GeoNerve

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Twelve of these thirty places fit the category. Tap them one by one, and bank before a wrong one.

Play GeoNerve

on geo.byrneapps.com

A GeoNerve grid of thirty country tiles for the category countries bordering exactly one other, with six tapped green and 380 in the pot

GeoNerve is a daily geography gamble on iPhone and the web. Each day shows thirty countries, rivers or places and a category that twelve of them fit; every correct tap grows the pot, one wrong tap wipes it out, and you decide when to stop and bank. Everyone gets the same grid.

About GeoNerve

GeoNerve hands you a category and a grid of thirty tiles: countries that border exactly one other, rivers that reach the Mediterranean, islands larger than Sicily. You are told that twelve of the thirty belong. Tap a tile you think fits and the pot grows; tap another and it grows faster, climbing into the thousands. Tap one tile that does not belong and you lose everything you built that day.

There is no timer and no luck to beat. The game shows the odds of every tap, so the only question is how sure you are and how far you dare to go. Stopping at four keeps a modest pile; pushing to eleven can pay far more. When the round ends, every tile turns over with a short note explaining why it does or does not fit, so you finish knowing a little more geography than you started with. The categories are meant to be reasoned out from the tiles rather than memorised.

The puzzle is the same for everybody and changes at midnight, so you can compare where you stopped with friends or with everyone who played. A streak multiplies your winnings, and a streak freeze can save a missed day. Banked coins buy hats, faces, outfits and backdrops for a cartoon character, with no random draws.

GeoNerve is made by Oliver Byrne and came out in August 2026. It is free with ads. An optional GeoNerve Member subscription opens the whole archive of past puzzles, removes ads, earns coins faster and adds a members-only item each month.

How to play GeoNerve

Open today's GeoNerve and read the category and how many of the thirty tiles belong.
Tap a tile you are sure fits; the pot grows.
Keep tapping tiles you believe fit, watching the odds and the pot.
Bank whenever you want to keep what you have; one wrong tap loses the lot.
Read the notes on every tile when the round ends, then share your result.

Screenshots

GeoNerve's result card: banked 7 correct with a streak bonus, a shareable row of squares and a note that the next puzzle comes at midnight

A lost GeoNerve round with every tile turned over to explain each country's land borders

Tips

Bank early on unfamiliar categories; a small sure pile beats a wiped pot.
Start with the tiles you are most certain of; the pot grows faster with each correct tap.
Read the fine print under the category, such as land borders only; it decides the edge cases.
Keep your streak going: it multiplies what you bank each day.