Asia

Asia and Oceania

Asia and Oceania has the widest spread between rounds: a single game can drop you in Tokyo, Bangkok and an Australian suburb. They share little, but each country identifies itself almost instantly.

Asia and Oceania has the widest spread between rounds: one game can drop you in Tokyo, Bangkok, Delhi and an Australian suburb. They share almost nothing, yet each country identifies itself instantly — if you know what to look at.

How a game goes

1. Identify the script

Chinese characters, hangul, Thai, Devanagari and Arabic never blur together. It is the fastest way to narrow down to one country.

2. Check the traffic side

Japan, Thailand, India, Indonesia and Australia drive on the left; China, Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines on the right. Combined with the script, that is usually conclusive.

3. Look at the cables

Overhead line density separates South-East from East Asia: bundled and sagging in Bangkok and Manila, tidied away in Japan and Korea.

How to play this mode

Start with the script: Chinese characters, hangul, looping Thai and Devanagari are unmistakable. Then the traffic side: Japan, Thailand, India and Australia drive on the left, China, Korea and Vietnam on the right. The density of overhead cables separates South-East Asia from East Asia.

Tactics

Japan is the fastest read: yellow tactile paving, vertical signage, narrow kerbless streets and white car bodies. Korea looks similar but uses hangul and has far more high-rise housing blocks.

Australia and New Zealand are their own puzzle. Both left-hand, both with yellow diamonds, but the vegetation differs: eucalyptus and burnt grass against dense green and hills.

Common mistakes

• Confusing mainland China with Taiwan: simplified versus traditional characters.
• Treating all characters as Japanese — China uses more of them, and kana exists only in Japan.
• Forgetting Oceania is included: check the shadows for the southern hemisphere.

Where you end up

Anchor points used by this mode:

Tokyo, Osaka, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Seoul, Busan, Taipei, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta, Bali, Manila, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Auckland, Christchurch.

Country tells across Asia and Oceania

Yellow tactile paving on pavements	Japan. Laid almost everywhere, unlike elsewhere in the region.
Hangul	Korea. Circles and right angles instead of characters.
Vertical shop signage	Japan and Taiwan: text on facades runs top to bottom.
Dense bundles of overhead cables	South-East Asia: Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam.
Elevated railway viaducts	Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. Singapore's lines are mostly underground.
Yellow diamond signs with left-hand traffic	Australia and New Zealand, separated by vegetation: eucalyptus against dense green.
Green and yellow auto rickshaws	India. Combined with Devanagari it is conclusive.

Mode parameters

Rounds per game	5
Time limit	none
Camera restrictions	none
Anchor points	26
Available in duels	yes
Hints	yes

How scoring works

A direct hit is worth 5000 points per round, and the score falls off exponentially with distance. A five-round game is worth up to 25,000. Distances are measured on the server against its own copy of the locations, so a result cannot be forged from the browser.

What a miss costs

Miss	Points per round
direct hit	5,000
1 km	4,998
10 km	4,975
50 km	4,877
200 km	4,524
500 km	3,894
1,000 km	3,033
2,000 km	1,839
5,000 km	410
other hemisphere	34

Frequently asked

Are Australia and New Zealand included?

Yes, Oceania is part of this mode.

Are there many rural spots?

No, the pool sticks to cities, where there are more tells.

How many locations are there?

Twenty-six anchor points from Delhi to Auckland.

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