What it teaches
Where countries actually are, which is the fact a flag quiz cannot give. A child can know the Italian flag perfectly and have no idea that Italy is the boot.
The map is drawn from Natural Earth data, so the shapes and the borders are the real ones rather than a cartoon.
How it works
The country is named and read aloud, and the child taps the map. Three levels that add to each other: the big countries first, then the neighbours, then the Balkans and the Baltics. Each level keeps everything from the one before, so the map fills up rather than changing.
Countries too small to tap on a phone — Luxembourg, Montenegro — carry a ring drawn over them, which is both a target for a thumb and a way of saying there is a country there.
What to look for
Start at level 1 even with an older child. Thirteen countries that can be found confidently is a much better foundation than thirty-eight that cannot.
The tapped country is marked with a tick or a cross as well as a colour, so a child who cannot separate the green from the red is not left guessing.