Google unveiled a fun new game this week that tests players' geography and trivia skills.
Called "Smarty Pins" the game starts players off with 1,000 miles (or
1,609 kilometers if they're not based in the United States), and asks
them to drop a pin on the city that corresponds with the correct answer
to a given question. If the answer is incorrect, the player's miles are
reduced by the distance the answer was off. For example, if the answer
to a question was Philadelphia but the user chose New York City, Smarty
Pins would subtract 94 miles from the total score. The goal is to
correctly answer as many questions as possible before the number of
miles reaches zero. Players can also gain bonus points if they answer in
the first 10 seconds without using hints.
In Smarty Pins, which uses Google Maps
for its layout, players can zoom in and out to pinpoint specific
locations, including landmarks. They can choose general trivia
questions, or select from a list of categories, including entertainment,
sports and games, history and current events, arts and culture, science
and geography, and featured topics. The game provides instant feedback
on a player's response, including phrases that are both encouraging
("Outstanding! You dazzle us with your geographical knowledge!") and
snarky ("Hey, even Columbus took a few years to find the right way.")
Google previously released other games, including Santa Maps Dive and Spell Up. For its part, Smarty Pins is similar to a game called GeoGuessr, which challenges players to identify a photo by clicking its location on Google Maps
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