How to use
Playing COTE
The challenge: name every one of the world's 197 countries from memory. Each one you get lights up on a 3D globe. This guide covers everything from your first game to chasing the leaderboard.
Quick start
Open the game → pick a time limit → start typing country names. That's it — the timer starts on your first keystroke, and correct answers register instantly.
Step by step
-
Pick your time limit
The buttons at the top offer 10, 20, or 30 minute games — or ∞ for an untimed session. 20 minutes is a comfortable first game; the ∞ mode is great for studying. The clock doesn't start until you type your first letter.
-
Type country names — no Enter key needed
Click the input bar and start typing. The game checks your answer on every keystroke, so the moment you finish typing a correct name, it's accepted, the input clears, and you can type the next one. Capitalization and punctuation don't matter.
-
Don't worry about perfect spelling
An answer within one typo of a correct name still counts — "Brazl" gets you Brazil. Common short forms and aliases work too: USA, UK, UAE, DRC, "Bosnia," "Cabo Verde," and dozens more.
If you're close but not quite there, a "Did you mean…?" suggestion appears under the input bar — click it to accept that country.
-
Read the feedback under the input
All messages appear in the same spot below the bar: Previously entered means you already have that one; Invalid entry means it's not a recognized country name.
-
Use the globe
Drag the globe with your mouse or finger to spin it. Every country you name fills in with its real-world terrain color — greens for tropics, sand for deserts — and the globe briefly zooms to show you where it is. The empty gray shapes are what's left.
-
Track your progress by continent
The counters along the bottom (N. America 12/23, Europe 30/49, …) show how each region is going. When you're stuck, pick your weakest continent, spin the globe there, and let the unlit shapes jog your memory.
-
Finish — or surrender honorably
The game ends when you name all 197, when time runs out, or when you click Give Up. You'll see your final count and time, and can enter a name to post your score to the global leaderboard.
How scoring works
Your score is countries found × 1000, minus seconds taken. Finding more countries always beats finishing faster — speed is the tiebreaker, not the goal. The leaderboard shows the global top 10 across every player and device, and if you return, a new score only replaces your old one when you beat your personal best.
Strategy tips
Sweep by region (all of South America, then the Caribbean…), dump the easy giants first, and remember the island nations — Oceania's 14 and the Caribbean's micro-states are where perfect games go to die.