World Countries

An alphabet lap around the planet: name one country for each letter, A to Z. Naming any country starting with the current letter lights up every country that shares that initial.

It's the friendliest world mode — 24 answers instead of 197 — but a few letters will still make you sweat. Everyone gets A; the run usually stalls on Q, O, or Y.

How to play

• Type any country beginning with the shown letter — one valid answer clears the letter and lights up all its countries on the map.
• The alphabet advances in order; the timer counts up, so a clean run is all about not blanking on the rare letters.
• Give up at any time to see an example for every letter you missed.

What counts in this quiz

• 24 of the 26 letters — every letter except W and X starts at least one of the 197 countries.
• Any country with the right initial counts; you never need a specific one.

What's not included — and why

• Territories and dependencies — Greenland belongs to the Kingdom of Denmark, Puerto Rico is a US territory, and Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China, so none of them are answers.
• Constituent countries — Curaçao is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and England, Scotland, and Wales are parts of the United Kingdom, not sovereign states. Typing England or Scotland is credited to the United Kingdom.
• Unrecognized claimants beyond Taiwan and Kosovo — places like Somaliland or Transnistria lack broad international recognition, so they are not counted.

Good to know

• Vatican City is the smallest country in the world at about 0.44 square kilometers — the entire nation is smaller than many golf courses.
• South Sudan is the newest widely recognized country, gaining independence from Sudan in 2011.
• Kiribati is the only country that sits in all four hemispheres — it straddles both the equator and the 180th meridian.