Outline: How to Recognise Countries From Their Shape
Outline shows a glowing blueprint of a country with no map around it. You name it from the shape alone. Some shapes are famous; others only make sense when you know the neighbours.
You can also play it on the country outline quiz page.
Shapes you already know
- Italy, a boot kicking Sicily.
- Chile, a long thin ribbon down South America.
- Japan, a curved chain of islands.
- Greece, a ragged peninsula with scattered islands.
- Cuba, a long crocodile-shaped island.
- Indonesia and the Philippines, groups of islands.
Shapes that confuse people
Landlocked countries with straight borders look similar: Paraguay, Bolivia and Chad can all look like irregular polygons. Africa is full of them. Ask yourself which sides are straight lines. Straight borders usually mean colonial-era lines drawn by surveyors, while coastlines and rivers are irregular.
Microstates
Outline includes the world's tiniest countries. Vatican City is the smallest country in the world at about 0.44 square kilometres. Monaco is about 2 square kilometres, and Nauru, a single island, is about 21. On Hard these appear as blocky shapes or even just dots for island chains like the Maldives. After you answer, the world map zooms to show where they actually are.
Hard mode
On Hard the outline can be rotated to any angle and you only have two tries. Rotate the picture in your head until the most distinctive feature (a peninsula, a bay or a straight edge) is pointing the way you expect.
Difficulty
Easy uses well-known countries and a few famous microstates, with four choices. Medium uses every country and you type the answer with three tries. Hard rotates the shape.
Frequently asked questions
Why are tiny islands missing from some outlines?
Very small islands are left out so the main shape is clear. For island chains that is part of the challenge.
Are the outlines accurate?
They come from public-domain Natural Earth maps and are simplified.
Keep learning
Related guides: Capital Hunt, Pinpoint, Border Run. Or browse all game guides, the geography games and the country pages.