European Union game: map, euro, Schengen and institutions
A geography game where everything happens on the map of Europe. You are asked for a country, by name or by capital, and you tap it; in other rounds six countries are marked and you colour those in the European Union, using the euro or in the Schengen area, with their traps: Norway and Switzerland are not in the EU, Ireland is not in Schengen and Poland has no euro. On higher levels, each country goes to the year it joined, each institution is matched with what it does and, on a zoomed map, placed in its city: Brussels, Strasbourg, Luxembourg or Frankfurt. Data as of October 2026: 27 members and 21 using the euro.
Geography · Secondary, Sixth form
Norway and Switzerland are in Schengen but not in the EU; Denmark and Sweden are in the EU but do not use the euro; Ireland has the euro but not Schengen. The «which of these is not…» questions make you separate the three circles, which is exactly what gets mixed up in exams.
The six founders of 1957, the first enlargement in 1973, Spain and Portugal in 1986, the big eastward enlargement of 2004 and the United Kingdom leaving in 2020. Every explanation recalls who joined with whom, so the dates are learnt in groups rather than one by one.
The Commission proposes laws, and Parliament and the Council of the EU pass them; the European Council brings together heads of government and must not be confused with the Council of the EU. The seats (Brussels, Strasbourg, Luxembourg and Frankfurt) round off the institutions.
"Czechia, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia are marked, to colour those using the euro. The student colours all six because they are all in the EU, and the game flags Czechia and Hungary: they are members but keep their own currency."
Prefer to learn without screens? Try this analogue version:
Draw three overlapping circles and label them «EU», «euro» and «Schengen».
Place Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Norway, Switzerland, Poland, Croatia and Cyprus inside them.
Find a country that is in Schengen but not in the EU, and an EU country that is in neither of the other two.
Check with the game: when you answer, the map shows who is a member.
If you like Europe of 27, these activities work similar skills:
More practice on · Geography
The European Union
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