In May 2013, GeoGuessr came online and quickly became a favorite quiz game of geo-enthusiasts.  Using 5 random locations in Google Street View.  The game player can search the area in Street View and then make a guess as to where it is on the map.  The closer to the location the more points you receive and the game makes it easy to share your scores and challenge friends on social media sites.  The picture above is in western Australia as the vegetation, soil and open terrain indicates–that is exactly the type of geographic context that the GeoGuessr quiz probes.  

So how can a geography teacher leverage this new platform to enhance the classroom experience?  Teachers can allow the students to explore the various locations to analyze the cultural landscape.  It is randomized, but teachers can now create their own GeoGuessr quizzes using GeoSettr.  Anyone can arrange 5 locations into a customized quiz with a unique URL. 

GeoSettr Pawtuxet

Google Street View is not global is it’s coverage, limiting the regional usage of GeoGuessr and GeoSettr.  The map below represents (as of 2013) the coverage of Google StreetView.


Below are GeoGuessr games that I have created and potentially some that other educators have created.  Have you created one worth sharing?  Please let me know and paste the URL in the comments section below.


Quiz #1 on urbanization and environmental geography: here are some clues (and more information to contextualize the geographic information that is so much more than just locational coordinates).

  1. Deindustrialization has led to rapid population decline and dramatic property devaluations in this city. Recently this city became the largest U.S. city to ever declare bankruptcy.
  2. This is near my favorite lake to go canoeing…for you movie buffs it was the location for the film “On Golden Pond.”
  3. This entire country is incredibly vulnerable to tsunamis, hurricanes and climate change. This country is composed of 26 atolls with hundreds of micro-islands, this highest elevation in this country 8 feet above sea level.
  4. My favorite National Park is especially noteworthy for geothermal structures. This is the location of the most famous icon in this western National Park.
  5. One of my favorite cities in the world is also one of the largest. It sits in a high altitude basin that traps pollution and requires the county to “import” water resources and “export” waste.

Quiz #2 :

  1. The Central American country where I lived for two years 
  2. Where I need to take my wife
  3. The building where I became a geography major
  4. I got my Ph.D. studying statues at this school
  5. And this is my Dad in Google StreetView…that’s awesome

Quiz #3 (Under Construction, and more will be coming):

Thank to Kelly Rexine for bringing this to my attention and his great review of Geosettr.