🗽 States
The basics
One state per day and six guesses. Clue signs unlock as you miss, and you can click the map instead of typing.
The pill at the top of the page switches between States and Countries, so if you have already finished one you can slide straight into the other.
The two kinds of clue
Region and capital are location clues. They tell you roughly where on the map to look.
Admission order, flag and famous landmark are identity clues. They rarely help you scan the map, but any one of them can finish the puzzle outright.
- Region, for example Midwest or Mountain West.
- Admission order, the numeric position in which the state joined the Union.
- Capital city, which is often the fastest solve if you know your capitals.
- State flag.
- A famous landmark associated with the state.
Admission order is underrated
Most players skim past the admission order, but it is the most precise clue in the set. The first thirteen are the original colonies. Anything in the forties or higher is western and late. A number in the twenties or thirties usually places you in the middle of the country and the middle of the nineteenth century.
Pairing admission order with region typically leaves two or three candidates.
A worked round
Region says Mountain West. That is eight states, so you still need something else.
A miss unlocks admission order and it reads in the forties. Several Mountain West states joined in that stretch, so now the capital clue matters. Once you see it, the round is over. Three guesses total, and two of them were deliberately spent on information rather than on a hopeful answer.
Tips worth remembering
- Learn the shape of the admission numbers rather than the exact list. Early, middle and late is enough.
- Do not guess a state that conflicts with a clue you already trust, even if it feels likely.
- Landmarks can be shared between neighbours. Treat them as supporting evidence, not proof.
- Clicking the map is faster than typing for states with similar names.