For starters, the following lists and information will come in handy:
Island countries in Europe (5): ⟶ Iceland, Ireland, United Kingdom, Malta, Cyprus
Countries of the former Yugoslavia (7): ⟶ Montenegro, Kosovo, Serbia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Countries with ‘B’ Capitals (7): ⟶ Hungary, Slovakia, Switzerland, Germany, Serbia, Belgium, Romania
Countries starting with letter ‘B’ (4): ⟶ Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Nordic countries (5): ⟶ Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland • Countries bordering Germany (9): ⟶ Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, Austria, Czechia, Poland, Denmark
Countries containing the Alps (8): ⟶ France, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Germany, Austria, Slovenia
Countries on the Barents Sea (2): ⟶ Russia, Norway
Countries containing the Rhine River (6): ⟶ Switzerland, France, Liechtenstein, Austria, Netherlands, Germany
Former Soviet countries in Europe (7): ⟶ Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia
Black Sea countries in Europe (5): ⟶ Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey
The 5 most populous countries in Europe according to CIA World FactBook 1) Russia, 2) Germany, 3) Turkey, 4) France, 5) UK.
1. (gets A2). The first clue tells us that A2 must be a former Yugoslav country that starts with ‘B’…. Therefore, A2 must be BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA.
2. (gets B2). We know that B2 must start with ‘B’, and A2’s Clue tells us that B2 must also border Germany….So B2 must be BELGIUM.
3. (gets D1). B2’s Clue says that D1 is the UNITED KINGDOM. 4. (gets A1). From Clues E3/A2/B2, we know that A1 is a former Yugoslav country whose capital starts with ‘B’. There is only 1 such country.….A1 must be SERBIA.
**As you continue, keep in mind D1’s Clue: the 5 island countries in Europe are connected diagonally in a chain. As you advance through the quiz, you’ll be able to narrow down what boxes must be islands .**
**From the clues we have, we can determine 3 more countries (C2,C3,D2).
–We know that C2 and C3 are NOT landlocked.
–We know that C2 and D2 must be the two remaining ‘B’ countries (Bulgaria and Belarus).
–We know that C3 must have a ‘B’ capital and cannot start with the letter ‘R’.
5a. (gets C3). Among the seven countries having a ‘B’ capital, only Romania (Bucharest) and Germany (Berlin) are not landlocked. A1’s Clue tells us that C3 cannot start with ‘R’, ruling out Romania….Therefore C3 must be GERMANY.
5b. (gets C2) The remaining ‘B’ countries are Bulgaria and Belarus. From A1’s clue, C2 cannot be landlocked, ruling out Belarus…..C2 must be BULGARIA.
5c. (gets D2). The only remaining ‘B’ country is Belarus and we know D2 must start with ‘B’…..D2 is BELARUS.
**We now know that E2 and D3 must be island nations. How? The 5 island countries must form a diagonally-connected chain. D1 is an island country (the UK). E2 is the only unfilled diagonal from D1…and D3 is the only available diagonal from E2.**
We now have enough information to get E5, A5, A4, and B5.
6a. (gets E5) From C2’s Clue, the Alps must pass through E5. We already know E5’s capital starts with ‘B’. The 4 remaining countries with ‘B’ capitals are Slovakia, Switzerland, Romania, and Hungary. Of those, only Switzerland contains the Alps mountain range…..E5 must be SWITZERLAND.
6b. (gets A5). A5 is a former Yugoslav country that contains the Alps. There is only 1 such country…..A5 is SLOVENIA.
6c. (gets A4) From C3’s Clue, A4 must start with ‘C’. The only former Yugoslav country starting with ‘C’ is Croatia……A4 must be CROATIA. 6d. (gets B5) From C3’s Clue, B5 starts with ‘C’. The only ‘C’ country bordering Germany is Czechia. Therefore B5 must be CZECHIA.
We can now get A3 and D4.
7. (gets A3). A3 must be a former Yugoslav country but cannot be landlocked (A5’s Clue). We’ve already used Croatia, Slovenia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The only remaining non-landlocked Yugoslav country is Montenegro….A3 must be MONTENEGRO.
8. (gets D4). The only remaining countries with ‘B’ capitals are Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary. D2’s Clue tells us that D4 is landlocked, ruling out Romania. A4’s Clue eliminates Slovakia….Therefore D4 must be HUNGARY.
**To make the diagonally-connected island chain work, we know that either C4 or E4 must be an island country, but don’t yet know which…And since B3 borders Germany and is thus on land, the last island country in the chain must be D5.**
9. (gets B4).
—From D4’s Clue, we know that B4, C4, and E4 must be Nordic countries.
—B4 must border Germany. Denmark is the only Nordic country bordering Germany…..So B4 must be Denmark.
10. (gets E4).
—From B4’s clue, we know that Row E contains Russia and Norway (the Barents Sea countries). Russia is already in E3.
—For Norway, we can rule out E1 (must contain the Alps) and E2 (an island nation), leaving only E4…..E4 is NORWAY.
**Now that we’ve filled E4, we know that C4 must be an island country (to make the diagonally-connected chain possible).**
11. (gets C4). C4 must be a Nordic country that is also an island nation. There is only 1 such country.….C4 must be ICELAND
**Now we can figure out the remaining island countries. The 3 remaining island nations are Cyprus, Malta, and Ireland. They must go in E2, D3, and D5.
12. (gets D3). C4’s Clue tells us that Malta cannot be in D5 or E2. So it must be in D3……D3 is MALTA.
13. (gets D5). The only unfilled country in row D is D5. We know that D5 must be an island nation. D3’s Clue tells us that D5 borders another country in the row. The only country meeting both criteria is Ireland, because it borders D1 (the UK) and it’s an island nation….D5 must be IRELAND.
14. (gets E2). The only remaining island nation is Cyprus….So E2 must be CYPRUS.
15. (gets B3).
—We know B3 must border Germany and can’t be landlocked. The 5 possibilities are France, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Poland.
—Belgium and Denmark are already used.
—From E2’s Clue, the Rhine does NOT pass through B3, ruling out France and the Netherlands.
—By elimination, that leaves Poland…..B3 must be POLAND.
16. (gets E1).
—The 4 most populous countries in Europe are 1) Russia, 2) Germany, 3) Turkey, and 4) France.
—From B3’s Clue, Russia and France need to be in the same row. Russia is in E3, and so France must be in Row E.
—The only unfilled country in row E is E1.
—France also fits the E1 condition of containing the Alps mountain range…..E1 must be FRANCE.
17. (gets B1).
—B1 must border Germany. The only 2 remaining possible countries are Luxembourg and Austria (all others bordering Germany have been used). —From E1’s Clue, B1 comes alphabetically before Liechtenstein, ruling out Luxembourg…..B1 must be AUSTRIA
18. (gets C5).
—Going back to E4’s Clue, we know Column 5 must contain a Black Sea country.
—Russia and Bulgaria are already used.
—D5’s Clue eliminated Ukraine.
—Now, B1’s Clue eliminates Turkey as possibility, which leaves Romania…..C5 must be ROMANIA
19. (gets C1).
—From A3’s Clue, we know there must be a diagonally-connected chain of 3 former Soviet countries in Europe. The only possibility is E3 (Russia), Belarus (D2) and the unfilled country in C1.
—So, C1 must be a former Soviet country.
—Ukraine and Moldova were ruled out by D5’s Clue. The remaining options are the 3 Baltic countries (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia).
—Now from C5’s Clue, we know that C1 cannot border Belarus. Lithuania and Latvia both border Belarus, leaving Estonia as the only possibility…..C1 must be ESTONIA.
Congratulations— you finished!