#1 Hit Quizzes of 2025 (pt. 1)

Hey quiz takers! It's that time of year: year-end data! The Countries of the World quiz is truly quizdom’s All I Want For Christmas is You, since it always does well every year. But what other quizzes topped the leaderboard? What are the quizzes that found their way into our curious little hearts for a brief moment? Hold onto your hats, quizzy-cakes, it’s time for:

The #1 hit quizzes of 2025!

Note: An unprecedented number of user quizzes topped the charts. This had to broken into two blogs! Also, people complained about the AI thumbnail last year, so I made my own ugly thumbnail. Hope you're happy.

Takes: 44,511

Date: February 5, 2025

Maker: Quizmaster

Genre: Meisterwerk

Description: You know the quiz. Countries of the world. You probably have aced this one and have tried to push your time as low as possible. If you haven't played it... how're you here? Go learn all the countries. Interestingly, on February 27, the quiz got about twice its normal amount of takes. Maybe some geography YouTuber released a video that day!

Note: This is an increase of almost 20,000 from last year's 25,266 high score on November 21! Bananas!

Description: Well that didn't take long. Just three days into the new year and we see a quiz beat the Countries of the World quiz, and by quite a margin! Selecting all the flags of the countries of Europe is pretty accessible for most JetPunk users. Most... but this quiz certainly is difficult for users who suffer from flag blindness. I've heard some users have never been able to actually score a full 45/45. I have a feeling that this is the first of many sudden death quizzes that will top the leaderboard this year.

Description: Another solid sudden death entry! This is a quintessential quiz that simply HAD to be made. It's a little hard to keep track of which countries crossed the threshold recently, and it'll likely need updating a couple times in the coming decade. On the replay for this blog, I just couldn't decide between Iran, Egypt, and Vietnam. I managed to pick the wrong one first. Solid. This quiz will be a staple for years to come, and it certainly earned its spot atop the leaderboard.

Description: NEW QUIZ TYPE ALERT! For real, this is a great use of the new whammies format. This kind of quiz cannot work, obviously, if users can just spam answers. With whammies, though, the quiz works perfectly. Many of us probably relied on Wheel of Fortune to help us guess the most common letters, but it turns out that the Wheel lied to us. Ain't no "D" on the provided letters! Anyway, this is simple and fun. Well done! Hopefully this maverick user keeps making quizzes.

Description: Hey, another whammies quiz! Whammies are leading the charts so far this year! This is such a clever idea, and there easily could be some sequels to this one. Having all the answers as one-digit numbers allows users to easily answer these simple questions... except that making mistakes is punished. Having to only type one character to get the answer is very satisfying, and easy to get through in a very short amount of time. Again... this quiz is just so satisfying and all the hints are straightforward and fair. Excellent stuff!

Notes: This is the second whammies quiz to top the charts.

Description: Another sudden death quiz! Now it's a tie between whammies and sudden death quizzes. What an exciting race! This quiz has a fun little story over a basic vocabulary quiz. How many words mean happy? Well, most of the correct answers on this one. I mean, "content" is probably a stretch, and clearly the quiz maker needs to read comments more and take feedback. After taking this quiz and noticing the issues... I can't say I was overly jocund!

Note: This is the second sudden death quiz to top the chart.

Description: Good lord, this is an amazing quiz. Spinning the world to have a star randomly choose a selection of countries is an auspicious idea, and overtired has pulled it off superbly. This is my personal pick for the quiz of the year (LuckyCat, are you going to set up the Jeppies for the newsletter?). I cannot fathom the hours of work that went into this, or how on earth the map actually rotates. The CSS for this must be 20 pages long. In any case, so long as you’re lucky enough to get your first country, it’s a blast figuring out not only where you are in the world, or whether you’re upside down or something! What else can I say? Utterly fantastic.

Note: This is overtired’s second #1, and the first complex SVG to top the charts.

Description: He’s back! After a very successful 2024, jack541 continues the sudden death streak with the NATO phonetic alphabet. This is essentially a sudden-death, multiple-choice quiz, however! Only one answer is correct per line. This makes the quiz feel neat and organized, while also allowing most users to get a handful correct even if they’re not too familiar with the phonetic alphabet.

Note: This is the third Sudden Death quiz atop the charts.

Description: What kind of a sadist wants someone to run through 50 division calculations in one minute? Good lord. Oh wait, my elementary school teacher made me do that. Technically, this is a whammies quiz, since you type answers and lose lives. But at one life, this quiz is like a sudden death quiz. Good luck not making a single mistake…

Note: This is Dimby’s second time atop the leaderboard this year.

Whammies and Sudden Death are tied at 3!

Description: It's a 15-second sprint! Just like last year, we can expect to see many quizzes that are short on time. This is a very short time limit, so it likely got some of the most retakes of any of the quizzes so far! This one is pretty challenging, as it requires 160 alternated keystrokes in so little time.  On a desktop, it’s not so bad. On a mobile, it’s nigh impossible! Anyway, it’s classic button mashing fun.

Note: this is the first speedrun to hit #1 this year.

This quiz was originally published in 2014!

Description: Speed is the name of the game if you wanna kill moles. I believe this is a sudden death quiz with intricate CSS styling. Regardless how it’s done, it’s very impressive. And the moles are adorable. I almost feel bad bashing them over the head. With just 18 seconds on the clock, this one is pretty tough to get a perfect score if you get a difficult pattern. But the animation is so smooth and the moles are so cute I definitely don’t mind playing this half a dozen times to get a perfect score. I also noticed a curious glitch where the mole appears at the top of the screen by Jeppy… or maybe the moles are trying to take over and that’s why we’re whacking them!

Notes: this is Elboy’s second #1 hit this year.

Sudden Death pulls ahead 4-3 over whammies!

Description: Another quintessential sudden death quiz! This idea lends itself well to sudden death, and it’s a science quiz! We don’t get a lot of #1 hit science quizzes.

Note: This is LuckyCat’s first #1 ever! Congrats!!

Description: Good lord, 81k takes? This one was accomplished with some advanced SVG coding. It’s technically not a Sudden Death quiz, even if you lose as soon as you make a mistake. There is mercy, though… you can switch between US states. On the other hand, it seems the bravest JetPunkers do no-skip runs and go for the fastest times! So why did it get so many takes? Probably because the pins are so bloody merciless!!!

Note: This is the third quiz by Dimby to hit #1.

This quiz was the top quiz two days in a row.

Description: More flags! Again, a straightforward and clean idea creates a successful sudden death quiz. There aren’t too many picture-based sudden death quizzes either, so it makes sense that this one would do so well! Plus there are people who just don’t know the flags, and therefore has never gotten more than, say, 31/48 on this quiz.

Notes: This is overtired’s third time atop the leaderboard.

This is the first sequel to top the charts.

Description: A much tougher quiz than one might expect! Quite a few countries surprised me, and I’ve never actually cracked 14/19. I can see why this would get so many takes… it’s very tough to get it on the first go! The idea of taking a set of items or countries with an “either/or” variable is what the former is all about. Now I just have to remember what European countries are surprisingly illiberal.

Note: Sudden Death is way ahead. I am calling it for Sudden Death over whammies.

Description: Another great sudden death idea! I worry that these ideas will run out eventually, but users keep finding clean bimodal variables for countries! It’s also such an easy format to make, that newer quiz makers can easily try their hand at the format and have a chance for a big hit! I have a feeling LuckyCat will have a few more big hits coming up in this blog!

Note: This is LuckyCat’s second time atop the daily list.

Description: What a fun concept! Again, we see a sudden death quiz topping the charts, and it’s another geography one. Whether countries are larger than Texas is a unique take on landmass, so it doesn’t feel like just listing all the biggest countries. It’s easy to feel confident when you start… it’s always dicey with only a few countries are left!

Note: This is the seventh different user to top the charts with a Sudden Death quiz.

Description: Another excellent entry into the Flags Sudden Death series! While I don’t really know my flags all that well, island-country flags seem to just have a feeling of island-ness. I still haven’t aced this one, but maybe as more flag-based sudden death quizzes come out I’ll slowly learn all my flags.

Notes: This is LuckyCat’s third time topping the charts, and second time this April!

Description: Wow! Some quizzes use visuals in sudden death, but I’m amazed that the table for sudden death can be woven together to make a map of the world. What a fantastic looking quiz. Picking out countries who start with C isn’t too, too difficult, and I imagine many users can score full marks in just a few attempts. I wonder if Stewart has many sequels to this in the works. Europe or US States, perhaps?

Note: This is Stewart’s first #1 this year.

Description: Hey… is this just a normal quiz? No sudden death? No whammies? Hallelujah! It’s hard to come up with different things to say when every quiz to top the charts is suddenly sudden death! This is a good old fashioned speedrun, with the twist being that instead of testing typing speed, it’s just about how fast your brain can register what country is highlighted. This was great fun and very doable in a few attempts. And if all else fails, guess S.

Description: Who knows all the countries that still have monarchies? It turns out, not me! I maxed out at 13/20, and most users also struggled on this, too, as the average score is 45%. Fortunately, this quiz is here to help us poor slobs learn which countries enjoy the refinement of a monarchy system and which countries are unrefined. Magisterial quiz!

Description: What? Another pin things on a borderless map quiz? And it got 78,449 takes? Holy moly. This quiz creator better just make all the continents and quick! They’d have to be a fool not to strike while the iron is hot. There’s not much I need to add to the description here, aside from how microstates are death sentences. And early Luxembourg is impossible on no-skip runs.

Notes: This is the second time a sequel topped the charts.

This is the second time a quiz was #1 two days in a row.

Description: What a creative idea! Breaking down the countries of the world into their letters and then guessing which letter covers the most land area… genius! Allowing users who aren’t great at typing or users on mobile to get through a quiz by only typing a dozen characters is fantastic. I feel that the trend of starting letter quizzes will continue for a long time. Great quiz!

Note: This is TEDEX’s only featured quiz and it’s a #1 hit! Check out his other quizzes… maybe another hit is hiding in there!

Description: Well this was fun! Picking out which people are real and which ones are fictional feels a bit dicey when you know they became popcorn mascots or were characters in major motion pictures. Not much explanation is needed here… just take the quiz!

Description: Not long after a quiz where users name every European country by just its first letter, this quiz has the user naming every country in Europe by its first two letters! This quiz is older, though, and doesn’t require the user to go in a specific order. This quiz is very approachable for the average JetPunker, but also challenging enough that it takes a few attempts to get a perfect score—a perfect mix for speedrunning.

Notes: This is Jerry928’s second #1 hit of 2025.

This quiz was originally made in 2016!

Description: Clearly, sudden death quizzes are running away with the #1 hits in 2025. This is another great entry, and it has some awfully tricky traps! I know I took this quite a few times before getting a perfect score. Yeah, in hindsight I know about the North/South divide in African religions… but I am sure the confusion about WHERE that border is made this quiz get at least a couple thousand extra takes!!

Notes: This is Nickelz’ second #1 hit of 2025.

Description: Does this count as two sudden death quizzes? It’s a fun concept and all the people are relatively well known for either untimely deaths or for living a very long time. The only note… Dick Van Dyke should be added! He turned 100! Anyway, I love a quiz with a good sense of humour, and this quiz delivers on that front in graves.

Notes: This is overtired’s fourth time atop the charts this year!

This was the NINTH quiz in May to beat the Countries of the World quiz!

For the ten day period from May 19 – May 28, user quizzes topped Countries of the World EIGHT days.

Description: After an amazing run by the users, the Quizmaster took back the #1 spot for two weeks. This quiz did fantastic for a time when students were either done school or wrapping up the year. It’s just hard enough to keep you coming back, but also fair in that it isn’t loaded with overly obscure languages most people wouldn’t know.

Notes: SAcosta16 only has one featured quiz, and only seven total quizzes! That feature % is elite!

Description: NEW FORMAT ALERT!!! This is the first “Click the Map” quiz to hit the front page, and it did very well! It’s merely clicking the American states on the map, and of course it’s such a clean and straightforward idea that it was bound to do well. More excitingly, the new format should shake things up! How many click-the-map quizzes will hit #1 this year?

Notes: This is Quipmaster’s second quiz to beat Countries of the World.

Description: Back to sudden death! Another great, straightforward idea. I’m sure somewhere in Europe people complained that this was too American-centric, but I found that I knew 6 for sure and then only had a few coin flips. Solid idea, solid quiz.

Notes: This is jbro’s only feature as of 2025! Check out his 800 quizzes for more hidden gems!

On another note, if my counting is accurate, this is the 29th quiz to beat Countries of the World! Last year, CotW was beaten 29 times TOTAL. In 2025, we have hit that mark by June!

Description: Fantasic! I must say, image-based sudden death quizzes are so much more interesting than a text one (at least more interesting to look at). This quiz is great for JetPunk regulars because we’ve all spent time looking at presidents trying to ace the name the presidents quiz. The easiest thing here is we merely need to recognize their portrait!

Notes: This is overtired’s FIFTH time atop the charts!

Description: What a fun idea. The correct answers are mixed with a good combination of humorous distractors and tricky ones! Getting these all right is well outside my wheelhouse, but I was very happy to learn about Pope Hilarius.

Description: Wow, what a great quiz! And I assume this required a little bit of scripting in the SVG. Going from country to country was quite a bit of fun, and one could actually just rest their mouse on countries without too much penalty! Ecuador or Colombia? Doesn’t matter, just hover your mouse over it. It’s also a fairly short quiz, so it’s welcoming even for those of us with flag blindness!

Description: This is quite a bit of fun! Only one minute to answer 20 fairly easy questions! I believe there are 199 different questions that are randomly selected, so it's fun to play this through multiple times. Of course, there's the issue that you will see repeats fairly quickly, but most of the questions are so easy anyways that it doesn't matter. The most controversial question is, I feel, "Letter which usually comes after Q". Those of us that know the alphabet are at a bit of a disadvantage, since the answer is NOT "R". Shocking, I know. This quiz maker might need to make a few more quizzes before they truly master the level of quality JetPunk is known for. ;)

Notes: This is Quarkmister's third quiz to beat the COTW quiz this year!

Description: Oh dear... Roman Emperors sudden death? Oof, that's hard for anyone who hasn't studied ancient Romans for years. Of course there are some obvious red herrings that make things a bit easier, but I still haven't aced this quiz. Honestly, many of these Roman names all sound the same to me. If I didn't fall at Scipio, I'm sure I would have picked Lucretius (good pull on the Epicurean philosopher!). Anyway, this is the kind of topic that sudden death quizzes were made for!

Notes: This quizmaker, lukeschnieder, made their first quiz on June 23, 2025... THIS QUIZ. Yes, It appears as though the first quiz lukeschnieder ever made was featured. They have just 7 total quizzes as of this blog. Here's hoping we see more features to come!

Description: Wow, this quiz about the Roman Empire's holdings came out just two days after the one about the Roman emperors! Is July Roman Empire month or something? I found this pretty easy to score 4 points on, but boy oh boy does it come down to knowing the exact borders of the Roman Empire to get a full score. Cities that aren't really that far apart in the same country might be one of each. So it's easy to just zip around the Mediterranean and then hope for the best on the rest of the quiz. After multiple attempts, I still have always missed at least one! That is what makes a good Sudden Death quiz, after all!

Notes: This is Quincemuncher's fourth time beating the Countries of the World Quiz!

Description: What a great quiz. What makes this quiz great in my book is that I DID NOT GET 100% my first attempt! That's because Jacktheguy snuck in a whole bunch of extremely sneak fake answers that could trip up people who tried to zip through this thinking it'd be easy. Scarlet Wizard!? Oh, you sneaky Pete!!! Suffice to say, even if you go through slowly, it's easy to chuckle at all the great fake answers in this one. Well done!

Description: Another great idea for a sudden death quiz. This kind of topic might be my favourite... something that is overly broad that has extremely easy and obvious answers yet also has a few more jargony answers that the average 12-year old wouldn't know. Having "Pancreas" on the same quiz as "Plectrum" and "Philtrum" is just amazing. The quiz is not too hard and worth taking multiple times to get a full score... the perfect combination for maximizing takes.

Notes: This is overtired's SIXTH time beating the Countries of the World quiz this year!

Description: Map Hunter - World Cities dazzles, challenges, and endeavours quiz takers to learn the majesty of all world cities--from the cities of China that remain obscure to the Western audiences of JetPunk, to the well-known but not easily pinpointed, to the cities that should guarantee full marks. The gimmick in this quiz is that every city pin can give up to 4 points, and the farther away the user is, the fewer points they receive. It's a novel concept to JetPunk, but I can't help but feel that there is some other geography site that does something kinda like this. Anyway, I hear there was a glitch in this quiz and it needs to be fixed, so the quizmaker better get on that and not spend their time writing blogs or anything.

Notes: This is Dimby's fifth quiz to beat the Countries of the World quiz.

Description: Finally! Two quizzes in a row that aren't Sudden Death! Hallelujah! Also... a multiple choice quiz at the #1 spot is something of a rarity, so this must be something pretty special. Really, it's a great concept that's not too hard for JetPunk users. It's multiple choice questions where countries have similar sounds or spellings. It's easy to compare Austria and Australia... questions about DR Congo versus Rep Congo might be a bit trickier!

Notes: This is Djinsasa's only featured quiz, and he hasn't updated any quizzes since 2024. Maybe he'll start up again after having a hit quiz?