How to play Globe Grab, a free online geography game for groups
One globe. Name a country first to make it yours.
- Players
- 1–8 (solo too)
- Length
- ~8 min
- Type
- Geography
- Price
- Free
Globe Grab is a race to name countries on a map you all share. Everyone in the room looks at the same globe. Tap a country, type its name, and if you are first to get it right, it turns your colour and the points are yours.
Each round is one part of the world: Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas or Oceania. The last round is the whole world at once. France and Brazil go in the first few seconds. The rest of the round is everyone squinting at the Balkans and the Caribbean, which is where the small-country bonus is.
Free, no app and no sign-up to join — players hop in with a 4-letter code on their own phone.
How to play Globe Grab
The host picks how many rounds
Each round is one region. Four rounds is the default: three continents, then the whole world as a finale. One round is just the whole world, three is a quick game and six is a long one.
Everyone joins with the room code
Players type the 4-letter code on their own phone or laptop. Globe Grab needs at least two players. If you are on your own, add a Blip (a computer player) to race against.
The globe turns to this round's region
Countries in the region are drawn in full. Everything else is dimmed and can't be tapped. Drag to spin the globe, and pinch or scroll to zoom in.
Tap a country and type its name
A box opens under the map. Type the name and press Enter. Common names all count: USA, UK, Holland, Burma, Ivory Coast and so on. Very small countries get a dot you can tap, so Monaco and Nauru are as easy to pick as Russia.
First right answer claims it
The country fills with your colour on everyone's screen and your score goes up straight away. A wrong name costs nothing, but you have to wait 3 seconds before your next guess.
The round ends when the map is full or time is up
A round lasts about two minutes at normal pace (five or twelve with the Long and Marathon setups) and ends early if every country is claimed. Then every country is named on the map, including the ones nobody got.
What Globe Grab looks like
How scoring works
Every country you claim is worth 100 points. Smaller countries add a bonus of 25, 50 or 75 points, so Luxembourg is worth more than Canada. The host can turn the bonus off.
Points count the moment you claim, so the scoreboard is always up to date. The player who took the most points in a round gets the round crown, and the highest total at the end wins.
One typo is forgiven on longer names, so "Hungray" still gets you Hungary. Typing a different real country never counts. Zambia is not a misspelling of Gambia. The host can switch on exact spelling to turn the typo allowance off.
Tips for winning Globe Grab
- Grab the big obvious countries in the first seconds. Everyone else is going for them too.
- Then go small. The bonus is on the countries most people skip, and a run of Caribbean islands can beat a continent's worth of big names.
- Zoom in on crowded corners like the Balkans, the Gulf and Central America. The shapes are much easier to tap up close.
- Only guess when you're fairly sure. The 3-second wait after a wrong name costs more than one country is worth late in a round.
- If someone claims the country you were typing, the box closes and tells you who got it. Move straight on to the next one.
Frequently asked questions
How many players does Globe Grab need?
One to eight. On your own it is you against the clock: how much of the map can you name before time runs out? With two it is a duel. With six or more the obvious countries vanish in seconds and the round becomes a hunt for the small ones. You can fill seats with Blips, the site's computer players.
Which countries are on the map?
196 countries: the 193 UN members except Tuvalu, which is too small for the map, plus Vatican City, Palestine, Taiwan and Kosovo. Greenland counts as Denmark, so tap it and name Denmark. Other territories, such as Puerto Rico, are drawn but can't be claimed.
Do I need to spell the names perfectly?
No. Capitals, accents and punctuation don't matter, and one typo is allowed on longer names. Common other names work too, like USA, UK, Holland or Burma. The host can switch on exact spelling for a harder game.
Can I play only Europe, or only the whole world?
Yes. In the game setup the host picks the map: a world tour (continents, then the world), continents only, the whole world every round, or one continent (Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas or Oceania) every round.
Can we try to name the whole world in one go?
Yes. Set the round length to Marathon (12 minutes at normal pace) and play 1 round. That round is the whole world, all 196 countries, and it ends early if you name them all. Long rounds (5 minutes) are in between.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. Drag to spin, pinch to zoom and tap to pick. The smallest countries get a dot so you don't have to hit a few pixels. The full-screen button above the zoom buttons makes the map fill the whole screen.
Is it free?
Yes. It's free to play and free to host, and you don't need an account to join.
Free, no app and no sign-up to join — players hop in with a 4-letter code on their own phone.