Ten Minute Games: six daily tests of your mental map

Why play Ten Minute Games?

Ten Minute Games is a collection of six geography puzzles by Istvan Kreisz, covered together in this single listing. Country Scribble asks you to draw a country from partial border and city clues. Even Distance looks for a city equally far from two others. Three Bearings hides a city behind direction and distance clues, while False Bearing asks which of five arrows points the wrong way. Hop Haul builds a connected group of countries around a statistical goal, and Country Scales compares pairs by population or land area.

The official About page says each day brings the same round for everyone, with a reset at 00:00 UTC. Daily rounds and every past day are free, without sign-up. Results and streaks stay in the current browser, so switching devices or clearing browser storage starts those records again. We opened all six public game pages and their help panels as a guest; the gallery shows the collection homepage, a Country Scribble puzzle and a loaded Hop Haul globe.

How does Ten Minute Games work?

The six games test different parts of geographic recall. Country Scribble combines a named country, city anchors and short border fragments into an outline you must complete, then measures overlap. Even Distance has no unique target city: it rewards a small difference between two city-to-city distances. Three Bearings instead has one hidden city, constrained by three known cities and their directions and distances to it. False Bearing tests a single false direction among five arrows; tapping selects and Confirm commits. Hop Haul changes the task from identifying a place to optimizing a connected country group under a hop budget, closed-country restrictions and a MOST or FEWEST statistical goal. Country Scales asks a sequence of population or land-area comparisons, with an immediate answer on each tap. The shared daily schedule connects the collection, but attempts, answer controls and scoring belong to each game separately.

How do you play Ten Minute Games?

1. Open Ten Minute Games and choose one of the six games. Where available, pick a region or statistic tab; the day selector also offers past rounds.
2. Read that game’s help and daily target. Draw a border in Country Scribble, enter a city in Even Distance or Three Bearings, select an arrow in False Bearing, build a country group in Hop Haul, or pick a country in Country Scales.
3. Check or confirm your answer according to the selected game’s rules. Review its overlap, distance, bearing or statistical feedback, then finish any remaining legs, try a past day or choose another game.

How can you improve at Ten Minute Games?

1. Match your strategy to the clue

   Use the city markers and border fragments to judge proportions in Country Scribble. For Three Bearings, look for an area that fits all three clues; for Even Distance, compare the two distances rather than trying to guess a single intended city.

2. Check when an answer becomes final

   Even Distance allows one answer per leg, while Three Bearings allows five tries. False Bearing requires Confirm after selection; Country Scales answers on the first tap. Read the help before using a tentative choice.

3. Plan Hop Haul around the whole hand

   Read MOST or FEWEST, the selected statistic, closed countries and hop budget together. Keep room for the remaining additions, and remember the group can grow from any adjoining country rather than only its last member.

Is Ten Minute Games right for you?

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