Frequently Asked Questions

How much time does it take?

About five minutes a day is a good target. At that pace most people learn around 25 new countries a month, each one taking a couple of weeks of short daily sessions to really stick. (We count a country as “learned” once you’ll still know it two weeks later.)

You can do more or less. More practice does mean more countries each month, but each new country takes a little more time on average once you’re past about five to seven minutes a day, so the payoff levels off. Three minutes a day still works, about a dozen new countries a month, if that’s all you can spare.

Which countries are included?

197 countries: 193 UN members, 2 non-member observers, Taiwan, and Kosovo.

Obligatory CGP Grey video.

Where do the borders come from?

The map uses Natural Earth's country boundaries. These are de-facto borders: who actually controls the territory, not who claims it.

The data is a 2022 snapshot, so very recent changes will not show up. There is one deliberate exception: Crimea.

Why do countries I named correctly keep coming up?

When you answer a country incorrectly, it will appear more often. When you answer a country correctly, it will appear less often. Every country will always appear again.

If you see a country again, it may show up 2 days later, then 12 days later, then weeks later, then months later.

Can I practice a specific set of countries?

Yes! Use the collection picker on the main page to focus on a specific region.

You can also link to a region, in either mode. The study guide builds those links for you.

What are “Name It” and “Find It”?

Name It shows a highlighted country and asks you to type its name.

Find It shows a name and asks you to tap the country on the map.

Each mode has its own progress. On the stats page, the Combined view picks your best result for each country across the modes.

What do the progress categories mean?

Already knew

Countries that looked familiar from the start. This usually means your first answer was quick and correct, or you have answered correctly several times without missing it.

Known

Countries the app expects you to remember for at least a couple weeks. These may be newly learned here or things you already knew.

Familiar

Countries the app expects you to remember for several days. They are not quite in Known yet.

Learning

Countries you have started seeing recently. You may know these already, but we are not certain yet. These will come back soon.

Needs practice

Countries you have missed recently. They will come back sooner than usual.

Not seen

Countries you have not been shown yet.

What are the quizzes for?

The quizzes are for testing yourself, not for learning. Use the main app to learn countries through spaced repetition. Use quizzes to show off or challenge friends.

Can I make my own quiz?

Yes. The custom quiz builder lets you pick exactly the countries you want. You can even share the quiz link with someone else.

Custom country quizzes can also be used to practice a custom country collection.

Can I practice US States?

Yes. Use the collection picker on the main page to select “US States”. You can practice with Name It or Find It, or try the US States quiz.

Can I practice cities?

Yes. Cities has 4,208 of them and works like countries do: a few new ones at a time, reviewed on a schedule. The best known come first, so you'll meet Tokyo and Paris long before anywhere obscure. You can narrow it to a continent, a single country, or the world's capitals.

Find It works differently here. Cities are points rather than shapes, so you drop a pin and it's scored on how close you got. Your city progress is tracked separately from your countries.

How does the Daily work?

For the Daily, everyone gets the same five pins each day. You get 13 guesses to try to name the 5 countries.

Share Pins

When sharing, the 5 circles represent your guess count for each pin. Pins are shown in the same 1-5 order for everyone.

🟢

Found on the first try

🟡

Found on the second try

🟠

Found on the third try

🔵

Found on the fourth try

🟣

Found after more than four tries

⚪

Not found today

Why is Crimea shown as part of Ukraine?

Everywhere else the map follows de-facto control, but Crimea is the one deliberate exception. Russia's 2014 annexation is rejected by UN General Assembly Resolution 68/262 and nearly every country, so the map shows Crimea as part of Ukraine.

Why do some places on the map never get asked?

The quiz covers 197 countries, but the map draws more than that so neighbors look right. Western Sahara, Somaliland, and Northern Cyprus appear on the map but are never highlighted or asked about.

They are shown for map context only, not because the app is taking a position on their status. You can still look them up on the Explore page, which covers every place on the map.

Why is it “United States” and not “United States of America”?

Names are the most common English name, and common alternates are accepted too. So “USA,” “US,” “America,” and “United States of America” all count for the United States, and “UK,” “Britain,” and “England” all count for the United Kingdom.