Free map game

Guess the County: find the mystery county of Ireland.

Type a county. It lights up on the map, hotter or colder, with how far away and which direction to go next. Learn all 32 counties and 4 provinces while you practise the English of directions.

Which county is it?

Type a county name, or tap the map to choose one. The closest guesses are at the top.

    How to play

    1. Guess any county. It fills with a colour: pale means far away, dark red means next door.
    2. Read the distance and the arrow: it points from your guess towards the mystery county.
    3. Use the clues to guess again. Stuck? Ask for a hint: first the province, then the coast.

    There is a new county of the day every day. Practice gives you a new county as often as you like.

    Use it in class

    • Say it first: before each guess, a student says why, e.g. "It's north of Cork, so I think it's Limerick."
    • Teams: put the map on the board. Teams take turns to guess and must use a direction word each time.
    • Follow-up: students write three sentences about the mystery county with further, closer and next to.
    • Lower levels: turn on "Show all names" so students can read the map while they play.

    The four provinces

    Ulster9 counties, 6 of them in Northern Ireland
    Leinster12 counties, including Dublin
    Munster6 counties in the south
    Connacht5 counties in the west

    The game covers all 32 counties on the island of Ireland. Distances are measured border to border, so counties that touch are "next door".

    For busy English teachers

    County found? Now for the main lesson.

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