Overflown: Which Countries Does a Flight Cross?
Overflown draws a flight between two airports on the map, with a plane flying along it, and asks you to tap every country it passes over. The route is the shortest path over the globe, which is not always the straight line you would draw.
Why the route curves
The shortest path between two places on a sphere is a great circle. On a flat map it looks curved. A flight from Europe to North America bends north towards Greenland, and a flight from Europe to East Asia usually crosses Russia and Siberia rather than the Middle East.
A method for naming the countries
- Locate the departure and arrival airports and note their countries. These always count.
- Follow the plane's line and name each country it crosses, including thin ones.
- Check the count: the game tells you how many countries the route crosses.
- Zoom in near borders. Small countries and slivers are easy to miss.
Common traps
- Short overland routes cross small European countries quickly.
- Routes over water may pass only a corner of a country, such as Ireland or Greenland.
- Do not forget the country you take off from or land in.
Scoring
You are rated out of 10 by how many correct countries you found. Each wrong tap subtracts part of a correct one (more on Hard), so tapping everything does not work.
Difficulty
Easy labels every country and uses flights over three or four countries. Medium removes labels and uses four to six. Hard zooms out, removes labels and uses six to nine countries.
The map and its limits
It uses the Natural Earth 110m map, which is simplified. Very small countries and tiny border slivers are not on it, and a country only counts if the route spends more than about 60 km over it.
Frequently asked questions
Are these real flight plans?
No. They are great-circle paths. Real flights follow air traffic routes, which are usually a little different.
Can I type a country?
Yes. Use the box under the map, which also helps with tiny countries.
Keep learning
Related guides: Shortcut, Longer Flight, Border Run. Or browse all game guides, the geography games and the country pages.