United States 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 States.
- 100 towns
- Throws of 108 to 3,381 km
- 5 new throws every day
- Free, no sign-up
New here? United States becomes your home country, with its own daily and leaderboard. Already playing somewhere else? The button opens United States 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 States, 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 States: the same 5 throws for everyone playing in the United States, 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 States
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 Philadelphia from New York City?
130 km as the crow flies, to the south-west. short
On the pole: 1 band = 10 km, so about 13 bands.
How far is Phoenix from Los Angeles?
574 km as the crow flies, to the east. medium
On the pole: 1 band = 100 km, so about 5.7 bands.
How far is Indianapolis from Dallas?
1,229 km as the crow flies, to the north-east. medium
On the pole: 1 band = 100 km, so about 12.3 bands.
How far is Houston from Chicago?
1,512 km as the crow flies, to the south-west. long
On the pole: 1 band = 100 km, so about 15.1 bands.
How far is San Diego from San Antonio?
1,813 km as the crow flies, to the west. long
On the pole: 1 band = 100 km, so about 18.1 bands.
Throw distances in the United States
Throws are scaled to the size of the country. In the United States they go from 108 km to 3,381 km, and every game mixes all three kinds:
| Throw | Distance |
|---|---|
| short | 108 to 541 km |
| medium | 541 to 1,352 km |
| long | 1,352 to 3,381 km |
For scale: the two towns farthest apart in the game, Seattle and Miami, are 4,395 km apart.
Towns in the game include New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas, San Jose, Austin, Jacksonville and 88 more.
United States: 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 States daily?
Every day at midnight Swiss time (Central European Time), the same moment in every country. Everyone playing in the United States 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.