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    How to Play Noirdle

    Your complete guide to mastering the daily city map puzzle

    The Goal

    Each day, Noirdle presents you with three map puzzles from the same mystery country. Your goal is to identify each city from its map layout alone. The three rounds increase in difficulty: first an iconic capital, then a major city, and finally a lesser-known hidden town. Score as many points as possible across all three rounds!

    Step 1: Study the Map

    When a round begins, you'll see a stylized map of a city covered in artistic fog. The fog gradually clears as you zoom in, revealing more details. Start by looking at the big picture:

    • -Is there a coastline, river, or lake?
    • -What shape is the street grid? Radial, grid-based, or organic?
    • -How large is the urban area?
    • -Are there islands, bridges, or distinctive geographic features?

    Step 2: Make Your Guess

    Type the name of the city you think it is into the search box. The search supports fuzzy matching, so don't worry about exact spelling — typing "Bejing" will still match "Beijing". You can also type partial names and browse the suggestions.

    If your guess is wrong, you'll lose 1 point and can try again. The game will show you how far your guess was from the correct city, helping you narrow down the answer.

    Step 3: Use Hints Wisely

    If you're stuck, hints can help — but they cost points. Use them strategically:

    Region hint-1 point
    Population range-1 point
    First letter of city name-2 points
    Country name-3 points
    Reveal full map (remove fog)-4 points
    Landmark images-1 to -3 points

    Scoring

    Each round starts with 10 points, for a maximum of 30 points per challenge. Points are deducted for wrong guesses (1 point each) and hints (1-4 points each). Even if you use all your points, you'll earn at least 1 point per round as long as you eventually guess correctly.

    Perfect score: 30/30 — guessed all three cities on the first try with no hints!

    Difficulty Levels

    Round 1 — Iconic / Capital City

    The most recognizable city from the featured country. Usually a capital or major world city with distinctive geography. If you know your world capitals, this round should be approachable.

    Round 2 — Major City

    A well-known metropolitan area in the same country. Slightly harder than round one. Look for unique geographic features like rivers, harbors, or mountain ranges to help identify it.

    Round 3 — Hidden Town

    A smaller, lesser-known city or town. This is the hardest round and often requires hints. Use the country hint from earlier rounds and regional clues to narrow it down.

    Pro Tips

    • 1.Start zoomed out. The overall shape and scale of a city tells you a lot. Coastal cities, river cities, and landlocked cities all look very different from afar.
    • 2.Look for water. Rivers, coastlines, and lakes are the biggest clues. The Thames bends through London, the Seine winds through Paris, and Istanbul straddles the Bosphorus.
    • 3.Notice street patterns. American cities often have grid layouts. European historic centers tend to be organic and radial. Planned capitals like Brasilia or Canberra have distinctive geometric patterns.
    • 4.Use the cheapest hints first. Region (1 point) and population (1 point) give you a lot of value. Save expensive hints like country (3 points) for when you're truly stuck.
    • 5.Remember: all three cities are from the same country. If you identify the country in round 1, that knowledge carries through to rounds 2 and 3.
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