Cartology
Work out where you stand on the map, then aim the compass at a distant city.
Every day: A Daily Challenge of maps with no stated start point, the same for everyone: work out where you are from the map, then point the compass at the target city. New puzzle: Midnight in your local time zone (the challenge is picked by your device's date).
Cartology is a compass game about the shape of the world. You see a map and a target city and rotate a compass to point from where you are toward it; the closer your bearing, the better the score. In the Daily Challenge the map does not say where you are, so you read the clues on it first.
About Cartology
Cartology tests spatial sense rather than names. Each round shows you a map around your current location and names a target somewhere else in the world. You spin the compass to the direction you think the target lies and submit, and the game shows how close your bearing was.
The Daily Challenge adds a twist: the maps come with no stated start location, so you first use the streets, coastlines and labels on the map to work out where you are, then point toward the target. Everyone gets the same day's challenge, and you can play it once a day. Signing in puts your score on the daily leaderboard, and your scores for the week add up on a weekly leaderboard that resets every Sunday morning. You also earn medals for completed days.
Outside the daily there are multi-level packs, solo tours and challenges you can share with friends. It suits players of Capitalibrate or Worldle's direction arrows who enjoy thinking about bearings on a globe.
How to play Cartology
- Open cartologygame.com and choose the Daily Challenge.
- Study the map to work out where you are.
- Read the target location.
- Rotate the compass toward the target and submit.
- See how close you were and finish the day's rounds.
Tips
- Think in great circles: the shortest route to a distant city often leaves at a different angle than a flat map suggests.
- Use street names, coastlines and rivers on the map to fix your start before aiming.
- Sign in before playing if you want your result on the leaderboard.
Questions
Do I need an account?
Not to play; signing in adds you to the daily and weekly leaderboards.
When does the weekly leaderboard reset?
Every Sunday morning.
Games like Cartology
Capitalibrate (GuessDash)
Set a bearing and distance between capitals
Which way? roughly.
Point toward a place, roughly
Worldle
Name the country, with direction arrows after each guess
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Blind Globe
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BallotGuessr
See a Street View image, guess how the county voted in 2024.
Daily Map Challenge (World Flag Map)
Ten country shapes a day: name each one from its outline and place on the map.
EraGuessr
Look around a historical scene, then guess where on Earth and when in history it is.