When do new games appear?

At midnight where you are. The page works out today's date on your device and plays that day's three games from a schedule built in advance, so there is nothing to wait for.

Is it the same for everyone?

Yes. Everyone on the same date gets the same places, the same flight and the same hidden city, so a result can be compared with anyone's.

How does the week get harder?

Monday and Tuesday are easy, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday medium, Friday and Saturday hard. Late in the week Due North's places sit closer together and lose their arrows, Contrail's flights get longer, and Rangefinder hides less famous cities.

Is every puzzle fair?

Due North's places are always far enough apart on the day's line that none could pass for a tie. Every country under a Contrail flight is crossed for at least 50 km, and no country the flight misses comes within 12 km of it. No puzzle is set on disputed ground.

Why is the flight path curved on most maps but straight here?

The shortest path between two places on a globe is a great circle. A flat world map bends it into an arc; the map here is the globe seen from above the middle of the flight, where a great circle through the center is a straight line. Real flights follow it closely, bent a little by winds and airspace.

How close does a Rangefinder ping have to be?

Within 100 km on easy days, 75 km on medium days and 50 km on hard ones. Each reading is the true distance rounded to a step of no more than a fifth of it, so it is good to about 10% either way, and the range shown always contains the city.

Do I need an account?

No. Your progress, your streak and the last year of results are kept in this browser only and never sent anywhere. The streak is shared with the Gizmobench Daily puzzles: a day with any game solved counts.

Gizmobench Geography

Daily geography games

Three map games, the same for everyone and new at midnight where you are: put places in order, name the countries under a flight, and find a hidden city by its distance. Your streak is kept in this browser.

Loading today's map…

How to play

Due North

Five places to put in order along the day's line: north to south, west to east, biggest to smallest, or nearest to a named city first. Drag them, or tap two to swap, then check. A place in its right slot is pinned; on easy and medium days the rest show which way they have to go. Four checks.

Contrail

A flight between two cities follows the great circle, the shortest way over the Earth. Name every country it passes over between them, in any order. Each right name lights its stretch of the line; a wrong one costs a strike, and three end the day.

Rangefinder

A city is hidden somewhere on the map. Tap to aim and send a ping: the reading says how far away the city is, as a range, drawn as a band around the ping. Readings sharpen as you get closer. Find it in as few pings as you can.

Accurate to: distances are measured along the Earth's surface on a sphere of its mean radius, within about half a percent of a survey. Borders are Natural Earth's de facto lines, and flights follow the great circle, which real routes only approximate.

Common questions

When do new games appear?: At midnight where you are. The page works out today's date on your device and plays that day's three games from a schedule built in advance, so there is nothing to wait for.
Is it the same for everyone?: Yes. Everyone on the same date gets the same places, the same flight and the same hidden city, so a result can be compared with anyone's.
How does the week get harder?: Monday and Tuesday are easy, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday medium, Friday and Saturday hard. Late in the week Due North's places sit closer together and lose their arrows, Contrail's flights get longer, and Rangefinder hides less famous cities.
Is every puzzle fair?: Due North's places are always far enough apart on the day's line that none could pass for a tie. Every country under a Contrail flight is crossed for at least 50 km, and no country the flight misses comes within 12 km of it. No puzzle is set on disputed ground.
Why is the flight path curved on most maps but straight here?: The shortest path between two places on a globe is a great circle. A flat world map bends it into an arc; the map here is the globe seen from above the middle of the flight, where a great circle through the center is a straight line. Real flights follow it closely, bent a little by winds and airspace.
How close does a Rangefinder ping have to be?: Within 100 km on easy days, 75 km on medium days and 50 km on hard ones. Each reading is the true distance rounded to a step of no more than a fifth of it, so it is good to about 10% either way, and the range shown always contains the city.
Do I need an account?: No. Your progress, your streak and the last year of results are kept in this browser only and never sent anywhere. The streak is shared with the Gizmobench Daily puzzles: a day with any game solved counts.

Maps and places: Natural Earth (public domain). Data and software notices.