Our capitals quiz checks how well you know the capital cities of the world. Each game has 10 timed rounds: name the capital of a country, or find the country a capital belongs to. Play the whole world or focus on one region, from Africa and the Americas to Asia, Europe and Oceania. Explorer gives you random options to learn with, while Expert sets traps such as the biggest city that isn't the capital. A fact card after every answer helps the names stick, and your best scores are saved so you can keep improving.
Every game has 10 rounds with two kinds of question, shuffled together. Some rounds name a country and ask for its capital, with four cities to choose from. Others show a capital in large letters and ask which country it belongs to. You'll never get the same kind more than twice in a row, and no country comes up twice in one game.
Each question has a 15-second timer. Answer with a tap, a click or the keys 1 to 4. After every answer a fact card shows the country's flag, outline, capital, official languages and region, and the clock stays stopped until you press Next.
Some countries have more than one capital. South Africa, Bolivia, the Netherlands and Malaysia all split the job between cities. In those cases the quiz asks about the main capital and the fact card names the others, with a note on what each one does. Countries whose capital's status is disputed internationally are left out of this quiz, but you'll still see them in Flags and Languages.
A right answer earns 500 points, plus a speed bonus of up to 500 more. Answer within one second for the full bonus; it then falls steadily to zero at 15 seconds. A wrong answer, or running out of time, scores nothing. Ten rounds make a perfect game of 10,000.
Your answer streak counts right answers in a row and resets on a miss. Your best score for each region and difficulty is saved in this browser.
On Explorer, the wrong answers are the capitals of random countries from your region. It's a good way to learn the names before the traps arrive.
On Expert, the wrong answers are chosen to catch you out. For a question about Australia you might see Sydney and Melbourne next to Canberra. They're Australia's best-known cities, but neither is the capital: Canberra was built as a compromise between them. The same trick applies to Toronto in Canada, Istanbul in Türkiye, Lagos in Nigeria, Zurich and Geneva in Switzerland, and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Expert also mixes in the capitals of neighbouring countries and of countries with similar names, so Niger's Niamey might sit next to Nigeria's Abuja.
Don't assume the biggest or most famous city is the capital. Many countries chose a smaller or brand-new city on purpose: Brasília, Canberra, Ottawa, Abuja and Naypyidaw were all picked to balance regions or start afresh.
Learn neighbours together, since Expert loves to pair them: Bratislava and Ljubljana, Riga and Vilnius, Bishkek and Dushanbe. Look for names that echo the country, such as Guatemala City, Kuwait City or Panama City. And read the fact card after each answer; seeing the flag and outline next to the capital helps it stick.
- What about countries with more than one capital?
- The quiz asks about the main capital, and the fact card lists the others with a short note, such as Pretoria, Cape Town and Bloemfontein for South Africa.
- Why isn't Sydney the capital of Australia?
- Sydney and Melbourne both wanted the title, so Canberra was built between them as a compromise. It became the capital in 1913.
- Are trap cities ever the right answer?
- No. On Expert, famous cities such as Sydney or Istanbul can appear as wrong options, but they are never a capital of the country in the question.
- Why are some countries missing from this quiz?
- Countries whose capital's status is disputed, and city-states where the capital shares the country's name, are left out to keep every question fair.
- Can I play one region at a time?
- Yes. Choose Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe or Oceania, or World for every country.