MAP-ULA

1. How does scoring work?

 

Naming the country always pays 250, no matter how long it took. Then there's a bonus for using fewer lines, starting at 750, so an eight-line solve is worth 1,000. The bonus drops every time you reveal more coastline. Hints only come out of the bonus, so a correct answer always scores something.

 

2. What are the stars?

 

Thirteen lines or fewer earns three stars and the title Cartographer. Twenty-two or fewer earns two stars and the title Navigator. Thirty-four or fewer earns one star and the title Surveyor. While you play, the stars still available are shown beside the line count, so you can see what another line will cost.

 

3. What ends a run?

 

A round lasts sixty seconds, and a right answer puts the full minute back. Two things end a run: the clock reaching zero, or your third "Stuck?" pick. Either one sends your score and streak to the board.

 

A wrong answer doesn't end the run. It costs you a clue and the seconds you spent typing it.

 

4. What is Chill Mode?

 

Chill Mode turns the clock off. Turn it on under Play in Settings, and a country waits until you answer. Everything else is the same. A country still opens at eight lines, revealing more costs, stars, and points as usual, and "Stuck?" still costs fifty and ends the run on the third one.

 

A chill run can't take a place on the board. The clock is what keeps scores comparable. Without one, a patient player could get through every country in a single run and post a score no timed player could match. Your Game Center standing is unaffected. Those boards count countries found and average lines, and neither depends on the clock.

 

5. Score and streak are different things?

 

Yes. Your streak is how many countries you've named in a row without a run ending. Your score is the total of those solves. Both go back to zero when a run ends.

The board ranks you on score and shows the streak beside it, so a short run of eight-line solves can outrank a long one full of hints.

 

6. I spelled it slightly wrong, and it counted. Is that a bug?

 

No, it's meant to work that way. The game is checking whether you know the country, so close spellings are accepted, including how a name sounds rather than how it is written. It'll only accept a misspelling if it points to exactly one country. If it's close to two, it asks again.

 

7. Why did my progress reset when I changed language?

 

Each language is its own game, because the country names differ. Changing it starts a new one, and the app warns you first. Your high-score board survives, since it's only initials and numbers.

 

8. Where did my progress go?

 

Progress is stored on your device. It survives restoring a new phone from a backup, but deleting the app removes it. There's no cloud sync yet, but we plan to add it. Your Game Center standing is separate and does follow your Apple Account.

 

9. What are the leaderboards, and what do they send?

 

There are two, both through Game Center: countries found and average lines per solve. Total score isn't one of them, because it only goes up. It would end up ranking how long you've played.

 

The app sends those two numbers and nothing else. It does not send your score, your streak, the three initials you type after a run, or which countries you found. Those stay on the device.

 

The average leaderboard needs twenty solves before it will rank you. Below that, a couple of lucky guesses swing the average too far to mean anything.

 

10. Do I have to use Game Center?

 

No. Sign-in appears the first time you open the Records screen, not at launch. Decline it, or turn Game Center off for MAP-ULA in the iOS Settings app, and the game plays the same. You don't see a ranking.

 

11. Why isn't every country included?

 

They all are. There are 197, and every one of them comes round eventually. Narrow the game to a single continent in Settings if you want to work through them one region at a time.

 

12. Does it work offline?

 

Yes, completely. Every country, outline, and flag is stored inside the app; there's nothing to download, and it works with no signal.

 

The only part that needs a connection is Game Center, and if it can't reach it, the game carries on without a ranking.

 

13. Can I start over?

 

Yes. Reset progress is at the bottom of Settings. It clears the countries you have found, your score, your streak, and your stars, and it asks you to confirm first.

 

Changing the language does the same thing, since the country names all change. Your high-score board survives both.