Expedition #16

2026-10-20 · five prompts, fully revealed. Prefer no spoilers? Use the hints pages instead.

Prompt 1 of 5

Pin a country with a Z in its name

Ruling note: The Z can be anywhere: Switzerland and Tanzania count. Current English short names normally apply. Eswatini counts as an explicit exception for its former name Swaziland, changed in 2018. The Republic of the Congo counts as an exception for the common name Congo-Brazzaville.

Gem note: The Z is hiding in Herzegovina, the country's southern region.

17 accepted answers
Country	Tier	Pick share
Brazil	Common	21.9%
New Zealand	Uncommon	20%
Switzerland	Uncommon	13.5%
Czechia	Rare	7.7%
Venezuela	Rare	7.4%
Kazakhstan	Rare	5%
Azerbaijan	Rare	4.3%
Zimbabwe	Rare	4.2%
Tanzania	Rare	3.5%
Uzbekistan	Rare	2.5%
Belize	Rare	2%
Zambia	Rare	2%
Kyrgyzstan	Rare	2%
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Farflung	1.8%
Mozambique	Elusive	1.7%
Republic of the Congo	Elusive	0.2%
Eswatini	Elusive	0.2%

Prompt 2 of 5

Pin an island country in the Caribbean

Ruling note: The Bahamas and Barbados sit in the Atlantic, but both count. Puerto Rico and Martinique count for their countries, which are not island countries. The UK is one, so its Caribbean territories, such as the Cayman Islands, count for it.

Gem note: The smallest country in the Americas, and Alexander Hamilton was born on Nevis.

14 accepted answers
Country	Tier	Pick share
Cuba	Common	30.4%
Jamaica	Uncommon	17.9%
Dominican Republic	Uncommon	15.1%
Haiti	Uncommon	10.9%
Trinidad and Tobago	Rare	6.1%
Bahamas	Rare	5.4%
United Kingdom	Rare	3.8%
Barbados	Rare	3.7%
Saint Lucia	Elusive	1.7%
Grenada	Elusive	1.5%
Dominica	Elusive	1.3%
Antigua and Barbuda	Elusive	0.8%
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Farflung	0.7%
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Elusive	0.7%

Prompt 3 of 5

Pin a country where Game of Thrones was filmed

Ruling note: Any filming counts, animals too: a wolf in Canada and a bear in the United States. Ireland has one location beside Northern Ireland's many, and Greece counts for Meteora, photographed for the Eyrie's mountains.

Gem note: Malta played King's Landing in the first season, until the filming moved to Dubrovnik.

10 accepted answers
Country	Tier	Pick share
United Kingdom	Common	39.6%
Croatia	Uncommon	22%
Iceland	Uncommon	13.2%
Ireland	Uncommon	8.6%
Spain	Rare	7.2%
Morocco	Rare	5.5%
Canada	Elusive	1.3%
United States	Elusive	1.1%
Malta	Farflung	0.9%
Greece	Elusive	0.7%

Prompt 4 of 5

Pin a country whose capital gives its name to a kind of food or drink in English

Ruling note: A shared name is enough, whatever its origin: beef Wellington, muscat, sucre, Kingston biscuits and the Warsaw grouper all count. Former and provisional capitals count too, as Rangoon and Aden do, and Jerusalem counts for both Israel and Palestine. Brazil counts as an exception, for the Brazil nut, whose name Brasília shares, and the UAE for Dubai chocolate: Dubai is an emirate's capital, not the country's.

Gem note: Damson is worn down from damascene, the plum of Damascus, though the English fruit may never have grown there.

51 accepted answers
Country	Tier	Pick share
Belgium	Common	19.5%
Austria	Uncommon	10.5%
China	Uncommon	9%
Russia	Rare	7.5%
Ukraine	Rare	5.3%
Singapore	Rare	4.5%
Germany	Rare	3.8%
United Kingdom	Rare	3.8%
Brazil	Rare	3%
France	Rare	3%
Italy	Rare	2.3%
New Zealand	Rare	2.3%
Peru	Rare	2.3%
Cuba	Elusive	1.9%
Ireland	Elusive	1.9%
United Arab Emirates	Elusive	1.5%
Jamaica	Elusive	1.5%
Poland	Elusive	1.5%
Vietnam	Elusive	1.5%
Israel	Elusive	1.1%
Oman	Elusive	1.1%
Portugal	Elusive	0.9%
Afghanistan	Elusive	0.8%
Bahamas	Elusive	0.6%
Estonia	Elusive	0.6%
Spain	Elusive	0.6%
Netherlands	Elusive	0.6%
Philippines	Elusive	0.6%
Czechia	Elusive	0.5%
Croatia	Elusive	0.5%
Hungary	Elusive	0.5%
India	Elusive	0.5%
Japan	Elusive	0.5%
Latvia	Elusive	0.4%
Palestine	Elusive	0.4%
Türkiye	Elusive	0.4%
Indonesia	Elusive	0.3%
Cambodia	Elusive	0.3%
Myanmar	Elusive	0.3%
North Korea	Elusive	0.3%
Bangladesh	Elusive	0.2%
Switzerland	Elusive	0.2%
Lebanon	Elusive	0.2%
Monaco	Elusive	0.2%
Slovakia	Elusive	0.2%
Slovenia	Elusive	0.2%
Syria	Farflung	0.2%
Tunisia	Elusive	0.2%
Bolivia	Elusive	0.2%
Denmark	Elusive	0.2%
Yemen	Elusive	0.2%

Prompt 5 of 5

Pin a country Victor Frankenstein sets foot in during Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein

Ruling note: Wherever Victor himself goes, from his birth at Naples in the 1831 text to the chase across Russia. Chamonix and Évian are in France today.

Gem note: Adrift after sinking the remains of the creature’s mate, Victor lands in Ireland and is charged with Clerval’s murder.

8 accepted answers
Country	Tier	Pick share
Switzerland	Common	47.6%
Germany	Uncommon	24.5%
United Kingdom	Uncommon	13.6%
France	Rare	6.8%
Russia	Rare	4.1%
Italy	Elusive	1.6%
Netherlands	Elusive	1.1%
Ireland	Farflung	0.7%