Flag spotting

How a round goes

Ten flags make a round. In Flag → country the flag fills the middle of the screen and four names wait below it. In Country → flag you get four small flags instead and choose the right one. Both ways mixes the two. The flags of the next question load in the background, so even detailed coats of arms appear without waiting.

All flags are drawn in the same 4:3 frame. A few square or unusual flags, such as those of Switzerland, Vatican City and Nepal, sit inside that frame with a margin.

Look-alike flags

On Hard the wrong options are a mix of neighbouring countries and flags with a similar colour layout. Two pairs are practically identical at this size, Chad and Romania, Indonesia and Monaco, and they are never offered in the same question.

On Easy the other flags come from far away, so colours and symbols usually give the answer quickly. Medium keeps them on the same continent.

Points and hints

Correct answers score 100 with a speed bonus of up to 50. A hint takes away two wrong flags and halves that question’s score. Every round ends with your mistakes listed next to the right flag.

Pencil notes

• Sort before you guess: a cross, a star, a crescent, a sun or a coat of arms rules out most of the world at once.
• Learn tricolours by direction. Vertical stripes and horizontal stripes in the same colours often belong to countries far apart.
• Colour families point to regions: red, green, yellow and black are common in Africa; red, white, green and black in the Arab world.
• The guide to telling flags apart lists the trickiest pairs with what to look at.