GoLynQ Learn (formerly PINPOINT!) drops you onto real satellite imagery of a random place on land somewhere on Earth. There are no labels, no country names and no borders to give it away. You study the terrain, reveal hints if you need them, and pick the country from four choices. Then the map reveals where you were, with a few facts about the place. It runs in any browser at learn.golynq.me, with no account.
The basic idea
Each round, the map centers on a random location on land, shown as satellite imagery only. Look at what you can see (coastlines, mountains, deserts, the color of the vegetation, the shape of fields and roads), then choose the country from the four answers below the map.
The three wrong answers aren't random. They are countries that border the right one when possible, and otherwise countries from the same continent, so you have to look closely rather than rule out the obvious.
Hints, and what they cost
You don't have to guess blind. The hemisphere is always shown for free. After that, four more hints are available, one at a time, each time you tap Reveal clue:
| Hint | Cost |
|---|---|
| Hemisphere | Free, always shown |
| 1st: Continent | −10 points |
| 2nd: Capital city | −15 points |
| 3rd: Region (the state, province or administrative area) | −20 points |
| 4th: Language(s) spoken | −20 points |
Each hint costs a little more than the one before, and the cost stops rising at 20 points. The Reveal clue button always shows what the next hint will cost before you tap it. The region hint only appears when the location has a known region.
Scoring
| Points | |
|---|---|
| Correct answer | 50, minus the hints you used (never below 0) |
| Speed bonus | +30 if you answer in under 12 seconds, +15 in under 25 seconds |
| Streak bonus | +5 for every correct answer in your current streak, up to +50 |
| Bonus round (United States, Canada, Australia) | +25 for naming the right state, province or territory |
A wrong answer scores nothing and resets your current streak. Your total score is kept on your device and carries over from one visit to the next.
An example: you recognize a coastline at once and answer in 9 seconds with no hints, on a streak of 3. That's 50 + 30 + 15 = 95 points. Taking the continent and capital hints and answering in 20 seconds instead gives (50 − 25) + 15 + 15 = 55.
The bonus round
When the location is in the United States, Canada or Australia and you get the country right, a second question asks for the state, province or territory, again with four choices. A right answer adds 25 points. State and province names stay in English in every language.
A game is seven rounds
Each calendar day, a game is seven rounds. Every answer counts, right or wrong. After the seventh, the game stops and highlights New game: come back tomorrow, or start a new game to keep playing (it stops again every seven rounds). A country never comes up twice in the same session, until you start a new game.
Daily goal and day streak
Playing your seven rounds completes the day's goal, and completing it on consecutive days grows your day streak. A strip in the header shows your last seven days: ✅ for a day you completed, 🧊 for a day that was protected, and a dot for today.
Missed a day? Your streak isn't reset. The next time you open the game, each missed day is covered automatically at a cost of 300 points from your total score. Your score never goes below zero, and the streak survives even if you don't have enough points. There's nothing to buy or turn on.
After you answer
Right or wrong, the satellite view switches to a labeled map, so you see exactly where the location was. You also get:
- a quick facts card: the capital, languages and currency;
- the current weather at that spot;
- a photo of the area, when one is available.
Tips for a better score
- Look before you reveal. Coastlines, mountain ranges, vegetation color, field patterns and the layout of towns often give away more than they seem to at first.
- Roads and fields help when you zoom in: long straight roads on a grid suggest North America or Australia, while small irregular fields are more typical of Europe and Asia.
- The continent hint is cheap for how much it narrows things down. It's often worth taking when you're unsure.
- Speed and hints trade off. A fast answer with no hints scores best, but a slower answer with one hint beats a wrong guess, which scores nothing and ends your streak.
- Finish your seven rounds to keep the day streak growing.
Languages and data
GoLynQ Learn is available in English, Español, Français, Deutsch, Português, Italiano, 日本語 and 한국어. Hints, feedback and country names switch with the language you pick in the header.
The map uses Esri satellite imagery and OpenStreetMap. OpenStreetMap's Nominatim service identifies each location, Open-Meteo provides the weather, and Wikimedia Commons the photos. These requests are about the game's locations, not yours: GoLynQ Learn doesn't ask for your position. See the GoLynQ privacy page for the rest.