What’s inside
Start in the house. Then wander out into the town.
The house, free
The house (in the game it’s called the Space) is free to play: a kitchen, a garden, a store room, a balcony with a telescope, a bathroom where you can see inside your body, a computer room and more, each with something to do and something to find.
The Kitchen Cook for someone: pick a dish, follow the recipe card and carry it to the table.
The Garden Water what droops, pick what’s ready, and look out for visitors.
Inside you In the bathroom, see a body layer by layer: skin, muscles, bones and organs.
The Cozy Corner Octi the octopus wants to play hide-and-seek.
The Computer Room Snake, a drawing turtle, the Game of Life and more.
Stargazing At the top of the house, drag across the night sky and tap a star for its name.
The rest of the town
Five more buildings, opened with a family or a school code.
The Observatory On a hill at night: a telescope dome that opens on tonight’s real sky over Nairobi, a satellite dish to point, and a bushbaby watching.
The School A classroom, a science room full of experiments, a library of real picture books, and rooms for art, music and play.
The Workshop The fundi, a craftsman, at his vice: bend wire, true a bicycle wheel, and teach a robot new steps at the bench.
The Coast Ride a matatu (a minibus) to the sea, for tide pools, a dhow and a reef full of fish.
The Park A forest with a stream to cross, a tree nursery, and a nature hut where a night camera shows who walked past.
Everywhere you go: gentle STEM, stories, small games such as Bao (the East African board game) and snakes and ladders, stickers, a diary, and Dream Mode, where photographs drift by.
Built for children
The things grown-ups ask about first.
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No adverts, no tracking, no accounts
Wanderhouse collects nothing about your child or about you.
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Progress stays on the device
Progress, stickers and the diary are kept only on the device your child plays on.
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Every line read aloud
Every line can be read out loud, so children still learning to read can follow along.
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A gentle mode
No timers and no rush, for children who like to take their time.
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Plays offline
Once a room has been opened, it plays without the internet.
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Installs from the browser
Add it to your Home Screen and it opens like an app. No app store needed.
Prices
For grown-ups: the house is free, and the rest of the town is a single payment, with no subscription.
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The house
Free
The house and all its rooms. No account needed.
Play free -
Family
Ksh 260 (about US$2)
Every building, for one player, on up to 3 devices. Paid once.
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Schools
Ksh 13,000
Every building, for up to 12 players on one shared device. Paid once.
Buying opens soon. The house is free to play now.
Install it, play offline
In your browser, choose Add to Home Screen (on an iPhone or iPad, it’s under Share), and Wanderhouse opens like an app. Each room plays without the internet once it has been opened.
On an iPhone or iPad, add it to the Home Screen before typing a code: Safari and the Home Screen keep separate copies, and each counts as a device.
Questions
Who is it for?
Curious children of about 5 to 9. Every line can be read aloud, so children still learning to read can play too. It’s set in Nairobi, in English with a few Swahili words, and made for children everywhere.
Does it need the internet?
For the first visit, and to buy or type in a code. After that it plays offline: each room is kept on the device once it has been opened.
I’ve lost my code. What now?
Write to [email protected] from the email you paid with.
Can a school use it?
Yes. A schools code opens every building for up to 12 players on one shared device, such as a class tablet, and each player keeps their own progress, stickers and diary. It’s bought the same way, inside the game.