INSET: Daily Geography Game

You think you know how big countries are? You don't. Almost nobody does.

Every map you grew up with lied to you. The countries near the poles got stretched, the ones near the equator got squashed, and you have been carrying those wrong sizes around in your head ever since. Greenland looks like it could swallow Africa whole. Greenland fits inside Africa fourteen times.

INSET is one gesture. A country appears on a map of somewhere it does not belong, at completely the wrong size. Drag up to grow it, down to shrink it, stop when it looks right. Then find out how badly you missed.

That moment is the whole game. You will be certain you have nailed it. You will be out by a factor of three. You will want to go again immediately.

Five countries a day. About a minute. Everyone in the world gets the same five, so there is always someone to argue with.

WHY IT STICKS

• No typing, no multiple choice, no quiz questions. One drag and you are done
• The answer surprises you even when you know your geography
• Everyone plays the same five, so scores actually mean something
• You come away genuinely knowing which countries are enormous and which are not

HOW IT WORKS

• Five rounds a day, replaced at midnight
• Up to 1000 points a round, scored on how close your area is. Out by a tenth still scores near 800
• Every result gives you the real figure and names a country on that map for scale
• Maps are drawn so that area is true anywhere on the globe. The only thing fooling you is your own memory

AROUND THE WORLD

Maps span every continent, from Central America to East Africa to Southeast Asia, and the countries land on them from anywhere. The same country will not come round again for at least a week.

SCOREBOARD

Pick a name and see where your day lands, worldwide or in your own country. No sign-in, no email, no account, no ads.

Shapes are mainland and nearby islands. Country outlines from Natural Earth.