North America
United States from the air
Flyover drops you over 38 cities in United States — 7 the game rates easy, 21 standard, 10 expert. Each one below carries the tell the game uses: the single feature that separates it from everywhere else.
The 38 cities
- Atlanta Reads as: tree canopy and skyline.
- Austin Reads as: river bend and hills.
- Baltimore Reads as: inner harbor.
- Boston Reads as: harbor and old core.
- Charlotte Reads as: uptown grid.
- Chicago Reads as: lakefront grid.
- Cleveland Reads as: lakefront downtown.
- Dallas Reads as: flat metro grid.
- Denver Reads as: plains and mountains.
- Detroit Reads as: river border city.
- Honolulu Reads as: coast and crater.
- Houston Reads as: bayou sprawl.
- Indianapolis Reads as: monument circle grid.
- Kansas City Reads as: river and rail yards.
- Las Vegas Reads as: strip and desert.
- Los Angeles Reads as: basin, hills, freeways.
- Louisville Reads as: ohio river curve.
- Memphis Reads as: riverfront bluff.
- Miami Reads as: waterfront towers.
- Minneapolis Reads as: lakes and river.
- Nashville Reads as: river downtown.
- New Orleans Reads as: crescent river.
- New York Reads as: islands, dense towers.
- Orlando Reads as: lakes and suburbs.
- Philadelphia Reads as: rivers and dense grid.
- Phoenix Reads as: desert valley grid.
- Pittsburgh Reads as: three rivers.
- Portland Reads as: river bridges.
- Sacramento Reads as: river capital grid.
- Salt Lake City Reads as: mountain basin.
- San Antonio Reads as: riverwalk core.
- San Diego Reads as: bay and peninsula.
- San Francisco Reads as: Bay, bridges, hills.
- San Jose Reads as: silicon valley basin.
- Seattle Reads as: water, downtown spine.
- St. Louis Reads as: arch and river.
- Tampa Reads as: bayfront city.
- Washington Reads as: mall and monuments.
Telling them apart
The hard part is rarely recognising that you are over United States — it is working out which of its cities you are over. Start with water and terrain, because those do not move: a coastal city cannot be confused with an inland one, and a city in a basin reads differently from a city on a plain.
Then use relative size. The game rates Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Washington as easy, which usually means a landmark or a coastline you already know. The expert-rated ones — Charlotte, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Louisville, Memphis, Orlando, Sacramento, San Antonio — are hard precisely because they lack a single unmistakable feature, so you are reading grid texture and building height instead.
Easily confused with
Other North America cities in the game, which share enough climate and building era to cost you a round.