Map quiz sites compared: alternatives to Seterra
Cartógrafo is a free map-quiz game with no account and nothing to download: up to 12 players join one room, each on their own phone, in games of about two minutes. It has 102 maps, including the provinces and states of 74 countries and 18 historical maps, in 17 languages. Seterra has far more quizzes and is better for rivers, mountains and cities; Cartógrafo is the one to pick when you want to play together.
What Seterra does best
Seterra is the classic map-quiz site, and it is now part of GeoGuessr: its quizzes live on geoguessr.com. Its home page lists 400+ map quizzes covering countries, capitals, flags, major cities, rivers, mountains, and even anatomy and the periodic table.
It also offers printable maps for educators and has a mobile app. If you need rivers, mountains or cities as pins on a map, or a quiz on one narrow topic, Seterra has more than Cartógrafo does.
Other kinds of quiz sites
Sporcle and JetPunk are large libraries of typed-answer quizzes made by users, on every subject, not only maps. Worldle is something else: a daily puzzle with one country outline per day, the same for everyone; Cartógrafo has a shapes quiz on every map, but no daily shape puzzle.
What Cartógrafo adds
It is built for playing with other people. A live room holds up to 12 players at once, each on their own phone, with a shared scoreboard that adds up wins and points from round to round. If you can't play at the same time, send a challenge by link and everyone plays the same game when they can. There is also a map of the day with a worldwide ranking, and a learn mode with spaced reviews. Besides finding pieces on the map, the present-day maps have a "Type" game where you type the name of each lit piece, a "Shapes" quiz where you guess the piece from its outline (four options, ten questions), and every map has a free printable blank map, blank or with names, which can also be downloaded as SVG.
Every name is translated into 17 languages, and besides the world and the continents there are the provinces, states and regions of 74 countries and 18 historical maps (Europe from 1815 to 1989, Africa, Asia and the Americas at several moments). What it does not have: rivers, mountains or cities as pins on the map (the quiz asks about them, but you don't point at them), quizzes made by users, or a native app; it runs in the browser.
Which one for what
For more quizzes and for physical geography (rivers, mountains, cities): Seterra. For user-made quizzes on every subject: Sporcle or JetPunk. For a one-minute daily puzzle: Worldle.
To play with friends or family, without an account, in your own language, with province-level or historical maps: Cartógrafo. They don't exclude each other; plenty of people study on one and compete on another.
Games to start with
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free multiplayer alternative to Seterra?
Cartógrafo is free and is played with friends in a live room of up to 12 players, each on their own phone, or by challenge link. No account and no download.
Can I play a geography game with friends without an account?
Yes. On Cartógrafo you create a room, send the link, and everyone joins by typing just a name.
Does Cartógrafo have as many quizzes as Seterra?
No. Seterra lists 400+ quizzes; Cartógrafo has 102 maps, each with several games (countries, capitals, flags and a quiz).
Does it have rivers and mountains?
Not as places to find on the map: Seterra is better for that. Cartógrafo's quiz does ask about rivers, mountains, population and borders, but you answer by choosing, not by pointing.
Which languages can I play in?
17 of them, with the names of countries, capitals and regions translated into each.
Can I print blank maps?
Yes. Every map has a free printable blank map, blank or with names, and an SVG download. Seterra also offers printable maps for educators.