Olney resident Kevin Klein has created a new online geography game that challenges players to determine just how well they know the community’s roads, landmarks and hidden corners.
“Where In Olney?” was created by Klein, who grew up in the area and returned in 2021 after spending approximately a decade living in other parts of the country. The free game can be played at whereinolney.com.
Klein moved to Olney in 1994 while in second grade and describes himself as a former Greenwood Gator, Rosa Parks Dolphin, Sherwood Warrior and Olney Pirate. Returning as an adult gave him a renewed appreciation for the community that shaped his formative years.
The idea began while Klein was riding his bicycle and taking photographs of obscure locations around Olney. He would send the pictures to a friend with the question, “Where in Olney am I?” and see whether the friend could identify the location.
The online geography game GeoGuessr later showed him how that same experience could be turned into a game for the entire community. Each day, “Where In Olney?” randomly selects five locations from the greater Olney area. Players may encounter familiar landmarks and major thoroughfares or considerably tougher stretches of backroad.
For each round, players are shown a 360-degree Google Street View image and a map of the area. They place a pin on the map where they believe the image was taken and receive points based on the accuracy of their guess. A perfect guess is worth 1,000 points, with 5,000 total points available each day.
The game has already attracted hundreds of players per day, according to Klein, along with plenty of positive feedback from residents. “It’s one of those things where people don’t know they want it until it’s given to them,” Klein said. “In this case, I would define ‘it’ as a digital space to celebrate the physical spaces that the community all use together.”
The game also offers an opportunity to highlight the area’s history. Brookeville temporarily served as the nation’s capital when President James Madison sought refuge there following the burning of Washington in 1814, while Sandy Spring played an important role in the Underground Railroad. The former community of Triadelphia now sits beneath the waters of the Triadelphia Reservoir.
Local history incorporated into the game also includes Thomas Moore, a Brookeville farmer credited with developing an early portable refrigerator in 1803 to keep butter cool while transporting it to Georgetown.
In introducing the game, Klein compared the area to the Shire from J.R.R. Tolkien’s works. He believes that connection comes partly from his nostalgia for growing up in Olney during the 1990s and early 2000s, as well as the community’s small-town and agricultural character.
The game already includes leaderboards and individual player profiles that track statistics. Klein plans to continue adding gameplay features as participation grows and he receives more feedback from players. He is also interested in partnering with local businesses to offer prizes such as gift cards, coffee, meals and other items that encourage players to visit businesses within the community.
“It’s a game for the community, about the community, and I think the small businesses within the community have a vital role to play in keeping people coming back to play,” Klein said. Ultimately, Klein hopes the game will give residents a stronger connection to the place they call home while encouraging them to notice details they may otherwise overlook.
“Loving where you live is a great feeling, but in order to get there sometimes you need to slow down and take a closer look at your setting,” Klein said. “If the game can encourage people to take a beat and appreciate the shapes of the fields, the bends in the roads, the slope of the hills, then I think it’s having a positive impact on residents, in addition to just having a bit of fun.”
