A new SpinQuest mini-game uses your real location and real astronomy to spin up constellations actually overhead tonight — then helps you find them by pointing your phone at the sky.
Most SpinQuest games send you off to try something new. This one sends you outside to look up. Galaxy Explorer Wheel is our newest mini-game, and it is the first one built entirely around real astronomy: it uses your actual location on Earth to calculate which constellations are genuinely above your horizon right now, spins you to one, and challenges you (and whoever you are playing with) to go find it in the sky.
When you start a game, Galaxy Explorer Wheel asks for your location — either with one tap using your device's GPS, or by searching for your city if you'd rather not share it. From there, it runs real spherical astronomy math (the same kind used in planetarium software) to work out the altitude and direction of dozens of constellations from where you're standing, factoring in your latitude, longitude, and the current sidereal time. Anything currently below the horizon gets filtered out, and the wheel is built only from what would genuinely be visible on a clear night from your spot on the planet.
No two players in two different cities will see the same wheel, because no two players are looking at the same sky.
Spin, and the wheel lands on a real constellation — Orion, Cassiopeia, the Southern Cross, whatever's actually up there for you. You get a quick, real fact about it (its brightest star, a bit of the myth behind it) and a challenge: step outside, look up, and try to spot it.
Found it? That's 2 points. Can't find it? The other players get a shot to steal it for 1 point each if they can spot it instead. And if nobody can find it, there's a safety net.
This is the feature we're most excited about. Tap "Locate It For Me" and your phone's compass takes over — a live on-screen arrow turns left or right as you rotate, guiding you until you're facing the exact direction the constellation actually sits, plus a plain-language cue for how high to look ("almost straight up," "about halfway up the sky," "low, near the horizon"). It's a mini AR compass built entirely from the same real math driving the wheel, not a guess.
No compass sensor on your device? You'll still get the direction as a plain compass heading (like "look northeast") and the same altitude guidance, no live arrow required.
The game runs under a starfield background by default, and — like every other SpinQuest game — admins can fully customize its background and wheel skin from Admin → Games/Themes, exactly the same way you'd theme Wheel of Clues or Wizard Says.
Grab a friend, step outside (or just crack a window), and see what's really up there tonight. Spin the Galaxy Explorer Wheel on SpinQuest and find out what the sky above you is hiding. 🔭✨