Flags of Europe

How to play

1. Press Start. You have 4 minutes, and the flags come in a new order every game.
2. Type the country of the highlighted flag. It counts as soon as the name matches, and the next flag lights up.
3. Only the highlighted flag counts: type another country and you’re told it isn’t that one. Tap a flag, or press Tab, to switch.
4. When time is up, the missed flags turn red, and you can practice them.

About the flags of Europe

Most European flags are built from very few parts. About half are tricolors, three stripes side by side or one above another, a pattern that spread from the Dutch and French flags. The Nordic countries share a cross set toward the flagpole: Denmark’s is said to be the oldest national flag still in use, and Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland followed its design. A smaller group adds a coat of arms to a tricolor, often to tell it apart from a neighbor’s.

That economy is what makes Europe hard. Many flags use the same three colors and differ only in shade, length or a small emblem. Red, white and blue alone cover the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia and Croatia, among others. Blue, yellow and red are shared by Romania, Moldova and Andorra, and green, white and a third stripe of orange or red by Ireland and Italy.

The way to learn them is to look for the one thing that differs: the order of the colors, whether the stripes run across or down, how long the flag is, and whether there is a shield and where it sits.

Which flags are in the quiz

The same countries as in Countries of Europe, including those that span Europe and Asia, whose flags are in both quizzes: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Russia and Türkiye. Kosovo is included, as in the countries quiz. The United Kingdom has one flag here, the Union Jack, not those of England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

Spelling and alternative names

Capitals, accents and punctuation don’t matter, but the spelling has to be right. Well-known alternative names count too:

Look-alike flags

Europe has more near-twins than any other continent. These are the sets that cost the most time, and what tells them apart. The list shows each flag with its name, so it starts closed.

Show the look-alike flags

The Netherlands and Luxembourg

Red, white and blue in horizontal stripes. The Dutch blue is a deep cobalt; Luxembourg’s is a light sky blue, and its flag is longer, 3 by 5 against the Dutch 2 by 3.

Slovakia, Slovenia and Russia

White, blue and red from the top. Russia’s flag has nothing else on it. Slovakia’s adds a red shield toward the flagpole, with a white double cross on three blue hills. Slovenia’s shield is smaller and sits in the upper corner, a white mountain under three gold stars, and its flag is longer, 1 by 2.

Romania, Moldova and Andorra

Blue, yellow and red in vertical stripes, blue at the flagpole. Romania’s flag is plain. Moldova’s has a golden eagle holding a cross in its beak in the middle, and it is longer, 1 by 2. Andorra’s has a quartered shield in the middle, a yellow stripe a little wider than the other two, and a squarer shape, 7 by 10.

Ireland and Italy

Green at the flagpole and white in the middle. Ireland’s third stripe is orange, Italy’s red, and Ireland’s flag is longer, 1 by 2 against Italy’s 2 by 3.

Questions

Is Russia’s flag in Flags of Asia too?

Yes. Russia spans both continents, so its flag is in both quizzes, like the other countries named above. Your scores for the two quizzes are kept apart.

Why isn’t the European Union’s flag in the quiz?

The quiz has one flag for each country, and the EU isn’t a country. Its circle of gold stars flies beside national flags but never replaces them.

More geography

• Countries of Europe: the same countries, named from memory on the map
• Capitals of Europe: the same countries, naming their capitals
• Flags of the World: all 197 at once
• Other continents: Flags of Africa, Flags of Asia, Flags of North America, Flags of South America, Flags of Oceania

More to play

• Countries of the World: Type every country you can before the clock runs out.
• Capitals of the World: Name the capital of every country before the clock runs out.
• Periodic Table: Name every chemical element before the clock runs out.
• Element Symbols: Name the chemical element behind every symbol.
• Flags of the World: Name the country from its flag.
• All quizzes
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