Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the questions we get most. Anything missing? Ask on the contact page.
About the quizzes
Is Quiz the Map free?
Yes. Every quiz, the daily puzzles, the printable maps and the live class games are free, with no sign-up. The site is paid for by a few ads. Members can remove the ads for a small one-off payment under Settings once that option is switched on.
How many quizzes are there?
272 at the moment. They cover every country in the world (197), capitals, flags, outlines, borders, population and area; sub-national divisions for 23 countries (US states, German states, Japanese prefectures, Indian states and so on); and physical geography – oceans and seas, rivers, lakes, mountain ranges, deserts, islands, peninsulas, volcanoes, waterfalls and famous landmarks. The full list is at the bottom of every page under "All quizzes", and every country has its own page under Countries.
Which countries count as countries?
The 193 member states of the United Nations plus Vatican City, Kosovo, Palestine and Taiwan – 197 in total. Dependent territories such as Greenland, Puerto Rico, Hong Kong, French Guiana and the Faroe Islands are not included as countries, and neither are Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland, which are parts of the United Kingdom. This is the same list most other geography quizzes use, so your scores are comparable.
Where does the data come from?
Map shapes are from Natural Earth (public domain). Flags are from the flag-icons project and Wikimedia Commons. Capitals, populations and areas are checked against the UN and national statistics offices; populations are rounded estimates. If you find something wrong, use the report link on the contact page and say which quiz and which place.
What do the colours mean when I answer?
Green: right on the first try. Yellow: second try. Orange: third try. After three misses the right place flashes and counts as missed. Your score is the share of first-try answers, and your time counts for the leaderboard.
What is the difference between the modes?
- Find on the map – a name appears, you tap the place.
- Capitals – a capital appears, you tap its country (or its dot).
- Flags – a flag appears, you tap the country.
- Outlines – the shape of a country appears, you tap where it belongs.
- Borders – name every country that borders the one shown.
- Population / Size – put countries in order by population or area.
- Name them all – type every place you can remember before the time runs out.
- Sudden death – one mistake ends the round.
- Study the map – no scoring, just explore with the names shown.
Learning and progress
How do the Mistake Bank and flashcards work?
Every place you miss in any quiz goes into your Mistake Bank, sorted by how often you have missed it. Flashcards use spaced repetition: each place you get right comes back after a longer interval (a day, then a few days, then a week, then weeks); each one you miss comes back sooner. The number on the home page is what is due today. Clearing it takes a few minutes and is the most efficient way to learn. There is a longer explanation in the guide on spaced repetition.
What is the daily goal and the streak?
The daily goal is a number of correct answers to reach each day (you can change it in Settings). The streak counts consecutive days on which you reached it. Streaks are there to get you to come back for a few minutes every day, which is what makes the map stick.
Is my progress saved?
Yes, on the device you are using, automatically. If you want the same progress on your phone and your computer, sign in with Google ("Continue with Google" in the header) and it syncs between devices. Signing in is optional; nothing is lost if you do not.
How long does it take to learn all 197 countries?
About a month of five to ten minutes a day, if you learn one region at a time instead of repeating the Whole World quiz. The guide Learn all 197 countries in 30 days has a day-by-day plan.
Why does the map look different from Google Maps?
The quiz maps are simplified so that borders are easy to see and tap on a phone. Very small places – Monaco, Vatican City, Nauru – get a circle so they are possible to hit, and you can zoom with two fingers or the mouse wheel.
Playing with others
How do live games work?
Open Play live, pick a quiz and you get a PIN. Everyone else opens Quiz the Map, taps Play live and types the PIN; they choose a nickname and the game starts when you press start. Everyone sees the same names at the same time and the leaderboard updates live. Rooms last six hours. For a two-player race, use "Race a friend live" inside any quiz.
Can I use it in a classroom?
Yes, and many teachers do. There are no student accounts, ads and analytics are switched off for anyone who joins through a class link, and you can create a private class leaderboard in a few seconds. Everything is explained on the For teachers page and in the guide for teachers.
How do the leaderboards work?
Every quiz has a leaderboard. The "This week's best" board on the home page resets each week. You pick a nickname when you post a score; no account is needed. Members-only puzzles (Mystery Country, Border Hop, Odd One Out) have their own boards.
Printables and embedding
Are the printable maps really free?
Yes. Every printable map comes as an A4 PDF in three versions – blank outline, numbered with an answer key, and labelled – with no watermark and no sign-up. Print as many as you like for a class.
Can I put a quiz on my own website?
Yes. Every quiz page has an "Embed" option that gives you a short piece of HTML. The embedded quiz has no ads and no tracking.
Problems
A quiz will not load or the map is blank
Reload the page first. If it is still blank, your browser may be blocking scripts or be very old – the site works in current versions of Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge. If a specific quiz is broken, tell us through the contact page with the quiz name and your device.
I found a mistake on a map
Use the report link on the contact page. Say which quiz, which place, and what you think is correct. Border and name changes are checked against the UN list before they are changed.
How do I delete my data?
If you have not signed in, everything is on your device: clearing the site's data in your browser removes it. If you signed in with Google, use "Delete account" on your profile and the account, progress and scores are removed. Accounts that have not been used for three years are deleted automatically.