The fog of war app for cycling.Ride to reveal the map.

What is a fog of war app?

Fog of war comes from strategy games like Age of Empires or Civilization: everything you haven't explored yet is hidden. A fog of war app brings that mechanic into real life. It lays fog over a real map and uses your phone's GPS to clear it wherever you actually go.

Most fog of war apps were built for walking and travel. They're nice travel diaries, but on a bike they feel slow. You clear a thin line of streets, there's no live feedback while you ride, and nothing tells you where the next gap is.

Why fog of war works so well on a bike

A walk clears a few streets. A two-hour ride clears a whole district. That range is why cyclists turn fog of war into a habit:

• It gives you a reason to turn left. You've ridden the same five loops for years. The fog shows you exactly where you haven't been, and how close it is.
• Short rides still count. No training plan, no segment to beat. A 30-minute detour into an unknown neighbourhood is a win.
• Your home area becomes new again. Most riders find corners a few kilometres from their door that they've never seen.
• It's visible progress. Fitness numbers go up and down. Revealed territory only grows.

How GRYDX works

1. Ride. Tap start, lock your phone, put it in your pocket. GRYDX records in the background.
2. Reveal. Every tile you cross lights up the moment you enter it, with a haptic tick. You feel the fog breaking without looking at the screen.
3. Keep. Revealed tiles never fade. After the ride you get your territory, XP and a shareable map card of exactly what you uncovered.

On top of that, GRYDX is a game that keeps going between rides:

• Two maps. Your all-time map never resets. A season map starts fogged again each season, so everyone races on level ground.
• Crews. Up to 30 riders share one map, each in their own colour. Split up the district and close the gaps together.
• Quests, XP and coins. Season quests like "reveal 40 new tiles in your district" or "cross the river into a new district".
• Chests and bike parts. Found on the map, earned from quests or bought with coins. Every part lands in your garage, where you build your bike.
• GPX import. Bring your old rides and your history clears the fog on day one.

Fog of war vs. tile hunting

Cyclists often know the same idea under a different name: tile hunting. The map is split into a grid of squares, and you collect a square by riding through it. Tools like VeloViewer, Statshunters and Squadrats track this from your Strava activities.

The difference is mostly about the feeling. Tile hunting is a numbers game, played after the ride on a website. Fog of war is visual: you see the world open up. GRYDX brings both together. You get a real tile grid you can hunt, revealed live while you ride, plus the visual satisfaction of clearing fog.

What to look for in a fog of war app for cycling

Whichever app you pick, these are the things that matter on a bike:

• Live reveal while riding. If the map only updates after a sync, you lose the best moment.
• Background recording. You should be able to lock the phone and forget about it.
• No middleman. Many tile tools only work through Strava. That means sync delays and an extra account.
• Import of old rides. GPX import means your years of riding count from day one.
• Works everywhere. The grid should cover the whole planet, not just a few cities.
• A reason to come back. Once your home area is cleared, you want seasons, quests or friends to keep it interesting.
• Clear privacy rules. Location data is personal. Check that the app doesn't sell it.

Other fog of war and tile apps

To be fair, GRYDX isn't the only option. Here is where the others fit:

• Fog of World, FogMap, FOWIRL: general fog of war apps for walking and travel. Good as a lifelong travel map, but not built around cycling.
• Squadrats, VeloViewer, Statshunters: established tile hunting tools, mostly fed by Strava. Squadrats also has a mobile app that shows squares live.
• Wandrer: counts the share of roads and paths you've ridden, rather than tiles. Also synced from Strava.

We compare them in detail in Squadrats alternatives for cyclists and Fog of World alternatives for cyclists.

Frequently asked questions