The estimated reading time for this post is 3 minutes
You could travel around the world in 80 days, or you could do it in the next few minutes with a cool new travel game called GeoGuessr. Test your knowledge of the world and virtually visit places far and wide with GeoGuessr, a fantastically fun geography quiz game that’s easy to play but impossible to master. Geoguessr shows you images from Google Street View and you guess where in the world the image was taken.
No matter how well-traveled you are, you simply aren’t as well-traveled as Google Street View. Those Street View cameras have been busy capturing images from around the globe.
How to Play the Game
Head to the GeoGuessr website and you’ll see instructions on how to play. You click on the screen to reveal the image of the location and a map of the world in the upper right corner. The images you’re greeted with range from stunning scenery to barren walls, but the excitement of the unknown is part of the fun!
You can choose to see images from around the world or from a certain area, such as a continent, country, or city.
You can look at the image, zoom in, rotate it 360°, move it forward and backward, up and down to help you determine your location. When you think you know where the image was taken, click on the Google map to place your marker. Make sure you zoom in on the Google map to place your marker more accurately. If you get disoriented, you can click on the Return to start location button.
Once you’re satisfied with the placement of your marker, click on the Make Guess button at the bottom of the map. A new screen will pop up, showing you how far your guess was from the actual location. You’ll also learn how many kilometers off you were and how many points you earned.
Give yourself a pat on the back if you guessed the correct continent. You can do the happy dance if you guessed the right country. If you were way off the mark, you can smile and marvel at how similar the world is in many places.
You get five different scenes to guess in the game. After the fifth scene, you’re shown your total points for all five guesses and a map of your guesses versus the actual locations.
There’s no leader board nor prize money, but you can share your scores with others on social media and challenge them to beat your score.
Helpful Hints
While the challenge may seem impossible at first, you can look for clues that may help you discern which area of the planet Earth you’re viewing. Here are some hints to help guide you. I’ve colored them white to avoid spoilers. Highlight the hints to reveal them:
- Check to see if you can see any words on signs to see if you can see language or letters that may give you an idea of what language is spoken. Tip: if both French and English are on signs, Canada might be your best guess.
- Look closely at the vegetation to see what the latitude might be. Palm trees may mean a more tropical climate.
- Check which side of the street cars are driving on. If they’re on the left, your choice of countries will be much more limited than if the cars are on the right.
- Look at the road signs. If the road signs are international symbols then the location probably isn’t in the US.
You can play on a mobile device but you must be connected to the Internet to play GeoGuessr.
The more you play the game, the better you’ll get. Be careful, the game can get very addictive. The good news is that the game is free and chances are you won’t run out of places to visit on planet Earth.
Bottom Line
Travel around the world while having fun with GeoGuessr. Who knows? You may discover your next vacation destination while playing this educational and entertaining game!
Have you played GeoGuessr yet? Do you like geography quiz games? Let us know in the Comments section below. Feel free to leave your challenge URL if you want to take on other Wonder of Tech readers!
Carolyn, tried the game, pretty tough at first. I tried some of your tips and guessed the first one as America. Guess what, it was Australia!! How much more wrong could I have been. Nice thing about it though, I still got points for my guess. This game could definitely keep you up at night.
Hi Frank, So glad you enjoyed GeoGuessr! It’s fun to play and highly addictive, a great way to test your world knowledge.
Isn’t it amazing when we are thousands of kilometers off track? On place I guessed was Hungary, but it was my home state of Pennsylvania!
Thanks for stopping by, Frank. Have a fun-filled weekend! 🙂
Hi Carolyn,
That’s an interesting game. 🙂
However, I’ve always been poor in my knowledge about places around the world and Geography. But, I’m sure my hubby will like it as maps and places interest him more. Nevertheless, I liked the way you presented the hints – that’s a smart thing to do!
Thanks for letting us know about this game, quiz, and an educational application as well! Have a nice weekend ahead 🙂
Hi Harleena, Yes, it will be interesting to see how your husband does. I want my husband to try this game, he is the same way with maps and places. He has traveled the globe for business, but sometimes you don’t get many clue in this game!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Harleena. You have a wonderful weekend too!
Hey Carolyn,
It’s really cool 🙂 Just been there. I wish i it allows us to create an account so we can collect more point without starting from scratch. Or it tracks and keep points? 😉
I’ve been using Google Maps street view to check out some awesome places around the World and had fun doing it. I do when I get to know of a cool place or find something interesting about a place 🙂
Now it’s fun all the way 🙂
BTW Helpful hints (Bullet points) are whitey. Had to select ’em to see what’s in there 🙂
You have a great weekend ahead with lots of fun dear 😉
Cheers…
Hi Mayura, I’m so glad you’re enjoying GeoGuessr. It’s a super fun game and very addictive! Sorry, no leader board or cumulative scoring. Each game lives on its own, I guess we can’t expect too much from a free game, though those features would be nice improvements.
Yes, I mentioned in the article that I made the Helpful Hints white to avoid spoilers. Some people like to figure out games on their own and I didn’t want to spoil their fun by revealing hints they didn’t want. I will bold that statement though so people don’t miss it.
Thanks so much for stopping by and letting us know your thoughts, Mayura. You have a fabulous weekend too!
lol 😀 I’ve read your post through Pocket and it was normal (black) there. Then I came here to comment and saw white space. Better read on site I guess 😀
Cheers…
Hi Mayura, No worries. I don’t white out text very often here at The Wonder of Tech. In fact, I think this is the only time I’ve used the white out trick!
Really this all game are very interesting and good to know the geographic of the earth.
Hi Ritvik, Yes, you’re right, this game is loads of fun and can help you learn about the Earth as well!
This was a fun little game to pass the time. I actually did way better than I expected. Grand Total Score = 6523. lol
This post came out at the right time. Google Maps are releasing their new version. Doing invites right now, and the detail is pretty incredible.
Hi Rob, I’m glad you like GeoGuessr. Congratulations on your score! Yes, you and your friends will have a great time traveling around the world together!
Oh Carolyn, I love games like this!
I’d not heard of GeoGuessr before but I’ve just opened another window and I’ve going to give it a go once I’ve clicked submit.
I wonder if they’re bring out a mobile app as that would be brilliant!
Hi Tim, I think I know what you’ll be doing this weekend, lol! My daughter is now hooked on the game and I may not be able to get my iPad back for a while….
I hope you really enjoy GeoGuessr, Tim!
Hi Carolyn,
It sure is an addictive game but is not easy. I tried it only now because I never heard of GeoGuesser before. I liked it but my first guess was 6915.469 km from the correct location. LOL. I guess it needs some practice like everything else, the more you play it the easier it gets.
Thanks Caroloyn for sharing this game with us. Enjoy your weekend.
Be Blessed,
Neamat
Hi Neamat, That’s an excellent score, especially for the first try! The most important thing is that you had fun. You’re right, it isn’t easy and often you are just taking a wild guess. But that just shows how similar our worlds are to each other’s.
Thank you for your kind wishes. You have a wonderful weekend too, Neamat!
This app is fantastic. I was first served a place in Nevada which was given away by all of the Casinos. The second place was a very rural road in Australia, which I never ended up finding due to its remoteness and the size of Australia. Simple, but great idea.
Hey Troy, Sounds as if you’re having fun with GeoGuessr. The game seems to love Australia. I usually get at least once image from Australia each game, though often I mix it up with South Africa.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your experience, Troy!
Nice game to hang out with. I’ll download the game later.Thanks
Hi Harjeet, I hope you enjoy GeoGuessr. Good news, no download required! Just head to the site and start playing right away. 🙂
Nice game Geogussr, I will try this game surely. Thanks for introducing with this new game.
Hi Prakash, I hope you enjoy the game!
Well that looks pretty cool Carolyn… Not sure when I’ll find the time to play but it looks like fun.
I’m with Harleena, I’m pretty bad when it comes to geography but if I’m with my sister when I play then all is good.
~Adrienne
Hi Adrienne, Yes, I had a Wonder of Tech reader complain to me yesterday that he is spending way too much time on GeoGuessr, but he’s having fun! Great idea to play in teams, Adrienne. Crowdsourcing your guesses may improve your scores dramatically. The game can be very tough if it plops you down in the middle of a field, but that’s part of the fun!
Hello Carolyn,
It is a hard game. You need solid knowledge to read the signs (type of trees, people clothing, snowy or sandy fields and so on). But in the end it’s very entertaining. And, yes, the genuine images worth every minute spent on playing.
Hi Alex, You’re right, the game can be very tough. But it is a lot of fun and actually funny when you’re way off!
“You got 6776 points in total.” Tough but really interesting. Best distance for me was 523 km (in Australia). Amazing what peaople can do with Street view. Recently, have seen time lapse video made by my friend in Street view 😀
Hi Kamil, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! I’m so glad you like GeoGuessr. Australia is tough because it’s a big place and it’s difficult to pinpoint your location. Just getting the country right is an impressive achievement!
This sounds great fun – haven’t tried it yet but I can tell you for free that I know I’ll be hopeless at it – geography was the one exam I failed miserably at school!
Thanks for this fun share, Carolyn – I’ll certainly give it a whirl 🙂
Sue
Hi Sue, Great idea! This would be a very fun way to study for a geography test at school. I want to let my daughters’ geography teachers know about this fun and free game. :-bd
Hey Carolyn,
This GeoGuessr game is some what an educational game not only for adults but for children as well. It’s a good game to enhance the geographical knowledge of a person. Children will also be curios about such things and that by way of a game to learn, children will be in a hype for this game.
Hi Farrell, Excellent point! Children enjoy this game too. My daughters absolutely love this game which is fantastic because it’s a great way to learn geography. (Shhhh….don’t tell them it’s educational.)