Border Count is a free daily geography game with one deceptively simple question: how many countries share a land border with today’s mystery country? You get five countries a day, one guess each on a 0 to 14 scale, and a score based on how close you are.

Some are gentle (an island nation borders zero countries; Portugal borders just one), and some are brutal: China and Russia each touch 14 neighbours, the most on Earth. After every guess the game reveals the real number on a number line and shows you exactly which countries border it, so you learn the map while you play.

Everyone in the world gets the same five countries each day, so your score is worth comparing and sharing. Keep a daily streak, chase a perfect 5,000, or switch to endless mode and see how long you can survive.

Play Border Count

How to play

Look at the mystery country (its flag, name and continent).
Decide how many countries share a land border with it, from 0 to 14.
Pick your number with the tiles or the slider, then lock it in.
See the real count, how far off you were, and the actual neighbours revealed.
Play all five countries, then share your spoiler-free score.

Game modes

Daily

Five countries every day, one from each difficulty band so the round runs from an easy island to a border-heavy giant. Exact answers score the full 1,000 points; the closer you are, the more you keep. Your five results become a spoiler-free emoji card you can copy and share, and your streak grows for every consecutive day you play.

Endless

A run for high-score hunters. Guess country after country and stay within one of the true count to survive. Three lives, no clock, and a best-streak that saves in your browser. Great for learning the tricky ones (quick, does Austria border more countries than France?).

The geography behind it

A land border is a boundary two countries share on land (as opposed to a sea border across water). Border Count works out every country’s neighbours from real map data: two countries that share a boundary line on the map share a land border. We count present-day sovereign states, and we include the fully sovereign European microstates, so France counts 8 (Andorra and Monaco included) and Italy counts 6 (San Marino and Vatican City included), the figures most atlases give.

Islands like Japan, Australia and Madagascar have zero land neighbours. At the other extreme, China and Russia tie for the world record with 14 each, and Brazil, Germany and the Democratic Republic of the Congo each border 9. Disputed and partially recognised territories are not counted as separate countries, and overseas-territory borders are left out, so the answers match the map you learned in school.

Frequently asked questions

Is it the same country for everyone today?

Yes. The daily five are chosen from the date (in UTC), so every player worldwide gets the exact same countries each day. New countries appear at midnight UTC, which is why the shared score cards are worth comparing.

Do you count maritime borders or sea crossings?

No. Border Count only counts land borders, where two countries meet on land. Countries separated only by water (like the United States and Russia across the Bering Strait) are not neighbours here. That is why island nations score zero.

Which country has the most land borders?

China and Russia are tied at 14 each, the most of any country. Next come Brazil, Germany and the Democratic Republic of the Congo with 9 apiece.

Why does France count 8 and not 6?

Because we include the tiny sovereign states France borders: Andorra and Monaco, alongside Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Spain. Counting microstates is the convention most references use, so the numbers match what you expect.

Is Border Count free?

Completely free, with no sign-up and no app to install. It runs in your browser, and your streak and stats are saved on your own device. Land-border data is computed from public-domain Natural Earth map topology, and flags are from the open-source flag-icons project (CC0).