Families, teachers and carers

Dhukarr is a free, quiet walking game. Here is how to share it with a child, a class or someone you care for.

Trying it together

• Sit beside the player and let them lead. Walking is one stick or four keys, and the Rest button (or the C key) stops everything at any moment.
• Take turns. One person walks while the other looks for birds, flowers and stones beside the track and reads the stop notes aloud.
• "Just sit for a while" on the start screen puts the player on a bench in the place, with nothing to do. Some people use that more than the walking.
• Every walk can end early. From the second stop on, "Finish the walk here" ends it with a stamp and a keepsake.

Settings worth choosing first

Everything is in Settings, and the first-run screen offers the same choices. A few to look at before the first walk:

• Presets: Quiet world, Soft colours, High contrast and Minimal motion each change several settings at once. A device set to reduce motion starts with Minimal motion already on.
• Sound: overall volume, nature sounds, gentle music and pickup sounds are separate sliders, and music can be set to zero.
• Text size, brightness and contrast can be adjusted, and a read-aloud option reads notes out.
• Weather and time of day: choose clear skies or soft rain, and a morning, midday, evening or night walk, on the plan screen and in Settings.
• Points and the end of a walk: points and ranks can be hidden, and the end of a walk can be kept short.

Short walks for a quiet few minutes

These flat walks take about five minutes or less. The start screen also has a "A calm break" button that picks one. Each link opens the walk's plan screen, where the player can still choose to go back.

• Uluṟu: Sunrise Side Walk about 5 minutes
• Kakadu: Billabong Loop about 5 minutes
• Cradle Mountain: Lakeside Stroll about 4 minutes
• Kings Canyon: Kings Creek Walk about 3 minutes
• Daintree: Dubuji Boardwalk about 4 minutes
• Litchfield: Shady Creek to Florence Falls about 4 minutes
• Litchfield: Florence Creek to Buley Rockhole about 5 minutes
• Tidbinbilla: The Sanctuary Wetlands about 5 minutes
• Blue Mountains: Charles Darwin Walk about 5 minutes
• Jervis Bay: Telegraph Creek Nature Trail about 5 minutes
• Ningaloo Coast: Gorge Floor Walk about 4 minutes

In a classroom or group

• No account is needed. Progress stays in the browser on that device. On a shared computer, a private window leaves nothing behind when it is closed.
• Walks are short, and can be paused, so they fit a spare ten minutes. A player who wants to stop can stop, with no penalty and nothing to catch up on.
• There are no rankings between players and no chat, so there is nothing to compare and no one to message.
• The places are real, on the traditional lands of First Nations peoples. The game names whose Country each place is on. It can start a conversation about place, plants and animals, and about the people who have cared for them.

Young players

Playing needs no personal details. Signing in (to keep walks across devices) uses an email address, so we ask that children check with a parent or carer first. A signed-in player can also choose to create a link to a short summary of a walk. That link is private, expires, and can be switched off at any time, and the player chooses what goes in it. There is more on the privacy page.

If a child tells you something worrying

Dhukarr has no way to see or respond to what a player is feeling, and it is not a crisis service. If a child says something that worries you, listen, stay with them, and get help from the right person. In an emergency call 000. Kids Helpline is on 1800 55 1800 and Lifeline is on 13 11 14, any time. Parents and carers can also speak to their GP or the child's school.

Tell us what would help

If you use Dhukarr with a class or a family and something would make it easier, tell us at [email protected]. We read everything. Allied health professionals can find more on the professionals page.