Easy
All country and territory outlines are visible. Perfect for learning about the countries of the world, and quiet confidence. Take all the time you need, no time penalty in this mode.
How to Play
Your goal is simple: guess the country or territory from its outline. Type your answer, submit, repeat until you’re right — or dramatically wrong.
Borderline is a fast, visual geography guessing game. No flags. No capitals. Just shape recognition and a timer that does not care about your feelings.
Difficulty Levels
Medium
Only continent outlines are shown. You get context, not hand-holding. Great for building real map instincts without giving you the answer for free.
Hard
No outlines at all. Just the target shape floating in space. Pure cartographic nerve: if you know it, you know it — if you don’t, the guess count will tell on you.
Extreme
No outlines, and only small islands and territories. Tiny landmasses, unfamiliar names, and “I swear I’ve seen this shape before” energy.
No Move
A fixed-view mode: no moving the map, no excuses. Built for maximum difficulty. (Coming soon)
What’s in the Game
- 195 UN-recognised countries
- 2 observer states: Vatican City and Palestine
- 52 territories and dependencies (see below)
Scoring
- Maximum score: 2000 points
- Wrong guess: −200 points
- Time penalty: −10 points per second
- Easy mode: no time penalty
Speed matters. Accuracy matters more.
Weekly Leaderboard
Borderline runs a weekly leaderboard that rewards strong starts, not endless grinding. Every player gets a fair shot each week.
Only your first 20 games of the week count towards the leaderboard. After that, you can keep playing as much as you like — your score just won’t affect the rankings.
- The leaderboard resets every week
- Only the first 20 games are counted
- Best total score across those games wins
This keeps the competition skill-based rather than time-based. Play smart early, then relax — or keep chasing personal glory.
Why Borderline Is Different
Most geography games either drown you in hints or turn into trivia about capitals and flags. Borderline stays visual: you learn the world by recognising shapes.
- A real outline challenge. No multiple choice. You’re identifying the map itself.
- Difficulty that actually scales. Easy teaches, Hard tests, Extreme exposes the gaps.
- Territories included. The world is bigger than the usual list, and Borderline doesn’t pretend otherwise.
- Fast rounds, instant feedback. One guess away from a win or a very specific kind of embarrassment.
If you want a game that makes you better at geography — not just better at guessing — start with Easy, then climb until the map fights back.
Territories Included
Borderline includes a wide range of territories and dependencies, not just fully sovereign states. A territory is a place that has a distinct geographic identity but is not a fully sovereign country. It’s governed by another country, at least for defence, foreign policy, or big-ticket decisions.
These appear across different difficulty levels, especially in Hard and Extreme modes. Territories are grouped into four categories:
- Overseas territories – far from the ruling country, eg. French Polynesia → France
- Dependent territories – limited autonomy, eg. Gibraltar → UK
- Autonomous territories – lots of self-rule, still not sovereign, eg. Greenland → Denmark
- Special administrative regions – bespoke political contracts, eg. Hong Kong → China
The following territories are included:
British Overseas Territories - Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, Turks and Caicos Islands.
French Overseas Regions and Collectivities - French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, Réunion, Clipperton Island, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Wallis and Futuna.
United States Territories - American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, United States Virgin Islands.
Australian External Territories - Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Norfolk Island, Heard Island and McDonald Islands.
Associated States and Other Pacific Territories - Tokelau, Cook Islands, Niue.
Polar and Remote Territories - Antarctica, Bouvet Island, Svalbard and Jan Mayen.
Nordic Territories - Greenland, Faroe Islands, Åland Islands.
Dutch Caribbean Territories - Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Saba, Sint Eustatius.
Special Administrative Regions - Hong Kong, Macau.
East Asia - Taiwan.
Crown Dependencies - Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man.