Accessibility

We want Geography Quiz Lab to be usable by as many people as possible, including people who don't use a mouse, people who use a screen reader, people with low vision and people who find small targets hard to click. This page says what we have done, what still falls short, and how to tell us about problems.

Playing with a keyboard

Every quiz works from the keyboard. Press Tab to move focus onto the map, use the arrow keys to move from place to place, and press Enter to choose one. In Choice mode the number keys 1 to 4 pick an answer. Buttons such as Start, Give up and Print are reachable with Tab, and focus is shown with a visible outline so you can see where you are.

If a particular quiz doesn't respond as you expect from the keyboard, please tell us which one and what you were trying to do.

Screen readers

Each prompt and each result is announced through a live region, so a screen reader reads out the place you are being asked for and if your answer was right. Type and Choice modes let you answer in text, which makes them the most practical way to play without looking at the map. Every quiz page also lists the full set of places, with capitals, in an ordinary table below the quiz.

Color, zoom and motion

  • Right and wrong answers are never shown by color alone. Colors are paired with patterns or text labels, so the results can be read without telling red from green.
  • The map has zoom buttons and supports pinch zoom, which helps with small countries and island groups. The site also follows your browser's zoom and text size settings.
  • Type mode is there as an alternative to precise clicking: you type the name instead of hitting a small shape on the map.
  • If your device is set to reduce motion, the site keeps animation to a minimum.

Printables

The printable maps come in PDF and PNG, so you can print them at whatever size suits you or enlarge them on screen.

What we are still working on

  • Finding a place on the map is a visual task by nature. For people who can't see the map, Type and Choice modes are the accessible alternative, but they are not the same experience as Click mode.
  • Very small countries and islands are hard to hit on a phone screen even with zoom. They are easier on a desktop or tablet, or in Type mode.
  • We have not had the site formally audited against accessibility standards.

Tell us about a problem

If something on the site gets in your way, email hello@geographyquizlab.com or use the contact page. Tell us the page, the device and browser you were using, and any assistive technology involved. We read every report and will fix what we can.