How to play Bordlr

Each puzzle gives you two regions — two countries, or two US states. Your job is to connect them by naming the chain of regions that border each other in between.

The rules

Type any region that borders one of your two targets — or any region already on your path. Accepted guesses light up on the map, and your chain grows from both ends until they meet in the middle. A guess that touches nothing on your path is rejected: only real land borders count, plus three permanent fixed crossings (the Øresund Bridge between Denmark and Sweden, the King Fahd Causeway between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, and the Johor–Singapore Causeway). No ferries, no ocean hops.

Scoring

A solve earns two scores out of 100, summed to a total out of 200:

• 🧭 Fewest regions — 100 means you placed exactly as few regions as the shortest possible chain needs. Every wasted or detour guess lowers it.
• 📏 Shortest distance — 100 means your route matches the shortest real-world route, measured between region centers.

The two optimal routes can differ — a route through fewer, larger countries often covers more kilometers than a chain of small ones. Chasing both scores at once is the real challenge.

The daily schedule

A new puzzle drops every day at local midnight — world countries most days, with a US-states puzzle every third day. Practice mode serves unlimited extra puzzles on either board.

Tips

• Work from both ends — the chain doesn't have to grow from one side.
• Big transit countries (Russia, China, Brazil, Sudan) bridge huge gaps in one guess but can cost you on the distance score.
• Learn the choke points: Panama ↔ Colombia is the only land link between the Americas, and Egypt ↔ Israel is the classic Africa–Asia gateway. Browse the country borders atlas to study them.