Player guide
How to play Hople.
Connect the displayed start and destination capitals with the fewest possible land-border moves. You choose capitals, but every move is checked using the border relationship between their countries.
1. Read the endpoints
The two large capital cards are fixed. Your submitted route must begin with the capital on the left and finish with the capital on the right. Hople automatically includes both endpoints, so you only need to add the intermediate capitals.
2. Add intermediate capitals
Type a capital or country in the search field and select a result from the autocomplete list. The selected capital is inserted before the destination. Use Undo to remove the latest choice, Clear to remove all intermediate choices, or the remove button beside an individual step.
3. Check every border hop
Every consecutive pair must represent countries with a shared land border. Sea crossings, short flight distances and membership in the same region do not count. Overseas-territory connections may be excluded where they would produce unintuitive routes for the capital-to-capital game.
New Delhi → Naypyidaw → Bangkok
- New Delhi to Naypyidaw is valid because India borders Myanmar.
- Naypyidaw to Bangkok is valid because Myanmar borders Thailand.
- The route contains two moves: one for each border hop.
4. Submit once
When the route is ready, choose Submit final route. Hople validates the order, identifies the first invalid leg if one exists, compares your move count with the stored shortest path and saves the result. A browser identity receives one submitted attempt for each daily puzzle.
Scoring
A valid route using the same number of moves as the shortest path earns 100%. A longer valid route receives a proportional score based on optimal moves divided by submitted moves. Invalid routes score zero. Each requested hint subtracts five percentage points, up to the configured hint limit.
Distance in kilometres is shown after submission for context, but it does not affect whether a route is valid or optimal. Hople optimises the number of borders crossed, not physical distance travelled.
Hints and the archive
Show neighbours lists capitals whose countries share a land border with your current country. A hint can unblock a route, but the score penalty preserves the challenge. The archive lets you play recent puzzles; after a puzzle has been submitted, its stored optimal route is available for review.
Frequently asked questions
Why is a nearby capital not a valid move?
Nearby cities may be separated by water or by another country. Only an accepted shared land border creates a move.
Why does my route have more moves than expected?
A move is counted for every transition between consecutive capitals, including the fixed start and destination.
Can I replay today's puzzle?
You can review the saved outcome, but only the first submitted attempt is recorded for the browser identity.