Smarty Pins is a new Google Maps game develop by Google. Smarty Pins presents players with a trivia question that they have to answer by placing a pin on a map. Players earn “miles” for correctly placing a pin on the map. Players can lose miles for answering incorrectly and or taking too long to answer. Games are available in five categories; arts & culture, science & geography, sports & games, entertainment, and history & current events.

Applications for Education
I tried my hand at Smarty Pins for a while and found myself hooked on the “history & current events” game. The questions in the games are random so it would be hard to use as an assignment to match a unit of study. That said, if you’re looking for a fun geography game for students, Smarty Pins will fit the bill.

H/T to Glenn Wiebe and Larry Ferlazzo.