Trailmarks

Trailmarks is a turn-based trivia and travel adventure in which you work as a fact-checker for a travel guide company. Starting in a new city with no money, you answer local trivia to earn the fare to your next destination, complete missions from Martha at headquarters and try to travel around the world and make it home before your vacation days run out. With no clock pushing your decisions, you choose how to spend each dollar and plan your route across an interactive 3D globe.

Travel and answer trivia

The globe contains 1,200 cities across every continent. You can travel by air, boat, bus or train; each option has different costs, speeds, mood effects and routes. A series of bus rides may cost less than a direct flight, while coastal boat routes can create unexpected opportunities and lift your mood.

Each city offers topics made up of ten True/False questions written specifically for that location. The game contains more than 120,000 questions, covering subjects such as Los Angeles taco truck culture, Japanese eSports leagues, volcanic research in Cameroon and Soviet-era metro architecture. Correct answers earn money and help maintain your spirits; poor answers reduce both your wallet and mood. Knowledge is what brings in the payouts that fund your journey, though you can guess your way through a topic.

Manage money and mood

Traveling too hard lowers your mood, and failing quizzes lowers it faster. If it bottoms out, you have to open the Trailmarks guidebook for a pick-me-up, triggering a random event that may help or make things worse. Events include having tea with a local pearl fisherman, getting tricked at a market, being invited to a wedding or having your phone stolen.

You can earn money through quizzes and trade. Buy regional goods in one city and sell them where they are valued, or consume them to improve your mood. Your cargo space holds only three items, so each one takes up a valuable slot. Meanwhile, your vacation days keep counting down as you work to circumnavigate the planet.

Earn access to countries

Most countries begin locked. Ten handlers—eccentric contacts with different areas of expertise—control access to the map. Professor Okafor covers history, language and science; Chef Isabella knows everything edible; and DARWIN-7, an AI, cares only about the natural world. Proving yourself in their quizzes raises your standing with them, and that standing earns visas to new countries.

Some countries require approval from one handler, while others demand high standing with several. The hardest destinations open only after you impress the right combination, so you can focus on building trust with a few handlers or spread your efforts across the network.

Five ways to travel

The globe stays the same, but each of the five traveller types starts in a different home city, has different objectives and relies on different handlers. The route that works for one may put another at risk.

• The Travel Writer: seeks stories from the world's most volatile hotspots.
• The Influencer: pursues content at bucket-list destinations.
• The Secret Agent: carries out a quieter operation.
• The Shopper: depends on the trading economy.
• The Young Adventurer: follows a quest across the Pacific.

Each traveller type has unique win conditions, and all must complete their job: circumnavigate the planet and return home before vacation time runs out. Martha also assigns missions along the way, such as delivering an interesting USB drive in Moscow, fact-checking a missile base or returning stolen artifacts.