How to play
- Press Start. You have 2 minutes, and the flags come in a new order every game.
- Type the country of the highlighted flag. It counts as soon as the name matches, and the next flag lights up.
- 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.
- When time is up, the missed flags turn red, and you can practice them.
About the flags of Oceania
Oceania’s fourteen flags belong to Australia and the island states of the Pacific, and the sky ties many of them together. The Southern Cross, the constellation sailors steered by, shines on the flags of Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Samoa. Four flags still carry the Union Jack, a link to Britain: Australia, New Zealand, Tuvalu and Fiji.
Most of the others are newer designs, from independence in the 1960s to the 1990s, and many tell a story about the sea. Kiribati’s frigatebird flies over a sun rising from the waves. Nauru’s yellow line is the Equator, with a white star just below it for the island. Palau’s yellow disc is the full moon over the ocean. Micronesia has a star for each of its four states, and the Marshall Islands two rays, for its two chains of islands, under a star. Vanuatu’s flag carries a curled boar’s tusk, and Papua New Guinea’s a bird of paradise.
Tonga’s is the oldest, a red cross in a white corner on red, unchanged since 1875. With only two minutes, the challenge is the blue flags with stars, where one detail decides.
Which flags are in the quiz
Oceania follows the UN’s grouping of countries, as in Countries of Oceania: Australia and the island states of the Pacific. Territories such as New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Guam and the Cook Islands aren’t countries, so their flags aren’t in it.
Spelling and alternative names
Capitals, accents and punctuation don’t matter, but the spelling has to be right. Well-known alternative names count too:
| Country | Also accepted |
|---|---|
| Micronesia | Federated States of Micronesia |
| Papua New Guinea | PNG |
Look-alike flags
Oceania’s best-known near-twins are its two largest countries. The list shows each flag with its name, so it starts closed.
Show the look-alike flags
Australia and New Zealand
Dark blue, with the Union Jack in the upper corner and the Southern Cross on the right. Australia’s stars are white, and a large seven-pointed star sits under the Union Jack. New Zealand’s four stars are red with white borders, and nothing sits under the Union Jack. Tuvalu’s flag, also in this quiz, puts the Union Jack on light blue, with nine yellow stars.
Questions
Why isn’t Indonesia here, when half of New Guinea is Indonesian?
The quiz follows the UN’s grouping, which places Indonesia in Asia. Its flag is in Flags of Asia, and Papua New Guinea’s, the other half of the island, is here.
More geography
- Countries of Oceania: the same countries, named from memory on the map
- Capitals of Oceania: the same countries, naming their capitals
- Flags of the World: all 197 at once
- Other continents: Flags of Africa, Flags of Asia, Flags of Europe, Flags of North America, Flags of South America
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
- El Trivia home