Question 1

What kinds of questions do I see?

Accepted Answer

Two main variants, mixed by the day's seed: "What is the capital of ?" (state → capital) and "Which state's capital is ?" (capital → state). Each has four options and exactly one correct answer.

Question 2

Where does the data come from?

Accepted Answer

The 50 U.S. states and their official capitals as defined by each state government. We use Pierre, SD; Carson City, NV; Harrisburg, PA; Frankfort, KY; and other often-mistaken capitals exactly as documented.

Question 3

Why is "states and capitals" worth its own site?

Accepted Answer

It's a distinct, high-volume search query (49,500/mo for "states and capitals" + 27,100/mo for "states and capitals quiz"). Treating it as its own destination lets us optimize the experience and SEO for that specific intent.

Question 4

How is the puzzle determined?

Accepted Answer

Deterministically from the date. Everyone playing /daily/2026-04-26 sees the same ten questions in the same order with the same answer options. The seed mixes the date with the salt "statescapitals".

Question 5

When does a new puzzle drop?

Accepted Answer

Every day at 00:00 UTC. The archive at /archive keeps the last 90 days; older days roll off the end.

Question 6

Do I need to sign in?

Accepted Answer

No. Your progress is saved in your browser; nothing is sent to a server.

Question 7

Is there a state map mode?

Accepted Answer

Yes — open /map. We name a state in deterministic daily order and you click it on a clean SVG U.S. map. Three attempts per state, then we move on.

Question 8

Why do my friend and I get the same puzzle?

Accepted Answer

The day's puzzle is computed from the date, so two players opening /daily/2026-04-26 always see the same ten questions — easy to compare scores.

Question 9

How does this differ from 50 States Quiz?

Accepted Answer

50 States Quiz is map-mode-first — the home page is a click-the-state map. States and Capitals Quiz is MCQ-first — the home page is the 10-question capital quiz with the map as a secondary mode at /map.

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions