My son asked me today if I had 15 minutes to spend with him – he wanted to show me something “cool”.
Of course I had 15 minutes for him. Always!
Well, what he showed me was definitely “cool”, but that 15 minutes turned into 3 hours! And it was an awesome three hours together!
Okay – now that I have your curiosity peeked, what did we spend all this time doing?
GeoGuessr!
Imagine yourself being dropped off somewhere in the world. Your mission is to figure out where you are!
If you like traveling the world and sightseeing, if you like adventure, if you like navigating and putting your brain to use to solve adventures – you’re going to love GeoGuessr! Trust me on this. You’re really going to want to do this.
Here’s how to get started.
How to Use GeoGuessr:
- On your computer, go to GeoGuessr.com then click on Single Player
My son and I worked as a team using Single Player. It was a LOT of fun this way!
- Your first location will appear in a window similar to the one below (your location will be different)
– In the top menu you’ll see Round 1/5. You have five locations to travel to and figure out where you are.
– Your Score will appear after you finish your first round.
– The Map you will be using appears in the menu bar. If you click on World, there are other user-generated maps you can use. I highly recommend starting out with the default World map.
– If you would like, you can create an account in GeoGuessr to keep track of your score, but this is optional.
– The Compass appears on the left side of the screen – the red arrow always points North.
– The screen icon beneath the Compass allows you to make the window full-screen or revert back to regular screen size.
– The Flag icon is how you can return to the start of each Round, if needed.
– The + and – icons (or the mouse scroll wheel) allow you to Zoom In and Zoom Out of the current view.
– The Map Inset in the lower right corner can be made larger by clicking inside the map to expand the size (arrows in the upper left corner).
– The directional arrows in the middle of the screen show you the directions you can move. You can click any of the arrows to move in that direction, or click ahead of the arrows.
- To get started, I recommend you click the icon beneath the Compass to make the window full-screen
- Before moving in any direction, use the mouse and take a look around – just hold the left mouse button down as you drag the mouse to get a 360-view
- Once you have your bearings, click on the directional arrows to move in the direction you want to go – the object is to quickly figure out where in the world you are
In some areas, you will have limits to the direction you can move. For example, if you don’t see a directional arrow that points forward, you won’t be able to move any further in that direction. - Continue moving through the screens using the directional arrows – pay close attention to signs and clues as you move around the map
- Once you think you know where you are, click in the Map Inset and then click on the map to mark the location where you started from – then click the Make Guess button
A screen similar to the one below will appear. Make sure to click to continue so you can skip the ads.
- Click Skip Ad and Continue the Game to see if your guess was correct
A screen similar to the one below will appear. The Flag icon is where you actually started; the avatar icon is where you placed your guess. You’ll be able to see how far off you were with the text beneath the map, and your points will be displayed.
- Click the Play Next Round button to move on to the next round
- Repeat steps 3 through 9 to continue through all five rounds
When all five rounds are completed, you’ll see a screen similar to the one above, but it will show your overall points. Each round has a total of 5,000 points, so a perfect score would be 25,000 points overall.
Take it With You!
What to take GeoGuessr with you? Now you can with the GeoGuessr App (available for iOS).
A Few Notes About GeoGuessr
- REAL Places! GeoGuessr uses Google Maps Street View and takes you to real places around the world. The sightseeing is amazing. You’ll visit little nooks and crannies, as well as famous places along your adventure. Some places are very restricted, making it a real challenge to figure out where you are. Other places take you long distances through your travel. We spent almost 2 hours in Texas today trying to figure out our location, and then only a few minutes to figure out where we were when we were in Chile. You never know where you’re going next, and that makes it a fun adventure.
- FAIR WARNING: This game is addicting!
- No Cheating! You might be tempted to cheat and do a Google search for a name you spotted on a building, or on a road sign. You might want to Google a phone number you spotted on a sign. But that would just take away from the fun of the game! I recommend you just stay in the game and use the clues around you to figure out where you are.
- Your Score – Don’t worry about your score. The fun is in figuring out where you are by using the clues around you. Sure the score is fun to see at the end (we had an almost perfect score today [I say as we pat our backs]), but focus on the adventure and all the fabulous sights you’ll see. Just enjoy the adventure!
- Create an Account – If you create a free account, you’ll be able to play with friends and unlock additional game modes. There is also a paid option available for $3 a month that gives you extra customization options.
- Try Challenge Mode – You can challenge friends or family with Challenge Mode. Set a time limit and see who can score the most in the least amount of time.
- Tip – Make sure to pay attention to your Compass! This will help you a lot!
- Share the Fun! Like I said, this was a great game to play with my son today. I highly recommend playing it with another person, several friends, or with your family… it is SO much more fun that way!
Ready to travel the world? Head over to GeoGuessr, drop-in and take a surprise trip – without leaving the comfort of your home. Share your score in a comment below, and tell us your favorite place you visited.
