CakeCompass
Coming Monday, November 2. Come back that day to play!
Which country is hidden in the cake?
Blow out the candles! Tap the cake
The arrows go from the cake to each country, at their angle on the map. Every country you try adds its own arrow too, with the distance.
How to play CakeCompass
CakeCompass is a geography game where you guess the country with a compass. A country is hidden in the middle of a cake seen from above, cut into 8 slices: north, northeast, east, southeast, south, southwest, west and northwest. Arrows point from the cake to other countries, each with its flag: "France is to the north", "Madagascar is to the east". Use those directions to work out the hidden country.
You get 6 tries, the 6 candles on the cake: every miss blows one out. You start with 2 arrows. Each of your first 3 misses adds another arrow (up to 5). On your 4th miss you see how many kilometers away each arrow country is, and on your 5th, the continent. Every country you try also shows up as an arrow, with the distance and direction to the hidden country.
The arrows use the exact angle you see on a regular map; the text uses the 8 directions. Distances are measured between the centers of the countries, leaving out faraway territories (the United States without Alaska, France without French Guiana). In Daily mode, the hidden country is one of the 130 best-known countries and doesn't repeat for 60 days; in Practice, any of the 208 countries and territories can come up.
Example
We use Botswana because it's never a Daily answer, so the example doesn't spoil the game for anyone.
- You start with 2 arrows: "France is to the north" and "Madagascar is to the east". It must be somewhere in southern Africa. You try South Africa: wrong. A candle goes out, "Kenya is to the northeast" appears, and a South Africa arrow says "The hidden country is 770 km north".
- Further north than South Africa: you try Zambia. Wrong again: "The hidden country is 1,060 km southwest". "Chile is to the west" is added.
- North of South Africa and southwest of Zambia: you type Botswana. Correct!, on try 3.
Botswana's flag covers the cake and 4 candles are still lit: blow them out! Your result to share reads 🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️ 3/6 with ⬆️ ↙️ ✅ underneath: the direction to Botswana from each try. In the Daily Challenge, getting it on the 3rd try is worth 14 out of 20 points.
FAQ
How often does the country change?
It changes at midnight your local time, and it's the same for everyone. To keep playing, there's Practice mode: random countries, as many as you like, with no stats or streak.
Why does the arrow say "east" when the shortest way on a globe goes the other way?
Because the directions are the ones on a regular flat world map (a straight line on the map, without wrapping around the edge), which is how most people picture the world. That's why Japan is west of the United States.
How is the score calculated?
Your result is the try you got it on (3/6), or X/6 if you didn't. In the Daily Challenge, CakeCompass is worth up to 20 points: 20, 17, 14, 11, 8 and 5 depending on the try, and 0 if you miss it. Your streak goes up every day you win the Daily.
Does it help you learn geography?
Yes: it makes you place countries relative to each other. When you finish, you see a fun fact about the country and a link to its page, with its flag, capital and key numbers. Every country is listed in Countries of the world.
Do I need an account?
No. It’s free and you don’t need an account: your stats are saved in your browser. To keep the same progress on your phone and computer, you can sign in with Google (👤 button). More in the Privacy Policy.
Related countries
Botswana · Madagascar · Kenya · See all countries
More geography games
- CakeFlag · Flag quiz: guess the country from the color proportions of its flag.
- CakeGrid · Fill the 3x3 grid with countries that match two clues.
- Higher or Lower · Does this country have more or less than the other one? Population, area, GDP and more. Daily or endless streak.
- GeoFacts · Guess the country from its stats and fun facts: 6 clues, from hardest to easiest.
- Top 10 · Name the 10 countries in a ranking in 90 seconds.