GeodlyHigher or lower
GeoDecide: how to play
Two countries, one statistic. Pick the country with the higher value, build a streak and keep going until you lose your three lives.
What is GeoDecide?
GeoDecide shows two countries side by side, each over its own flag, with a question such as "Which country has a longer coastline?". You press the country you think has the higher figure. Both real numbers then appear, so you learn something whether you were right or wrong.
Every round draws two random countries from a set of 47 and one of 13 statistics. These cover population, land area, population density, total GDP, GDP per capita, life expectancy, unemployment rate, coastline, number of neighbouring countries, forest coverage, Human Development Index, UNESCO World Heritage sites and airports.
- Players
- 1
- Lives
- 3
- Statistics
- 13
- Countries included
- 47
- Rounds
- Unlimited, until your lives run out
- Time limit
- None
How to play
- 1Read the question at the top to see which statistic is being compared.
- 2Press the half of the screen showing the country you believe has the higher value.
- 3Check the two figures that appear, then press Next round for a new pair and a new statistic.
- 4Carry on until all three hearts are gone, then press See results. Play again starts over with three lives.
Scoring
Each correct answer adds 1 to your score and 1 to your streak. There is no timer and no bonus for speed.
A wrong answer costs one of your three lives and resets the streak to zero. Your score is kept. After the third wrong answer the game ends and shows how many you got right.
The longest streak you reach is recorded as your best and shown on the GeoDecide card on the home page.
Tips
- Always pick the higher number, even when higher is worse. On unemployment rate the correct choice is the country with more unemployment.
- Separate total GDP from GDP per capita. Large populations win on total GDP, while small wealthy countries such as Norway, Iceland or Denmark win per person.
- Population density rewards small, crowded countries. Bahrain, Bangladesh and Barbados lead, while Russia, Canada and Australia sit at the bottom.
- For coastline, think islands and jagged shores (Canada, Indonesia, Japan, Norway). Landlocked countries have none.
- Neighbouring countries counts land borders, so island nations such as Japan, Iceland and Australia score zero.
What you learn
GeoDecide trains a sense of scale. Instead of memorising exact figures, you learn how countries compare: which are large but empty, which are small but rich, which have long coasts or many neighbours. Because the real numbers are revealed after every answer, you also pick up reference points, such as typical life expectancies.
Questions and answers
- Is my best streak saved?
- Yes. It is saved in the browser on the device you play on, so it will not follow you to another device or browser.
- Do I lose my score when I lose a life?
- No. A wrong answer takes one life and resets the streak, but the score stays.
- Can two countries be tied?
- No. A pair with equal values is never shown, so there is always one correct answer.
- Does the game get harder as I go?
- No. Every round is drawn at random, so difficulty depends on how close the two values happen to be.