Flags
How to play Flags
Flags is a timed quiz in which you name as many countries and territories from their flags as you can in sixty seconds.
Name the flag from four choices.
About Flags
Pick the country from four names. The choices are drawn from flags that look alike: on Easy they come as two look-alike pairs, on Medium three of the four share a family, and on Hard all four do, so near-twins such as Romania and Chad can appear together.
Click or tap one of the four names to answer. Each set is dealt so that any of the four could be the answer: on Medium, the one name from outside the family is the answer exactly as often as each of the other three, so the odd one out is never a safe discard.
Use the shape of the choices. On Easy the four come as two pairs, and the answer's pair is the one that looks like the flag, so pick the pair first and then the name. On Hard all four are look-alikes, so check stripe order, shades and emblems before you answer rather than going by colour alone.
The goal of Flags
A run lasts sixty seconds. Name as many flags as you can, one at a time, to build the highest score you can. Playing alone, the minute starts with your first answer and cannot be paused.
How to set up Flags
Choose Easy, Medium or Hard. Easy plays the sixty best-known flags, Medium adds every other sovereign state, and Hard plays all 225 flags, territories included. Changing the difficulty starts a fresh run.
Flags rules
Each flag stays up until you answer or skip it, and no flag comes back until every flag in the pool has been shown. You have three skips per run: a skip scores nothing, costs nothing and keeps your streak and multiplier.
Flags scoring
A correct answer is worth 100 points plus a speed bonus of up to 50 that fades away over five seconds. After three correct answers in a row, each further correct answer counts double, and after six it counts triple. A wrong answer costs 25 points and resets your streak, and your score never drops below zero.
How to win at Flags
A run has no win or loss, only a score. Your personal best for each mode and difficulty is kept in this browser. At an online table, two to eight players race through the same flags and the highest score wins.
Flags strategy tips
Answer fast: after five seconds the speed bonus is gone, and every extra flag you reach is another chance to score.
Save your three skips for flags you do not know while a streak is running: a skip keeps your multiplier, while a wrong answer costs 25 points and resets it.
Playing alone, the minute only starts with your first answer, so the first flag always earns the full speed bonus. Take a moment to be sure of it.
Accuracy pays more than speed: at triple, even a slow correct answer is worth 300 points, twice the most a lightning answer earns without a streak.
Flags questions and answers
How many flags are in the Flags quiz?
There are 225 flags in the Flags quiz. Easy plays the 60 best-known, Medium adds every other sovereign state for 197 in all, and Hard plays all 225, adding territories and flags such as the United Nations, England, Scotland and Wales.
Does a wrong answer lose points in the Flags quiz?
Yes, a wrong answer costs 25 points and resets your streak, so your multiplier drops back to single. The penalty is never multiplied, and your score never goes below zero. A skip costs nothing and keeps your streak, but you only have three per run.
Can you play the Flags quiz online with friends?
Yes. Signed-in players can open a table for two to eight people, and after a five second countdown everyone races through the same flags in the same order for sixty seconds. The host chooses multiple choice or typed answers and the difficulty. The highest score wins, and a tie on score goes to whoever spent less time answering.
Can I type country names in German, Spanish or French in Flags?
Yes. In typed mode a country's name counts in English, German, Spanish or French, and some common English short forms count too, such as UK or DR Congo. Accents, capitals and a leading article such as the, le or el are ignored, so Allemagne and Deutschland both name Germany.
Is my Flags high score saved?
Your personal best is saved in this browser, one for each mode and difficulty, and the end of every run shows it. Solo runs are not recorded on the site, so your best does not follow you to another device. Results at online tables are recorded like any other match.