Geoguessr: The Internet’s Newest Educational Time Waster


Where does this look like to you? I guessed central Mexico based on the Spanish signs and the mixture of dry soil and lush plants. Actually it’s Brazil. The next view I looked at showed the characteristic onion domes of a Russian Orthodox Church. I guessed Russia and was correct.

This is an addictive new online game called Geoguessr. It gives you random Google Street View images and you have to click on a world map to guess where they are. You’re awarded points based on how close you are.

It’s surprisingly addictive. My young son, already a fan of Google Maps and MarineTraffic.com, is becoming obsessed with it. So am I. The best way to wrack up points is to explore a little. Start heading down a foreign street, studying traffic signs, plants, and passersby. They’ll all give you clues as to where you are.

It’s also really difficult. I’ve mistaken Korean writing for Chinese, the Australian Outback for Nevada and New Zealand for Hawaii. No matter how well traveled you are, this game will trip you up and make you want to play again. So if your boss has stepped out of the office for a drink, click on Geoguessr and spend some time learning a bit about how the world looks.

Play this free, on-line, animated travel game to compete for prizes

Never mind the prizes you might win by playing the interactive, animated game Race for the Sky at iloho.com, a travel Website. It’s a fun way to while away time, even if you don’t win.

Ever since Emma Torry, a blogger at iloho sent us the link to the game, I’ve played it six times, trying my darnedest to get Marcos to his flight on time.

See, he has slept through his alarm, and with a couple other mishaps, he’s hoofing it to the airport by running down the highway dodging cars, tire spikes and bananas peels. I think those are banana peels. Along the way, he can pick up a key which puts him on a motorcycle for a brief while, and pick up “S’s” which put in a cape so he can fly. Watch out for the cars, though. Hitting a car puts him in bandages, and on crutches.

I’m not very good at this game.The first attempt was pitiful. Marcos was in bandages in half a second. Other people playing are great, though. There’s a leader board that lists the top 10 scores. Currently, the highest is 16870 points.

When the competion ends January 31, 2009, the top winner will win two round-trip business class round-the-world tickets. The next top two winners will win a Canon camera. Other prizes include USB sticks and iPod speakers.

Foreign Language Scrabble

This blurb is
going to officially mark me as a foreign language geek, but what do I care. Those who know me well know I love games
and the competitive spirit runs through every vein in my body. My two favorite indoor weekend games happen to be a good
round of Spades and a wordy, hours-long, game of Scrabble. And anyone out there who has played Scrabble in the past
knows how grueling the last few minutes can be when you’ve got only the letters X, B, V, I, and H in your possession.
The board is locked up with the exception of the most unwelcoming tiles jutting out and you’re about ready to scream
"why me?! Why did I get stuck with the X, Y, and Z?" You refrain from doing such as Scrabble is a
sophisticated game so you switch gears promising to place the most incredible, unbelievable, prodigious, and astounding
four letter word known to man down on the board. Everything goes quiet; your tiles hit the board and spell the word
"XINH."

"Xinh?"

Your opponent who isn’t as skilled in Vietnamese as you happen to be raises a
high-brow before telling you to remove that junk from the board, but you plead stating the word’s meaning and use in
Vietnam where you once heard it the streets somewhere. It’s times like these when a little foreign lingo Scrabble board could sure come in handy. For those
multilingual folks out there wanting to slam a huge word in Hebrew down in Scrabble, there is a list you may wish to check out. The list not only tells you some
of the various languages you can purchase Scrabble in, but also
points you to sites online where you can play with other people across the world and other interesting facts.