What do the following countries have in common?

1. Ghana 

2. Zambia

3. Namibia

4. Thailand 

5. Sri Lanka 

6. Zimbabwe 

7. Cote d'Ivoire 

8. Democratic Republic of the Congo 

 

Answer:

 

They were known by former names for many years:

 

1. Ghana - Gold Coast

2. Zambia - (Northern) Rhodesia

3. Namibia - South West Africa

4. Thailand - Siam

5. Sri Lanka - Ceylon

6. Zimbabwe - (Southern) Rhodesia

7. Cote d'Ivoire - Ivory Coast

8. Democratic Republic of the Congo - Zaire 

 

 

  

NPR Weekend Edition Sunday Puzzle

June 14, 2026

Will Shortz 

 

Change each word below into a world capital by replacing the first and last letters.

Ex: VASSAL - NASSAU (Bahamas)

 

1. CONDOR

2. ROSCOE

3. PUBLIC

4. SAVANT

5. ETHENE

6. TARSAL

7. TUSCAN

8. CALLING

9. I AGREE 

10. DRAG UP

 

Answers:

 

1. LONDON

2. MOSCOW

3. DUBLIN

4. HAVANA

5. ATHENS

6. WARSAW

7. MUSCAT (Oman)

8. TALLIN (Estonia)  

9. ZAGREB (Croatia)

10. PRAGUE (Czech Republic)

  

 

PLACES IN THE WORLD THAT ARE HARD TO SPELL

1. Morocco

2. Oaxaca (Mexico)

3. Chihuahua (Mexico) 

4. Reykjavik (Iceland)

5. Gloucestershire (England)

6. Versailles (France)

7. Marseille (France) 

8. Philippines

9. Seychelles

10. Caribbean Sea

11. Kyrgyzstan

12. Machu Picchu (Peru)

13. Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) 

NPR Weekend Edition Sunday Puzzle

May 10, 2026

Will Shortz 

 

CHIN as in CHINA

 

Each word below can be found in its entirety and in consecutive order in the name of a country - as CHIN in CHINA. Can you name the country that includes .....

 

1. PAIN

2. NADA

3. GENT

4. HAIL 

5. RAIN

6. DIVE

7. LAYS

8. DONE

9. WAND

10. GLAD

11. RUNE

12. PINE

 

Answers:

 

1. SPAIN

2. CANADA

3. ARGENTINA

4. THAILAND

5. UKRAINE or BAHRAIN

6. MALDIVES

7. MALAYSIA

8. INDONESIA

9. RWANDA

10. BANGLADESH

11. BRUNEI

12. PHILIPPINES  

 

 

 

 

GAMES/World of Puzzles

April, 2026

Shawn Kennedy 

 

What country's capital becomes the name of another country when you swap its two halves?

 

HINTS:

1. The capital and its country both have four letters. 

2. The other country also has four letters. 

3. The first country is in South America

4. The other country is in Africa 

 

Answer: 

 

The country is PERU. It's capital is LIMA. When you swap its two halves, you get MALI. 

AFRICAN NATIONS

 

Dell PennyPress Variety Puzzles

April, 2025 

Complete the name of an African country by answering one of the clues below and putting the answer on one of the blanks.

1. BOT _____ A

2. _____ ZANIA

3. BU _____ DI

4. UG _____ A

5. MA _____ I

6. _____ ON

 

Choices:

a. Additionally

b. Chatter

c. Statute

d. Type of dive

e. Shade of brown

f. Hosiery mishap

 

Answers:

 

1. d - Type of dive - SWAN - BOTSWANA

2. e - Shade of brown - TAN - TANZANIA  

3. f - Hosiery mishap - RUN - BURUNDI 

4. a - Additionally - AND - UGANDA

5. c - Law - MALAWI

6. b - Gab - GABON  

Of the ten countries in the world that have only four letters in their names, two are islands and three are land-locked. Can you name them, and can you name the other five?

Answers:

Islands: Cuba and Fiji

Land-locked: Chad, Laos, Mali

Others: Iran, Iraq, Oman, Peru, Togo 

 

NPR Weekend Edition Sunday Puzzle

July 20, 2025 

Will Shortz

 

In the words below, the first letter or letters begin the name of a capital city, and the remaining letters begin the name of that city's country. The dividing point between the city and its country is for you to determine. For example: MANIC would be MAnaugua NICaragua.

 

1. AGREE

2. BARGE

3. BRATS

4. CARVE

5. STOCKS

6. TALLEST

 

Answers: 

 

1. ATHENS, GREECE 

2. BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA 

3. BRATAISLAVA, SLOVAKIA 

4. CARACAS, VENEZUELA

5. STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

6. TALLINN, ESTONIA  

NPR Weekend Edition Sunday Puzzle 

March 2, 2025

Will Shortz

 

Name a country that has the same consonants in the same order as the clue word - with any number of vowels before, after, or in between.

 

Ex: REMAIN has the consonants RMI. ROMANIA also has the same consonants in the same order. ARMENIA would also be acceptable. The clues below have only one answer. 

1. COMBED

2. FURNACE

3. AROUSES

4. U.S. OPEN

5. AL GORE

6. MANGLE

7. SINGLE

8. CLIMB

9. REWIND

10. CLONED

11. ORIGINATION

 

Answers:

 

1. COMBED - CAMBODIA

2. FURNACE - FRANCE

3. AROUSES - RUSSIA

4. U.S. OPEN - SPAIN

5. AL GORE - ALGERIA

6. MANGLE - MONGOLIA

7. SINGLE - SENEGAL

8. CLIMB - COLOMBIA

9. REWIND - RWANDA

10. CLONED - ICELAND

11. ORIGINATION - ARGENTINA 

 

 

What 10-letter word beginning with P and ending with C contains a 7-letter country that itself contains a 4-letter country?

HINT:

Playing with fire

 

Answer:

 

PYROMANIAC

     ROMANIA

        OMAN 

 

Credit:

Shawn Kennedy

GAMES/World of Puzzles

October, 2024 

The capital cities of two U.S. states and two countries end in U. Can you name them?

Answer:

1. Juneau, Alaska

2. Honolulu, Hawaii

3. Nassau, Bahamas

4. Katmandu, Nepal

NPR Weekend Edition Sunday Puzzle

September 22, 2024

Ross N. Sheinberg

 

Think of a U.S. capital city. Then think of a foreign capital city. Say the two words one after the other and it will sound like a restaurant entree.What is it?

 

Answer:

 

DOVER - SEOUL

DOVER SOLE 

 

TWIN CITIES, Etc.

GAMES Magazine

October, 1983

Laurie Eynon

 

The name of a city, state, or country should be suggested by each of the pairs of words listed below. For example, POPS - BEANS should make you think of Boston.

 

1. TRIANGLE - SHORTS

2. QUEEN - GAMBLER

3. BRIDGE - FOG

4. RANGER - INSTRUMENTS

5. DOLL - SYNDROME

6. FATS - VIKINGS

7. PEACH - BROWN

8. DUTCH - STATION

9. REEL - HAM

10. FALLS - LINEMAN

11. SEVEN - FIRE

12. INK - RUBBER

13. STORY - CREAM CHEESE

14. PROJECT - TRANSFER

15. GIRLS - DREAMING

Answers:

 

1. Bermuda

2. Mississippi

3. London

4. Texas

5. China

6. Minnesota

7. Georgia

8. Pennsylvania

9. Virginia

10. Wichita

11. Chicago

12. India

13. Philadelphia

14. Manhattan

15. California

Gems from old GAMES Magazines XI

Geography Questions They 

Never Asked You in School 

GAMES Magazine

July/August, 1980 

W.S.

1. With one exception, every state in the union whose name starts with an A ends with an A. And with one exception, every country in the world whose name begins with an A also ends in an A. What state and what country are the exceptions?

2. Two island countries have seven-letter names differing only in the second letter. What are they?

3. The final five letters of one Asian country are the first five letters of a major city in Asia. Both names contain eight letters. Can you name them?

4. DIAGNOSE is an anagram of what major American city?

5. The last four letters of a U.S. state are the first four letters of its capital. What state and city are they?

 

6. Why is Maine unique among U.S. state names?

 

7. What is the only U.S. state with no straight lines in its borders?

Answers:

 

1. ARKANSAS - AFGHANISTAN

2. ICELAND - IRELAND

3. PAKISTAN - ISTANBUL

4. SAN DIEGO

5. VERMONT - MONTPELIER

6. It is the only state with a one-syllable name.

7. Hawaii

 

Time Test - by Will Shortz

NPL Convention, 2024

The Enigma

August, 2024

 

Part 4 

What country fits alphabetically between each of the following pairs of countries? All answers are member of the United Nations.

   Example: Hungary __________ India

                                   ICELAND

 

1. CHAD ________ CHINA

2. ECUADOR ________ EL SALVADOR

3. FIJI _______ FRANCE

4. GHANA ________ GRENADA

5. GUYANA ________ HONDURAS

6. ITALY ________ JAPAN

7. LITHUANIA ________ MADAGASCAR

8. PARAGUAY ________ PHILIPPINES

9. RUSSIA ________ ST. KITTS and NEVIS

10. VENEZUELA ________ YEMEN

 

Answers: 

 

1. CHILE

2. EGYPT

3. FINLAND

4. GREECE

5. HAITI

6. JAMAICA*

7. LUXEMBOURG

8. PERU

9. RWANDA

10. VIETNAM

 

*Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire) also accepted

   

  

CAPITAL GAINS

GAMES Magazine

July, 1986

Len Elliott

 

The answer to each clue below can be anagrammed into the name of a world capital. For example, INCH, GRAM, HOUR are UNITS - which can be anagrammed to TUNIS.

 

1. A greater amount

2. Postman's delivery

3. Song for one singer

4. Twosomes

5. Public square

6. Soccer scores

7. Bungle (with "up")

8. Not a plant

9. Hurry, rush

 

Answers:

 

1. MORE - ROME

2. MAIL - LIMA

3. SOLO - OSLO

4. PAIRS - PARIS

5. GOALS - LAGOS

6. LA PAZ - PLAZA

7. LOUSE - SEOUL

8. ANIMAL - MANILA

9. HASTEN - ATHENS 

NPR Weekend Edition Sunday Puzzle

February 4, 2024

Will Shortz

Each word below is hidden inside the name of a country. The word will always be in the interior letters of the country's name - never using the first or last letter. For example, MAR is found in DENMARK.

1. WED

2. GAS

3. BOD

4. WIT

5. HAM

6. RUG

7. LIP

8. ROC

9. OAT

10. HUT

11. LAW

12. BAN (two answers)

Answers:

 

1. SWEDEN

2. MADAGASCAR

3. CAMBODIA

4. SWITZERLAND

5. BAHAMAS

6. URUGUAY

7. PHILIPPINES

8. MOROCCO

9. CROATIA

10. BHUTAN

11. MALAWI

12. ALBANIA

      LEBANON

CODE NAME

GAMES/World of Puzzles

December, 2023

Charli N. Chapman

Name the small, land-locked African nation whose name consists of three syllables: The first syllable is the postal abbreviation for a New England state; the second syllable is that of a Southern state; and the third is that of a Midwestern state.

Answer:

 

MALAWI - - - Massachesetts, Louisiana, Wisconsin

National Puzzlers' League

Time Test for the 2023 Convention V

Montreal, Quebec

From The Enigma

August, 2023

Will Shortz

 

Part 5 

Find two world capitals in each sentence by changing one letter in each of two words.

Ex: The rigs are carrying maracas directly from the factory.

       Riga - Caracas

 

1. A light shade of sienna would be quite pretty.

 

2. A tunic is a kind of robe worn by ancients.

 

3. The adman had a whole campaign for Handi Wipes.

 

4. The young wizard had his cape torn by Merlin.

 

5. Europe has been devastated by the plague several times.

 

6. Can Salvador Dali get a limo to his studio?

 

Answers:

 

1. Vienna - Quito

2. Tunis - Rome

3. Amman - Hanoi  

4. Cape Town - Berlin

5. Bern - Prague

6. San Salvador - Lima 

What geographical feature do the following countries have in common?

ENGLAND

ALGERIA

FRANCE

GHANA

SPAIN

MALI 

 

Answer:

 

The prime meridian (line of 0 degrees longitude) passes through them.