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Countries of the World Game: A New Find!

Photo by Gaël Gaborel on Unsplash

 

The annual two weeks that we students get off for the holidays are pure bliss. Though a few priorities have to get done, being able to do something you enjoy in your free time is very valuable.

Over my winter break, I stumbled upon an online game one boring afternoon and I have been playing it ever since. The objective of it is being able to name every single country (there’s 196) in the world. You are given a blank map at the start and for every country you type, the greener the map becomes. 

I immediately googled the game and clicked the “start quiz” button. I will admit, my first time playing didn’t go as planned, considering I was only able to get to twenty countries. However, I had a really strong determination to win the game. My biggest motivator was the simple, but also not so simple thought of being able to name all the countries on Earth.

Yes, it is a small thing, but to me those things just make you an overall educated and well-rounded individual. I also really enjoy games where you have to compete against yourself. In this quiz, there is no opposing side or anyone to beat; it’s just you against your mind pushing to better your memorization skills and focus ability each time you take the quiz.

My purpose in this article is to provide you with an excellent game to play when you’re bored, to elaborate about my experience with it, to give my top tips to win, and a suggested channel if you’re interested in cultures and languages of the world. Scroll to the bottom of this article for the link to the quiz! 

 

Here is a screenshot of the game for visualization.

So, How on Earth am I Supposed to Memorize all That?

Actually, it was pretty easy. It only took me about a week to a week and a half to memorize all of it. You will feel so satisfied once you’re able to do it too! Here are five of my top tips. 

#1 Start with Similarly Spelled Countries

Sometimes, countries sound similar or are spelled a similar way. I would group those countries up and then type them in right after another. For example, every time I entered the country “Estonia” I would then type in “Eritrea” and “Eswatini.” This helped me knock out a ton of countries. 

However, I made sure to know where those countries are because if you’re not sure which continent they’re on, it sort of defeats the purpose. Even though these countries all begin with the same letter(s), Eritrea and Eswatini are in Africa, while Estonia is in Europe. 

Some more examples of this include: Papua New Guinea, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, and then St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

#2 Group up the “stan” Countries!

There are seven countries that end in the suffix “stan” (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan). These are pretty easy to memorize with repetition, and it makes South Asia much easier to finish. 

#3 Go Continent by Continent

I can’t tell you how helpful this is! It is so much better to know the countries by continent instead of just randomly typing scattered countries. I personally always start with Oceania (since I always have trouble with it), then North America, South America, on to Europe, Asia, and I finish off with Africa and Antarctica. Just do whatever works for you! 

World Map Image from Wikimedia

#4 Memorize by Cheating

This is the real reason I was able to complete the map. For the first 10-15 tries, I would simply open up a labeled map of a specific continent and type in everything I was missing. As I kept looking at the map and labeling a country again and again, I naturally knew it without “cheating.” 

#5 Practice, Practice, Practice!

I know this tip is cliché, but it’s honestly just my greatest advice for this game. I played daily for three rounds, and after about a week to a week and a half, I won the game. However, I will say that after you finally win you have to keep practicing afterwards. Due to being busy with the holiday season, I didn’t play for about four days. When I came back, I stumbled a bit on some countries. 

Photo by Avi Richards on Unsplash

 

What’s the Purpose of Playing this Game?

To be honest, before this game, I barely knew much geography. I was so unaware of where countries were or how they looked, I didn’t even know some of them existed! Now, I feel more culturally aware and I know the place I am living in. It’s a really nice feeling to gain knowledge! Plus, I feel a little more advanced than the others in that area, which is great not only knowledge wise, but confidence wise as well. Confidence is built on accomplishments and the times you succeed. You will go from only knowing the well known countries of the world to knowing every single one and their location!  

The Countries of the World Game is on a website named JetPunk. It has so many other quizzes, and not all of them are about geography. All their quizzes are incredibly fun and I highly suggest you check them out when you’re bored. 

If you are interested in the geography and languages of the world, I have one more suggestion! I actually found out about this website, or more specifically this game, from watching a viral youtuber play it. His Youtube channel is Lingualizer and he has 1.22 million subscribers. His videos range from all sorts of things; it ranges from comedy, to asking geography questions on Omegle, and even how to say “I love you” in 60 different languages. So, if you are interested in learning more, his channel is the right fit for you. (And fun fact – he can speak seven different languages!)

What’s Next?

In conclusion, I think knowing cultures, countries, maps, and languages is really important to be an educated individual. Even if knowledge about the world isn’t your favorite topic, playing this game will just help you in the future and allow you to have some fun! Next, I will be learning the Flags of the World! Woohoo!

 

Countries of the World Quiz

 

Here are Some of my other Favorite Quizzes from JetPunk.

 

For more fun quizzes scroll through our Quiz section. Our latest quiz is “How Much do you Know About Zodiac Signs.”

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