Rules, points and controls
The same few rules apply to every mode. This page collects them, with the controls for touch, mouse and keyboard.
The six modes
- Pin the country: a name is given and you tap the country; misses show the distance.
- Which country is shaded?: four names and one shaded shape on the map.
- Capital pairs: match countries and capital cities either way round.
- Flag spotting: from flag to country, or from country to flag.
- On the scales: pick the country with more inhabitants or more land.
- Fill the map: type a whole region from memory against the clock.
Levels
Every mode has three levels. They change which countries are asked, starting with the larger and better-known ones, and how confusing the wrong options are: far away on Easy, on the same continent on Medium, the nearest neighbours on Hard. On the scales the level decides how close the two figures are; in Fill the map it decides how much time you get.
Points
Each correct answer earns 100, and speed adds up to 50: the whole bonus within two seconds, nothing after twelve. Taking a hint halves what that question pays. In Fill the map every country found is 100, and naming the whole region turns each remaining second into 5 more. Your best score per mode, region and level is kept as your record.
Hints
Where there are answer buttons, a hint strikes two wrong ones. In Pin the country it circles the area, a little off-centre, and zooms in. In Fill the map it reveals the opening letters of an easy country you still miss, at a price of 15 seconds. On the scales offers no hint at all.
Touch, mouse and keyboard
- Drag the map to move it; pinch, use the wheel or the + and − buttons to zoom. Only a tap without movement answers.
- Keys 1 to 4 choose an option (1 and 2 on the scales), the arrow keys move between options, Enter confirms and moves to the next question.
- Press H for a hint, + or − to zoom and 0 to see the whole region.
- While pinning a country, the arrow keys walk a cursor from country to country and Enter answers.
- Esc closes any dialog.
Borders and grey areas
The map follows the Natural Earth outlines, which show the situation on the ground and take no side in any dispute. Territories that are disputed or not independent, such as Western Sahara, Kosovo, Taiwan or Greenland, are drawn in grey without a name. Questions are only ever about the 193 UN members and Vatican City.
Your progress
Unfinished rounds, records, the daily streak and your sound setting are stored in this browser. Clearing the site data removes them. Read more on the privacy page.
Guides
- How to remember capitals
Practical ways to learn the capitals of the world: groups by region, names that repeat, the exceptions, and short daily rounds in both directions. - Reading the quiz map
How the map of the quizzes is drawn: an equal-area projection, de facto borders from Natural Earth, grey areas, dots for small states, zoom and pan. - Telling flags apart
How to tell similar flags apart: tricolour directions, crosses, colour families, stars and coats of arms, and the pairs that are almost identical.