United Kingdom geography game
Guess the distance between two towns, grow the pole, drop it and land its tip on the target. A free daily distance game in the United Kingdom.
- 100 towns
- Throws of 19 to 588 km
- 5 new throws every day
- Free, no sign-up
New here? United Kingdom becomes your home country, with its own daily and leaderboard. Already playing somewhere else? The button opens United Kingdom for practice, and you can change your home country once a week.
What is PoleGuesser?
PoleGuesser is a geography game about distances. You stand in one of 100 towns and cities in the United Kingdom, a target town is named, and you grow a red-and-white striped surveyor's pole until it is as long as you think the distance is. Then you drop it: the pole tips over towards the target, and the closer its gold tip lands, the more points you score.
Every day at midnight Swiss time there is a new Daily Pole in the United Kingdom: the same 5 throws for everyone playing in the United Kingdom, with a streak, a spoiler-free share text and a daily leaderboard. Practice is unlimited.
How it works
- Find the target. You stand in one town and a target town is named. In Visible mode it is marked on the map; in Blind mode you only have your geography.
- Grow the pole. Hold Grow (or the space bar) until the pole is as long as the distance. Every band has the same length, so you can count them.
- Drop it. The pole tips over towards the target. The closer its gold tip lands, the more points: up to 5,000 per throw.
All the details are in the guide to playing PoleGuesser.
Example throws in the United Kingdom
Real distances between towns in the game, as the crow flies (great-circle distance), measured the same way the game measures them.
How far is Nottingham from Birmingham?
73 km as the crow flies, to the north-east. short
On the pole: 1 band = 10 km, so about 7.3 bands.
How far is Leeds from Leicester?
132 km as the crow flies, to the north. medium
On the pole: 1 band = 10 km, so about 13.2 bands.
How far is Sheffield from London?
227 km as the crow flies, to the north-west. medium
On the pole: 1 band = 100 km, so about 2.3 bands.
How far is Glasgow from Liverpool?
285 km as the crow flies, to the north. long
On the pole: 1 band = 100 km, so about 2.9 bands.
How far is Edinburgh from Bristol?
502 km as the crow flies, to the north. long
On the pole: 1 band = 100 km, so about 5 bands.
Throw distances in the United Kingdom
Throws are scaled to the size of the country. In the United Kingdom they go from 19 km to 588 km, and every game mixes all three kinds:
| Throw | Distance |
|---|---|
| short | 19 to 94 km |
| medium | 94 to 235 km |
| long | 235 to 588 km |
For scale: the two towns farthest apart in the game, Plymouth and Aberdeen, are 765 km apart.
Towns in the game include London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Nottingham, Sheffield, Bristol, Glasgow, Leicester, Edinburgh, Leeds, Cardiff, Manchester and 88 more.
United Kingdom: questions and answers
Is PoleGuesser free?
Yes. Your home country's daily, the leaderboards, friends groups, challenges and practice in every country are free, with no ads and no tracking cookies. PoleGuesser Plus (coming soon) will be an optional one-time purchase for extras: the archive of past dailies, a World Tour through today's daily in all 27 countries, pole skins and a supporter badge.
How is the score computed?
Each throw gives up to 5,000 points, based on how far off you are relative to the distance: 10% off is about 3,000 points, 25% off about 1,400. So a short throw counts as much as a long one. A daily has 5 throws, so the best possible total is 25,000. In Golf scoring (practice) every kilometre you miss by is a stroke.
When is the new United Kingdom daily?
Every day at midnight Swiss time (Central European Time), the same moment in every country. Everyone playing in the United Kingdom gets the same 5 throws that day, and you get one attempt. Your progress is saved after every throw, so you can leave and come back.
Do I need an account?
No. You can play right away. To appear on the leaderboard you only pick a nickname. If you want to keep your progress on all your devices, you can sign in with Google, but you never have to.
Can I play with friends?
Yes. Make a friends group, share the invite link, and the daily leaderboard gets a tab with just your group. After a practice game you can also send a challenge link: your friend plays the same 5 throws and tries to beat your score.