The fifteen question categories
Last updated: 15 October 2026
GeoPursuit draws on more than 2,800 places sorted into fifteen categories. In practice runs and ranked duels you choose which ones you want to play; the daily has its own selection. History is the largest category with around 1,900 places, and each of the other fourteen holds between about 50 and 80 hand-picked places. New questions are added regularly, and every question has a short fact that is shown after you answer.
If you want to improve quickly, start with Countries & Capitals and Landmarks, then use the tips page to learn the shortcuts that help in every other category.
History & Battles
The biggest category by far — about 1,900 places. Most are sites of the ancient world: Roman towns, Greek sanctuaries, Phoenician ports, Persian fortresses. There are also medieval castles, Renaissance cities, Napoleonic battlefields and a handful of sites from the two world wars. Names are often ancient ones, so part of the game is knowing which modern city sits on top of which old one.
Countries & Capitals
Capital cities and the places where countries are governed from. A good first category: you probably know more of these than you think, and the lessons carry over to every other topic.
Landmarks & Architecture
Skyscrapers, palaces, bridges, cathedrals and monuments — buildings you may have seen in photographs but never placed on a map.
Animals & Nature
National parks, reserves and wild places, from rainforest river mouths to deserts and cliff coasts. Climate and coastline are your best clues here.
Natural Wonders & Volcanoes
Volcanoes, mountain ranges, canyons and geological oddities. Volcanoes cluster along plate boundaries, which makes the Pacific Ring of Fire a useful mental map.
Islands & Seas
Islands, archipelagos and seas. Many of these are small, so a wide-view guess in the right ocean already scores well.
Disasters & Accidents
Earthquakes, tsunamis, shipwrecks, nuclear accidents and storms: where history's worst days happened. The game states the facts plainly and respectfully.
Art & Museums
Great museums and the cities that grew around art. Think of where the famous collections live.
Music & Albums
Studios, venues, birthplaces and the cities that produced a sound.
Movies & TV
Real places behind famous films and series, from New York street corners to landscapes in New Zealand and Tunisia.
Videogames
Studio headquarters and the cities of the games industry, from Kraków to Irvine to Osaka.
Sports
Stadiums, race circuits and the homes of sports: where finals were played and records were set.
Food & Drink
Where dishes and drinks come from: wine regions, the cities that claim a recipe, and the places behind a national cuisine.
Celebrities & Lifestyle
Birthplaces and famous addresses: where well-known people were born, lived or shopped.
Amusement Parks
Theme parks and fairgrounds around the world, which are easier to place once you know that most cluster near big cities.
How questions are made
Many History questions are generated from the Pleiades gazetteer of the ancient world and then reviewed by hand; places that are really regions, rivers or tribes are moved or retired because they cannot be pinned fairly. Other categories are written by hand. Photographs come from Wikimedia Commons and keep their credit. Questions are translated into your language on demand.