MapTap: daily geography game

MapTap is a daily geography game built around a rotatable 3D globe. Each day it gives you five locations to find, and every one is tied to something that happened on that date in history. You place your answer by tapping the spot on the globe rather than typing a guess, and your score comes from how close your tap lands to the true location. That mix of geography and this day in history theming is the part that sets it apart, because you are not just finding a city, you are finding the place where a real event happened on today's date.

What is MapTap?

The core loop is simple to pick up. You get five prompts in a daily run, each linked to a historical event on the current date. For every prompt you rotate, drag, and zoom the globe, then tap where you think the location is. Scoring is distance based, so the closer your tap lands to the real spot, the higher your score, and getting the correct country adds bonus points on top. After all five rounds, your total score is shown.

This is what makes MapTap different from the guess a word format most -dle games use. There is no text box and no list of five letter attempts. It is a tap to place game on a realistic globe, so the skill it tests is spatial: how well you know where places actually sit on the map, and how precisely you can pin them. It also reads differently from other geography games. GeoGuessr drops you into a Street View scene and asks what place you are looking at, and Worldle shows a country silhouette and asks you to name it. MapTap hands you a named, history linked location and asks you to physically point to it, scored by distance.

Beyond the daily run, MapTap carries a good amount of extra content. There are Practice maps with 50 or more curated challenges, covering things like world capitals, major cities, and themed collections that you can play anytime. A Versus mode lets you challenge friends to a fast 20 second, five location match. A Frontier mode, also called Survival, gives you one endless run where the locations get harder and the clock keeps tightening until your fuel runs out. The daily game tracks global leaderboards, badges, and streaks, and the site also groups content under an Adventures section.

On the practical side, MapTap is free to play in the browser and also ships as an app. The iOS App Store lists it as free with optional in app purchases, where a MapTap+ subscription unlocks extras such as a Best of MapTap set of curated prior days. If you miss a day, the archive covers you: the App Store listing notes that players can go back to games from the past 90 days, plus the first day of each month. The game was created by John Donham and is published under nibble.games, and the App Store lists the seller as MapTap Inc with a 2026 copyright on the current version.

How to play MapTap

Open MapTap at maptap.gg in your browser or install the app from the iOS App Store.
Start the daily game, which gives you five locations, each tied to an event from this day in history.
Read the prompt, then rotate, drag, and zoom the 3D globe to the region you think it belongs to.
Tap the exact spot where you believe the location is to lock in your placement.
Check your distance based score, which rewards a closer tap and adds bonus points for the correct country.
Move through all five locations, see your total, then compare it against the leaderboards and keep your streak going.

Tips and strategy

Place the region first, then zoom in. Get the continent and country right before you fuss over the precise pin, since a wildly off tap costs the most.
Use the history clue. Each prompt is tied to an event on today's date, so recognizing the event often tells you the country or city outright.
Getting the country right earns bonus points, so if you are unsure of the exact city, at least make sure your tap lands inside the correct country.
Since scoring is by distance, aim for the center of a city or country rather than an edge to reduce your average error.
Warm up in the Practice maps. The capitals, major cities, and themed sets build the muscle memory that pays off in the daily run.
Use Versus and Frontier for the timed challenge, where a 20 second clock and a tightening timer reward quick, confident placements.

Good to know

Category: Geography and history
Resets: Daily, with five new locations each day
Cost: Free in browser, free with in app purchases on iOS
Guesses: Five locations per run, one tap placement each
Scoring: Distance based, with bonus points for the correct country
Modes: Daily, Practice, Versus, and Frontier or Survival
Archive: Past 90 days plus the first day of each month
Creator: John Donham, published under nibble.games
Platform: Web and iOS

MapTap FAQ

Is MapTap free?

Yes, it is free to play in the browser at maptap.gg. The iOS app is also free, with optional in app purchases through a MapTap+ subscription that unlocks extras such as curated prior days.

How do you play MapTap?

Each day you get five locations, each tied to an event from this day in history. You rotate and zoom a 3D globe and tap where you think each location is. Your score depends on how close your tap lands to the real spot, with bonus points for the correct country.

When does MapTap reset, and can I play past days?

It resets daily with five new locations. If you miss a day, the archive lets you play games from the past 90 days plus the first day of each month, according to the App Store listing.

Is MapTap like Wordle?

Not really. Instead of typing letter guesses, you pinpoint a location by tapping a rotatable 3D globe, and you are scored by how close you get rather than by a hit or miss guess count.

Who made MapTap?

MapTap was created by John Donham and is published under nibble.games. The iOS App Store lists the seller as MapTap Inc, with a 2026 copyright on the current version.