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About North Up

A map snippet spins in at a random angle. Twist the ring until true north points up: closer is better.

A daily satellite-image puzzle. A snippet of the Earth spins in at a random angle, and you turn it until north points up. Coastlines, rivers, road grids and even shadows give it away if you know where to look.

How it works

  1. 1A satellite view of somewhere appears turned at a random angle.
  2. 2Drag the ring to rotate the map until true north points up.
  3. 3Lock it in to see how far off you were. Your score is the total degrees off across five rounds, so lower is better.
  4. 4Stuck? Reveal where you are before locking in, at a cost of a few degrees.

Tips

  • Find the sun's direction first. Shadows of buildings, trees and hills point away from it; north of the tropics the sun is to the south at midday, so shadows lean north, and in the Southern Hemisphere it's the other way round. The catch is knowing which hemisphere you're in.
  • Use what you recognise. A familiar coastline, river bend or city layout settles the angle immediately; if you know the place, turn it to match the map in your head.
  • Look at the landscape. Snow and vegetation hold on longer on slopes that face away from the sun, and farm fields often follow a north–south survey grid, as in much of the US and Canada.
  • Revealing the country costs 10 degrees. That's worth it if you'd otherwise be guessing which hemisphere you're in, but not if you're already close.

Questions

Where are the places?
Mostly cities and towns around the world, viewed close enough to see streets, fields and coastlines, plus overseas territories and stretches of coast. The country maps use their own sets of places, from big cities to small towns and landmarks.
How is it scored?
Each round counts the degrees between where you locked the dial and true north, rounded to a whole degree, plus 10 if you revealed the country. Five rounds are added up, so a perfect game scores 0 and lower is better.
Where do the images come from?
Esri World Imagery, a mosaic of satellite and aerial photographs. Images can be a few years old, so new buildings and roads may not show yet.
When is there a new daily?
Every day at midnight where you are. Everyone gets the same five places on the same date; practice draws random ones.

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