Quick and Fun Online Games for Geography Nerds
Looking for something to do? At an awkward party? Did your boyfriend or girlfriend just dump you?
Or do you think you’re sophisticated because you read a bunch of books and pay attention to world news? Then test your knowledge of geography with these quick and fun online games, you nerd!
One of the great things about playing these games for me is that I have learned how ignorant I am of where countries in the world are located. I expect this is most likely quite normal for an American. And it’s good to know I am not as cultured as I sometimes think I am. On another positive note, I’ve also played these games at dull, awkward parties with strangers. I have always found them to be a fantastic conversation starter.
In addition, I think it’s in our best interests to understand the relationships between countries geographically and learn more when we can about how these relationships affect our world. For instance, the ecological integrity of places like oceans, rivers, and forests can be easily affected in one country by what happens in another (think pollution, oil spills, population changes, deforestation, and so on).
One great example of where this is currently happening is the Amazon Rainforest. Deforestation in Peru has threatened several indigenous groups who have now moved into Brazil–my fellow EcoWorldly writer Sam Ooko recently wrote an update about this ecologically and geographically related piece of international environmental news. I have also written about it in the past. But enough explanation!
Without further ado- here is a non-comprehensive list of some links to great online games that can help you test your knowledge of geography! I asked my fellow Green Options writer Meg Hamill to play the first two games with me. We are providing our scores on our 1st attempts so you have some means to compare how well you do (neither of us did really well, and Africa was most definitely a continent I need to study better).
Please feel free to post your scores in the comments section if you want to show off your nerdiness in all its grandeur!
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Games Design’s World Map
This one is fast and furious. You receive the name of a country and then are asked to click on its location on a world map. You receive 20 countries to identify in total, and have about 10 seconds to make each decision.
My score: 63
Meg’s Score: 23
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Name the 192 UN Member States in 10 Minutes
Can you name the 192 members of the United Nations in 10 minutes? It’s harder than you would think. After you type in the name of a country, it automatically enters it for you if you are correct.
My score: 83 countries named, 109 remain
Meg’s score: 66 countries named, 126 remain
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National Geographic’s GeoSpy
Much like the first game, although this one you do by continent. It tells you where the country is if you get your answer wrong, a nice advantage over the first game.
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National Geographic’s GeoBee Challenge
A multiple choice quiz of ten questions that change on a daily basis. A ranking chart shows scores from users across the web.
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Photo Credits (from top down):
- Aidan Jones on Flickr under a Creative Commons license
- Melle_Oh on Flickr under a Creative Commons license
