FarflungWhat is Farflung Links?
Farflung Links is a daily geography route puzzle. Each day you get a start, a destination, a short list of countries and a hand of cards. Each card links two countries in one way: a land border, a shared official language or a shared official currency. Play every card once, in any order, to build a route from the start to the destination.
The Daily expedition, Unlimited and Survival ask you to pin one country at a time. Links asks how countries connect: which neighbours share a border, where a language is official, and which countries share a currency.
Farflung Links at a glance
- Price: free, in any web browser, with no download or account.
- Puzzles: one a day, the same for everyone, new at midnight UTC.
- Cards: 3 or 4 each puzzle, in three kinds: land border, shared official language and shared official currency.
- Countries: 12 to 20 in each puzzle, drawn from 93 countries whose borders, languages and currencies have been checked against sources.
- Scoring: solve it with no mistakes for a Clean solve.
How Farflung Links works
- Pick a card. Land border, shared official language or shared official currency.
- Pick a country. From the list or the map: the next stop from the country you're in.
- Link. If the two countries share what the card says, the link holds and the card is spent.
- Use every card once. Three cards make three links and four countries in all.
- Reach the destination with the last card. Arriving early, or ending anywhere else, doesn't count.
- No revisits. Each country can be a stop only once.
- Undo is free. Take back as many links as you like.
- Mistakes count. A link that doesn't hold is a mistake, unless no card can leave the country you're in.
For example, with three cards from Italy to the Netherlands: Italy and Austria share a land border, Austria and Germany both speak German, and Germany and the Netherlands both use the euro.
A puzzle worked through: Brazil to Germany
The tutorial gives you one card of each kind and 7 countries: Brazil, Portugal, Cabo Verde, Austria, Luxembourg, Spain, Germany. It has 3 routes:
| Route | Why each link holds |
|---|---|
| Brazil → Portugal → Austria → Germany | Brazil and Portugal both have Portuguese as an official language. Portugal and Austria both use the euro. Austria and Germany share a land border. |
| Brazil → Portugal → Spain → Germany | Brazil and Portugal both have Portuguese as an official language. Portugal and Spain share a land border. Spain and Germany both use the euro. |
| Brazil → Portugal → Luxembourg → Germany | Brazil and Portugal both have Portuguese as an official language. Portugal and Luxembourg both use the euro. Luxembourg and Germany share a land border. |
Cabo Verde is the trap. Brazil and Cabo Verde both speak Portuguese, so the first link holds, but Cabo Verde is an island country with no land border, and its escudo is pegged to the euro without being the euro. No card leaves it, so the game calls it a dead end rather than a mistake, and you undo.
What counts as a link
Land border
Two countries share a land border when their territory meets on land. A border along a river or through a lake still counts; a sea crossing does not. Borders count wherever a country has territory, overseas regions included.
Shared official language
The language must be official nationally, not just in one region. German links Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Belgium; Romanian links Romania and Moldova. A language that is widely spoken but not official doesn't count.
Shared official currency
The two countries must use the same currency, wherever they govern. Two currencies that share a name are not the same currency: the West African and Central African CFA francs are different currencies, and so are the many dollars. A currency pegged to another doesn't count either.
The lines on the map show how the countries are linked, not a route you could travel.
Farflung Links tips
Work back from the destination
Before the first link, ask which countries your last card could reach the destination from. A route that arrives next to the destination with only a language card left fails if no neighbour shares its language.
Islands are dead ends for a border card
A country with no land border, such as Cabo Verde, can only be left by language or currency. Visit one when the cards you still hold can take you on.
Multilingual countries are hubs
Switzerland has four official languages, Belgium and Luxembourg three each, and South Africa twelve. A language card from one of them reaches far more countries than from a country with one official language.
Undo before you guess
Undo is free and mistakes are not. If you're unsure whether a link holds, step back and try a route you're sure of. For the other modes, see how to play Farflung.
Farflung Links FAQ
Is Farflung Links free?
Yes. Farflung Links is free to play in any web browser, on phone, tablet or desktop. There is nothing to download and no account to create.
When does a new Farflung Links puzzle come out?
Every day at midnight UTC, and everyone gets the same puzzle. Each puzzle also has its own address, such as farflunggame.app/links/1, so a puzzle someone shares with you can be played on any day.
Is there only one right route?
No. Every puzzle has at least two routes, and any route that uses every card once, visits no country twice and reaches the destination with the last card counts as solved.
What counts as a mistake in Farflung Links?
A link that doesn't hold, such as a border card between two countries that don't share a land border. It isn't a mistake when no card could leave the country you're in: then you're told it's a dead end and can undo. Undo and Start over are free, but they don't take back a mistake. A Clean solve is one with no mistakes.
What counts as a shared language or currency?
A language counts when it is official nationally, not just in one region. A currency counts when it is legal tender anywhere the country governs, overseas territories included. Two different currencies with the same name, such as two kinds of dollar, are not the same currency, and a currency pegged to the euro is not the euro.
Are there hints in Farflung Links?
No. There are no hints and no button that shows the answer while you play. Undo is free, so trying a route costs nothing until you link a pair that does not hold.
Does Farflung Links affect my daily streak?
No. Your Farflung streak only counts the Daily expedition. Farflung Links keeps its own records: puzzles started, puzzles solved and Clean solves.
What happens if I close the page mid-puzzle?
Nothing is lost. Your route, cards and mistakes are saved in your browser, and the start card offers to continue where you left off.
What if a fact in a puzzle is wrong?
Every border, language and currency is checked against a source before a puzzle goes out. If one turns out to be wrong, it is corrected and the puzzle shows a note saying what changed. Results you already have are kept as they were.