GeoKnow › Guides › Capital Hunt
Capital Hunt: Capital Cities That Surprise People
Capital Hunt names a capital city on a postcard and asks you to tap its country on the map. Most capitals are obvious, but a few dozen are not. Learn those and your score jumps.
You can also play it on the capital cities quiz or world capitals quiz pages.
The famous surprises
- Canberra, not Sydney, is Australia's capital.
- Ottawa, not Toronto, is Canada's capital.
- Brasilia, not Rio or Sao Paulo, is Brazil's capital.
- Ankara, not Istanbul, is Turkey's capital.
- Bern, not Zurich or Geneva, is Switzerland's capital.
- Wellington, not Auckland, is New Zealand's capital.
- Abuja, not Lagos, is Nigeria's capital.
- Dodoma, not Dar es Salaam, is Tanzania's capital.
Capitals that have changed
Naypyidaw replaced Yangon as Myanmar's capital in 2006. Astana in Kazakhstan was renamed Nur-Sultan in 2019 and went back to Astana in 2022. Yamoussoukro is the official capital of Ivory Coast, although Abidjan is the largest city.
Countries with more than one
South Africa has three capitals: Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative) and Bloemfontein (judicial). Bolivia has Sucre as its constitutional capital and La Paz as the seat of government. The game uses the commonly listed capital.
Memory tricks
Link the capital to a story: "Ottawa" sounds like "otter". Group them by region and learn one region a week. Use the list of capital cities to revise after each game.
Playing the map
On Easy the map is zoomed to the right part of the world. On Medium you see the whole world. On Hard you only see faint outlines. If you miss, the map shows the right country and tells you the answer.
Frequently asked questions
Why are some countries missing?
Countries where the capital is disputed or contested are left out.
How many tries do I get?
Three on Easy and Medium (10, 6 or 3 points) and two on Hard (10 or 5).
Keep learning
Related guides: Outline, Pinpoint, Mystery Country. Or browse all game guides, the geography games and the country pages.