GeoGuessr and Seterra

One of the most difficult (yet simultaneously most interesting) classes I took in college was Geography 10: The World's Regions. It took place in a large lecture hall… completely in the dark. All lectures were slide shows, where the professor taught us to look for clues in the photos to help us identify where the photo was taken. Tree shapes, soil color, architectural styles, and a zillion other things are all clues to a mystery location. It was absolutely fascinating and I loved every minute. That is, until it came time to study for exams. How do you take notes about tiny details in 150 different pictures from an hour-long slideshow in a room so dark you can't see your notebook? This was 1991, so we couldn't take notes on a laptop or take a video on a cellphone. The tests were conducted the same way as the lectures - the professor showed a slide and we had a minute to make our best guess where it was. Repeat, repeat, repeat. There was a single bank of lights on, so we could actually see to write. It was challenging, but I got an A, so whatever I did obviously worked. 

I didn't think much about that class until a number of years ago when I first discovered GeoGuessr. If you're not familiar with it, the concept is that you are dropped in a mystery location somewhere in the world on a Google Street View map. You look for clues about your environment and then you guess where you are. It's essentially exactly the same thing as we did back in that geography class. 

When I started playing GeoGuessr, it was relatively unknown. This educational and fun game has grown significantly since then, booming during COVID. Now it even has its own World Championship. It's not too often you find something equally popular with classroom teachers and esports players, but that is the case for GeoGuessr.  

If you're looking for other fun geography games, I recommend Seterra. Acquired by GeoGuessr in 2022, Seterra is packed with games and quizzes based on countries, capitals, flags, rivers, lakes, and so much more. There are so many games based on the United States that I have barely explored the rest of the world. Try this fun game about US landmarks and let me know how you did!