How to Play & Game Modes

Name the Countries is a collection of free, fast geography games. Here is how each mode works, how scoring is calculated, and how to get a higher score.

The Daily Challenge

Every day, everyone in the world gets the same ten countries to identify. You get one attempt, and your result is shareable — perfect for a daily streak against friends. Because the set is identical for all players, it is the fairest way to compare scores.

The nine game modes

1. Name the Country

A country is highlighted on the map and you type its name before the timer runs out. You score +1 for a correct answer and −1 for a wrong one, so it pays to skip a country you genuinely don't know rather than guess wildly.

2. List All Countries

An open-ended memory test: type as many countries as you can in 90 seconds. Each correct answer lights up on the map, sorted by continent, so you can see the gaps in your knowledge.

3. Country Cards

A bluffing card game against the computer. Each round you compare two countries by Land area, Population or GDP and try to win the higher value — or call "None" as a bluff. It rewards knowing rough sizes, not exact figures.

4. Find It on the Map

The reverse of the typing game: we name a country and you tap its location. It trains the spatial half of geography — knowing where a place is, not just its name.

5. Name the Capital

We give you a country and four possible capital cities; you pick the right one. A great way to drill the country–capital pairings in our continent guides.

6. Name the Flag

A flag appears and you choose the country it belongs to from four options. Vexillology — the study of flags — turns out to be one of the most fun ways into world geography.

7. Name a Neighbour

We name a country and you pick one that shares a land border with it. This builds a mental map of how countries actually fit together.

8. Name the Shape

A lone country silhouette appears — no map, no labels, no colour. Recognising a nation by its outline alone is the expert tier of map knowledge.

9. Higher or Lower

Two countries, one statistic. Guess whether the second is higher or lower than the first on population, land area or GDP, and keep your streak alive.

Scoring and strategy

• Mind the penalty. In Name the Country, a wrong answer costs you a point. If you have no idea, skipping is often the smarter move.
• Spelling is forgiving, but not infinite. Common alternate names and spellings are accepted (for example, "Burma" for Myanmar), but it helps to learn the standard English name.
• Warm up with a region. You can focus a round on a single continent. Master Africa or Asia on its own before taking on the whole world.
• Use the Daily Challenge to measure progress. Because it is the same for everyone, your daily score is the truest gauge of improvement.

New to world geography? Start with our South America guide — just 12 countries — then work up to the bigger continents.