Country Outline Quiz

How the country outline quiz works

Each round shows only the outline of a country, drawn as a white shape on a blueprint grid. Work out which country it is from the shape alone. When you answer, the world map shows where it is. A daily quiz has five outlines.

Easy, Medium and Hard

Easy uses well known countries and a few famous microstates, such as Monaco, Malta and Singapore, with four choices. Medium draws from every country in the game and you type the answer, with three tries worth ten, six or three points. Hard turns the outline to a random angle and gives you two tries, worth ten or five points.

How to recognise a country from its shape

• Look for a signature feature: the boot of Italy, the long coast of Chile, the peninsula of Korea.
• Notice proportions. Is the shape tall and thin, like Chile, or round and compact, like Poland?
• Think about islands. Several outlines are island chains, such as Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia.
• On Hard, ignore the rotation and look at the coast instead of the overall silhouette.

About the shapes

The outlines come from the Natural Earth maps, which are in the public domain. Larger countries use a simplified world map and the small ones use a more detailed one, so Monaco, Vatican City, Liechtenstein, the Maldives and island nations like Tuvalu and Nauru are all included.

Frequently asked questions

Can I guess a country from its outline alone?

Yes, that is the whole game. You are shown only the shape, with no labels or borders.

Does the quiz include small countries?

Yes. Monaco, Vatican City, San Marino, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Malta, Singapore and the Maldives all appear, drawn from a more detailed map.

Why is the outline rotated on Hard?

On Hard the shape is turned to a random angle so you cannot rely on the usual north-up view you know from atlases.

How many tries do I get?

Easy is multiple choice. Medium gives three tries and Hard gives two.

Where do the shapes come from?

They come from Natural Earth public domain map data and are simplified for clarity.

Is there a way to look up the countries afterwards?

Yes. Every country has a page with its capital, neighbours and an outline map, listed under Countries.

More ways to play

Every country in the quiz has its own country page with an outline map, so you can look up the shape you just met.

This quiz is the Outline game from GeoKnow. Read the Outline guide for strategy, or open the Outline game page. Related quizzes: Capital cities quiz, Guess the country, Flag quiz. Browse all geography games or today's daily geography games.