. On a keyboard, 1 to 4 choose an answer, Enter goes on, H asks for a hint and plus and minus zoom; in the map mode, the arrow keys move from country to country and Enter selects.
Quiz of the day
The quiz of the day asks ten questions about the whole world, identical for every player. Its level climbs through the week: gentle at the start, moderate midweek, tough from Friday through the weekend. Coming back daily grows your daily streak.
Expeditions and the passport
Expeditions are 180 numbered trips with three legs in different modes. The questions are fixed by the number, so everyone flies the same trip. Finish the third leg and the expedition is stamped in your passport. The passport, your scores and unfinished rounds are stored in this browser only.
Borders and disputed territories
The map follows Natural Earth and shows the situation on the ground without taking a side in any dispute. The quiz countries are the 193 member states of the United Nations plus Vatican City. Disputed and non-independent territories are drawn in neutral grey without a name and are never questions or answers.