Cross the world one border at a time
Every day RouteGuess gives you two countries and one question: which countries would you pass through to travel from one to the other over land? Type them in, in any order. The puzzle is solved the moment your guesses form an unbroken chain from the start to the destination.
"Shortest" means the fewest countries, not the fewest kilometres. Portugal to Germany takes two stops, Spain and France, even though a drive through Spain is long. A tiny country can save you a whole step, and a giant one can be the only way through.
Read the colours
Each guess lights up on the map. Green means the country sits on a shortest route. Yellow means it borders a shortest route, so you are one step off. Orange is two steps off and red is far away, or an island that no land route can use.
Tips for a perfect route
- Work from both ends. List the neighbours of the start and the neighbours of the destination, then look for the country that joins the two lists.
- Know the land bridges. Egypt is the only land link between Africa and Asia, Turkey joins Europe to the Caucasus and the Middle East, and Panama is the gate between Central and South America.
- Big neighbours are shortcuts. China and Russia each border more than a dozen countries, so routes across Asia often run through one of them.
- Use the yellows. A yellow country is next to the answer. Its neighbours are worth a guess.
Questions
Is it free?
Yes. Every daily route is free to play in your browser on phone or desktop. No account needed.
When does a new route appear?
At midnight in your own time zone. Your streak continues as long as you solve each day's route.
Can I play more than one route a day?
Yes. After the daily route, press "Play another route" for as many extra routes as you like. Extra routes don't change your streak.
Do sea crossings count?
Only fixed links you can drive or ride across: the Øresund Bridge (Denmark–Sweden), the Channel Tunnel (United Kingdom–France), the King Fahd Causeway (Saudi Arabia–Bahrain) and the Johor–Singapore Causeway (Malaysia–Singapore). Ferries do not count.
Why can't I go from Poland straight into Russia?
Exclaves and overseas regions don't count as borders. Kaliningrad is separated from the rest of Russia, so the route has to go around. The full list is on the About the map page.
Prefer states?
There is a second route every day across the United States. Play the USA route.