diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index a20e3d5..ea2dee2 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-1.8.25
+1.8.26
diff --git a/src/torchlight/Commands.py b/src/torchlight/Commands.py
index 6c23683..3e288fd 100644
--- a/src/torchlight/Commands.py
+++ b/src/torchlight/Commands.py
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 from torchlight.AccessManager import AccessManager
 from torchlight.AudioManager import AudioManager
 from torchlight.Config import Config
+from torchlight.GeoIP import get_city_reader
 from torchlight.MyInstants import myinstants_get_random_sound
 from torchlight.Player import Player
 from torchlight.PlayerManager import PlayerManager
@@ -422,12 +423,15 @@ def __init__(
         )
         self.config_folder = self.torchlight.config["GeoIP"]["Path"]
         self.city_filename = self.torchlight.config["GeoIP"]["CityFilename"]
-        self.geo_ip = geoip2.database.Reader(f"{self.config_folder}/{self.city_filename}")
-
-    def close(self) -> None:
-        # CommandHandler.Setup() rebuilds every command on each reload; without this the
-        # previous Reader's mmap of the GeoIP database is only released on GC (issue #55).
-        self.geo_ip.close()
+        self.geo_ip: geoip2.database.Reader | None = None
+        database_path = f"{self.config_folder}/{self.city_filename}"
+        try:
+            self.geo_ip = get_city_reader(database_path)
+        except Exception:
+            self.logger.error(
+                f"Failed to open GeoIP database ({database_path}); "
+                f"!ow without an explicit location will be unavailable\n{traceback.format_exc()}"
+            )
 
     def degreeToCardinal(self, degree: int) -> str:
         directions = ["N", "NE", "E", "SE", "S", "SW", "W", "NW"]
@@ -444,6 +448,9 @@ async def _func(self, message: list[str], player: Player) -> int:
 
         if not message[1]:
             # Use GeoIP location
+            if self.geo_ip is None:
+                self.torchlight.SayPrivate(player, "[OW] Location lookup is unavailable, please specify a city.")
+                return 1
             info = self.geo_ip.city(player.address.split(":")[0])
             search = f"lat={info.location.latitude}&lon={info.location.longitude}"
         else:
diff --git a/src/torchlight/GeoIP.py b/src/torchlight/GeoIP.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e5a6353
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/torchlight/GeoIP.py
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+import logging
+import os
+
+import geoip2.database
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+# Cached per database path as (mtime, reader). Kept at module level - and in this
+# module rather than in Commands.py - so it survives importlib.reload(Commands)
+# when the bot processes a !reload.
+_readers: dict[str, tuple[float, geoip2.database.Reader]] = {}
+
+
+def _close_quietly(reader: geoip2.database.Reader) -> None:
+    try:
+        reader.close()
+    except Exception:
+        logger.debug("Failed to close previous GeoIP reader", exc_info=True)
+
+
+def get_city_reader(database_path: str) -> geoip2.database.Reader:
+    """Open the GeoIP city database once and reuse it across reloads.
+
+    ``CommandHandler.Setup`` rebuilds every command whenever the configuration is
+    reloaded. Opening a fresh :class:`geoip2.database.Reader` each time leaked the
+    previous memory map of the database until garbage collection (issue #55) and
+    could then fail to map the file at all, breaking command setup (issue #174).
+
+    The database is read-only, so a single reader is kept per path and only
+    reopened when the file on disk changes (for instance after a GeoIP update).
+    """
+    cached = _readers.get(database_path)
+
+    try:
+        mtime = os.path.getmtime(database_path)
+    except OSError:
+        if cached is not None:
+            return cached[1]
+        raise
+
+    if cached is not None and cached[0] == mtime:
+        return cached[1]
+
+    try:
+        reader = geoip2.database.Reader(database_path)
+    except Exception:
+        if cached is not None:
+            # A refreshed database file is momentarily unreadable; keep serving
+            # the reader we already have instead of losing GeoIP entirely.
+            logger.warning(f"Could not reopen GeoIP database {database_path}, keeping the previous reader")
+            return cached[1]
+        raise
+
+    if cached is not None:
+        _close_quietly(cached[1])
+    _readers[database_path] = (mtime, reader)
+    logger.info(f"Opened GeoIP database {database_path}")
+    return reader