Skip to content
Daily Geo Hub

Patchwork

New puzzle in

How Patchwork works

  1. 1Each patch is 3, 4 or 5 neighbouring countries merged into one silhouette, north up and to scale.
  2. 2Tap the globe where you think it is and check. A miss tells you how far away and in which direction.
  3. 3Six tries per patch. Fewer tries score more: 600 on the first try, 100 less for each extra try.
  4. 4Once found, name the countries in the patch for 100 bonus points each.

GlobeFor map nerds who recognise a coastline anywhere

How to play Patchwork

Patchwork hides real countries in plain sight: without their borders, familiar places become strange shapes.

  1. Study the patch: its coastlines, its size against the scale bar, its pointy bits.
  2. Spin the globe, tap where it fits and press Check.
  3. A miss shows the distance and an arrow towards the patch. Warmer or colder tells you if you got closer.
  4. When you find it, the borders come back: name the countries for bonus points.

Tips

  • Coastlines are the biggest giveaway; landlocked patches are the hardest.
  • Use the scale bar: a 500 km patch won't be in the middle of Asia's big countries.
  • A tap anywhere inside the patch counts.

FAQ

Where do the shapes come from?
Natural Earth 1:50m country outlines (public domain), merged so that the borders between the patch's countries disappear.
Is the shape distorted?
No more than it has to be: it's drawn in an equal-area projection centred on the patch, north up, so its proportions and size are true.
When does a new puzzle come out?
Every day at 00:00 UTC. The countdown shows exactly when.