US State Capitals Game

This state capitals game helps fourth and fifth graders learn the capital city of all 50 US states by playing: race cars, pop balloons, flip memory cards or sprint through true and false sentences. Each question names a state, such as Ohio or Oregon, and asks for its capital from four choices, so children practice the 50 states and capitals as facts they can recall. It is free, needs no sign-up, works on phones and tablets, and comes with a printable list of the states and capitals and a blank quiz.

State capitals game: see how it plays

The state capitals game below has four modes, and every question asks for the capital of one US state. The first printable lists all 50 states with their capitals, the second is a blank quiz to fill in from memory, and the pictures show Answer Race and Memory Match on this page.

How the state capitals game works

• Answer Race: every right answer moves your car forward, and you race three computer cars to the finish flag. The first to 15 wins, and wrong taps cost time, not places.
• Balloon Pop: answers float up on balloons, and you pop the right one before it drifts off the top. Each question names a state, such as “Capital of Illinois?”, and the balloons show four real capital cities, so you need to know the right one. The game speeds up as your score climbs, and three misses ends the round.
• Memory Match: twelve face-down cards hide six state questions and their six answers. Flip two at a time and match each one to its answer in as few moves as you can.
• True or False: sixty seconds on the clock. Decide whether each sentence, such as Capital of Texas = Austin, is right or wrong. A streak of five or more scores double.

50 states and capitals game: the full list

All 50 states are in the game, and each has one capital. The wrong choices are always the capitals of other states, so a capital that sounds right is not enough: you need to know which state it belongs to. Here is the complete list in alphabetical order, in two columns of 25:

US capitals quiz: learn the 50 state capitals by region

A state capitals quiz for kids works best one region at a time. Learning all 50 at once is hard, but learning one region at a time is fair. The US Census Bureau groups the states into four regions, and you can take one a week:

State capitals game facts: capitals that are not the biggest city

Many children guess the largest city in the state, and in 15 well-known cases that is wrong. A capital is chosen for history or for its central place, and not for its size. These are the states where the biggest city is something else:

It also works the other way round: Phoenix, Denver, Atlanta, Boston, Honolulu, Boise and Indianapolis are both the capital and the biggest city of their states. Wikipedia’s list of capitals in the United States has the population and founding date of each.

State capitals quiz for kids: capitals named after people

A name that sounds like a person is easier to remember, and a story helps even more. These capitals are named after real people:

Learn state capitals by first letter

Another way to learn state capitals is by the first letter of the capital. C and S each start six capitals, which is where children mix up Springfield, Salem, Santa Fe, Sacramento and Salt Lake City, or Columbus, Columbia, Concord and Charleston. Put the six S capitals on one card and the six C capitals on another, and the confusion disappears.

Easy mix-ups in the state capitals game and how to avoid them

• Columbus, Columbia and Charleston: Columbus is Ohio’s capital, Columbia is South Carolina’s, and Charleston is West Virginia’s.
• Saint Paul and Minneapolis: the capital of Minnesota is Saint Paul, the twin city next to Minneapolis.
• Pierre: it is pronounced “peer” and is the capital of South Dakota.
• Des Moines: say “duh MOYN”; it is the capital of Iowa.
• Boise: say “BOY-see”; it is the capital of Idaho.
• Juneau: it is the capital of Alaska, though it cannot be reached by road from the rest of the state.

50 states and capitals list printable and state capitals quiz printable

Print the 50 states and capitals list printable first and read it aloud, then print the state capitals quiz printable and fill in the capitals from memory, using the list to check. Doing the quiz on paper and the state capitals game on screen gives two kinds of practice with the same facts. Keep both pages in a folder, and repeat the quiz every week to see the score go up.

US state capitals game online on any device

The US state capitals game online runs in any modern browser, so it works on a classroom laptop, a tablet or a phone with no download. Children can play a short state capitals game on the way to school, and teachers can run Answer Race on a shared screen for a class challenge.

Where learning state capitals fits at school

US states and capitals are usually taught in the fourth or fifth grade as part of geography and social studies, and the exact standards depend on each state. A common pattern for a state capitals game or quiz is to learn the home state first, then its neighbors, then the regions. Children who finish the 50 can use the quiz sheet to test themselves with the capitals covered. For related geography practice, try the countries hangman game, and see the states and capitals worksheets for map practice.

State capitals game: frequently asked questions

What grade is the state capitals game for?

Grades 4 and 5, usually ages 9 to 11, though younger children can play the state capitals game with a map in front of them.

Does the state capitals game include all 50 states?

Yes. The state capitals game includes all 50 states and each question has one right capital and three capitals from other states as wrong choices.

What is the best way to learn the 50 states and capitals?

Learn one region at a time, use a story or a mnemonic for each hard one, and test yourself with the blank quiz sheet. A few minutes a day beats a long session.

Is Washington, D.C. a state capital?

It is the capital of the whole country but not of any state, so it is not in the game.

Is the state capitals game free, and do kids need an account?

Yes, it is free, and no account is needed. Best scores are saved only in the browser on this device.

Does it work on phones and tablets?

Yes. Every game is built for touch first and also works with a mouse on a computer.

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