A miss is a detour, not the end
A wrong answer keeps you where you are and closes that neighbor. You cannot tap it again from here — hop to another place, come back, and try a new question. Fail the destination? Same rule.
Free to play in the browser
Hop the map. Miss, then find another way.
Hopstate is geography trivia with a trap. You hop across a country by answering a question about the next place. A wrong answer keeps you where you are and closes that neighbor. You cannot try it again from here — hop somewhere else, come back, and try a new question. Missing the destination does not end the run. You only lose if every neighbor from where you stand is closed.
- Guest play — no account needed
- Fewest hops wins
- Challenge a friend on the same trip
ORIDWYNEIAKSSDME
Oregon → Maine4 hops · shortest 4
Why it is fun
The miss is the mechanic
Most trivia is a scoreboard. Hopstate is a map you have to leave and re-enter. Miss a neighbor and it closes from here — hop away, come back, and try again. Miss the destination? Same rule.
Know the map, and the place
You need borders in your head and a fact about the next stop. Route-planning and trivia pull against each other on every tap.
New origin, new destination
Oregon to Maine is not Texas to Vermont. Shortest path, island flights, and which neighbors you close all change the puzzle.
Same trip, beat my score
Finish a run and send the exact same origin, destination, and questions. They try to beat your hops, time, and score.
How to play
Four beats, then you are either through or boxed in
Pick a trip
Every run draws an origin and a destination on the map. Teal is where you stand. Gold is where you need to get. A clean path is shown as a hop count — fewest hops wins.
Tap a neighbor
Orange places border where you are. Tap one to attempt a hop. Pinch-zoom for small states, and cancel if you mis-tapped.
Answer the trivia
A question about that place pops up on a timer. Correct and you move there. Wrong, timed out, or given up — you stay put. That neighbor closes until you hop somewhere else. Come back and try a new question.
Reach it — or get boxed in
Keep hopping until you land on the destination. Missing the goal does not end the run — hop to a neighbor, come back, and try again. You only lose if every neighbor from where you stand is closed.
Read the map
Five colors, one run
Once you know the palette, you can play without the overlay. Orange is opportunity. Gray means hop away before you try that neighbor again.
Teal — you
Where you started, and where you stand now.
Gold — destination
The place you have to reach this run.
Orange — open hops
Legal neighbors from where you are. Tap one.
Green — visited
Places you already hopped through on this run.
Gray — closed
A miss closes that neighbor from where you stand. Hop away, come back, and you can try it again.
Modes
Easy to learn the map. Hard when you are hunting a score.
Easy
15 seconds- A new place asks a trivia question.
- Green places you already visited are free — tap one to go back, no question.
- Best for first runs and kids.
Hard
10 seconds- A question on every hop — even states you already turned green.
- Shorter timer. Same miss rule: stay put, hop away, come back to retry.
- Same play scores about 25% higher than Easy.
Scoring
One number from path, time, answers, and difficulty
The win screen shows a score (1–99,999), hop count vs shortest path, accuracy, and a clock. Fewest hops is still the headline. The score is how clean the run felt.
Path
Biggest swingScore starts from a 5,000-point base, then multiplies. Taking the shortest hop count keeps the path factor at 1. Detours drop it — down to about a third if you wander.
Time
Par is 8s per hopFinish under par and time can boost the score (up to 1.2×). Linger and it shrinks (down to 0.4×). The clock is the whole run, not just one question.
Answers
Speed + accuracyA fast correct answer is close to a full mark. A miss is worth about a third. Timeouts and give-ups count as misses. Accuracy shows on the win screen too.
Difficulty
Mode + questionsHard mode is a 1.25× multiplier. Harder trivia (medium / hard questions) also lifts the score. Easy mode and easy questions are kinder — and score lower.
Formula, plainly: 5,000 × path × time × answers × mode × question difficulty, then rounded. A short, fast, accurate Hard run on harder questions sits at the top. Misses and detours drag it down fast.
Why play this
A geography game that respects the map — and your time
Play in seconds
Open it in the browser. Hop as a guest. No account required to start a run.
Real geography
Hops follow real borders. Hawaii and Alaska are in via authored flight edges from California and Washington.
Serious question bank
The US pack ships with about 1,500 state trivia questions, plus extras for D.C. — enough that you do not see the same prompt every run.
Built for a phone
Pinch-zoom the map, tap a neighbor, answer. Works on web now; iOS and Android are the same Flutter app.
Leaders, not just a clock
This trip, same route, and overall boards. Your best runs stick with a shareable trip link.
Tied to real travel
After a win, mark the states you have actually visited and turn them into TravelMem magnets. Trivia that points back at your trips.
Maps
Start with the United States. More packs as they land.
Adding a country later is content, not a new engine. Pick a pack in the game library, download it, hop.
United States
Fifty states plus D.C. D.C. is playable but never an origin or destination. Typical trips are 4–8 hops. California–Hawaii, Washington–Hawaii, and Washington–Alaska flights keep the islands in the game.
US Cities
Hop city to city on the same map. A growing pack — start with a short route, then more cities as the catalog expands.
From trivia to travelog
States you have actually been to belong on the fridge
After a win, Hopstate asks which of those places you have really visited. Mark them, then jump into TravelMem and turn the ones you love into custom travel magnets — photo, destination art, and a passport-style stamp.
- A game that uses real borders, not a cartoon board.
- A trip link friends can open and try to beat.
- A path from “I knew that capital” to “I was actually there.”
What is the capital of Oregon?Salem — and you have been there.Pin it on your travelog →
FAQ
Hopstate — frequently asked questions
What is Hopstate?
Hopstate is a casual geography trivia game from TravelMem. You hop across a country map by answering questions about the next place. A wrong answer keeps you where you are and closes that neighbor until you hop somewhere else. Come back and try again. Reach the destination, or get boxed in if every neighbor from here is closed.
How do you play?
You start on a teal origin with a gold destination. Orange neighbors are legal hops. Tap one, answer the trivia in time. Correct and you move there. Wrong (or timeout) keeps you put and closes that neighbor. Hop to another neighbor, come back, and try again. Win by arriving. Lose only if every neighbor from where you stand is closed.
How does scoring work?
One score from path, time, answers, and difficulty. A 5,000-point base is multiplied by how close you stayed to the shortest path, how fast the whole run was (par is 8 seconds per hop), how quickly and accurately you answered, Hard vs Easy mode (Hard is 1.25×), and question difficulty. Scores range from 1 to 99,999. Fewest hops still wins the brag — the number is how clean the run felt.
What is the difference between Easy and Hard?
Easy gives 15 seconds and lets you revisit green states with no question. Hard gives 10 seconds and quizzes every hop, including places you already visited. Hard also scores higher for the same path and time.
Can I play with friends?
Yes. After a win you get a trip link for the same origin, destination, and questions. Share it, or email a challenge so they try to beat your score. Leaderboards track this trip, the same route, and overall.
Do I need an account?
No. Hop as a guest in the browser. Log in if you want your runs and leaders attached to you. Play is free.
How does this connect to TravelMem?
Hopstate is the geography game from the same team. After you finish a trip you can mark states you have actually visited and jump into TravelMem to turn them into custom travel magnets — trivia that points back at real travel.
Ready to hop?
Open the map, pick Easy or Hard, and hop your way to the goal.