Elevation Showdown is a free daily geography game. Two famous places face off, a towering peak, a bustling city, or a world landmark, and you call whether the next one sits higher or lower above sea level. Keep the chain alive for as long as your instincts hold up.

The fun is in the surprises. La Paz in Bolivia perches at 3,640 metres, higher than most European mountains, while Amsterdam, New Orleans, Baku and the ancient city of Jericho all sit below sea level. Everest tops out at 8,849 metres, yet Chimborazo in Ecuador is the point on land farthest from the centre of the Earth.

Play the daily chain, which is identical for everyone in the world, then keep going in endless mode with themed packs. Copy your streak as a spoiler-free emoji card and challenge a friend. No signup, no app, works on any phone.

Play Elevation Showdown

How to play

Look at the first place and its elevation above sea level.
Decide whether the next place is higher or lower, then tap Higher or Lower (arrow keys or H and L work too).
Guess right and the chain continues, with the new place becoming your next benchmark.
One wrong call ends the run. Ties within a few metres always count in your favour.
Tap Share result to copy your streak as an emoji card, then post it or send it to a friend.

Game modes

Daily gives everyone the same worldwide chain each day, seeded from the calendar date, so your streak is directly comparable with everyone else’s. A new chain unlocks at midnight UTC.

Endless is a fresh random chain you can replay as often as you like. Choose a pack to shape your run, Mixed, Peaks, Cities or Landmarks, and your best streak is tracked separately for each one.

The geography behind it

Elevation is measured against mean sea level, the zero line the whole game is built around. Most cities hug that line, which is why the outliers are so striking. El Alto and La Paz in Bolivia are the highest major cities on Earth, above 3,600 metres, and Lhasa, Cusco and Quito are not far behind. Denver earns its Mile High nickname at 1,609 metres.

At the other end, whole cities sit below the sea. Jericho is the lowest city in the world at roughly 258 metres below sea level, Baku is the lowest-lying capital, and the shore of the Dead Sea, at about 430 metres down, is the lowest exposed land anywhere. Mixing those extremes with Himalayan giants like Everest, K2 and Kangchenjunga is what makes each guess a genuine showdown.

Elevation Showdown bundles about 115 famous peaks, cities and landmarks. Every elevation is measured above mean sea level, and all the data is baked in so the game runs entirely in your browser with nothing to load.

Frequently asked questions

Is the daily game the same for everyone?

Yes. The daily chain is seeded from the calendar date in UTC, so every player in the world gets exactly the same sequence of places. That is what makes comparing streaks and sharing your emoji card meaningful. A brand new chain unlocks at midnight UTC.

What does elevation above sea level mean?

It is the height of a place, a mountain summit, a city, or a landmark, relative to mean sea level. Places above the sea have a positive elevation, and places below it, like Amsterdam or the Dead Sea, have a negative one.

How many places are in the game?

About 115 famous peaks, cities and landmarks from every continent, from Mount Everest at 8,849 metres down to the shore of the Dead Sea at roughly 430 metres below sea level.

What happens if two places are almost the same height?

Genuine near-ties are on your side. If two places are within a few metres of each other, either answer counts as correct, so you never lose a streak to a coin-flip.

Where does the data come from?

Elevations are well-established public figures, each measured above mean sea level. Country flags come from the public-domain flag-icons project. Nothing is generated or estimated for you to guess against.