Where they press is where it happens

The keyboard is a map of the landscape. Keys on the left bring creatures on the left, keys on the right bring them on the right. The bottom row brings big ones up close; the top row brings small ones far away by the hills. The number row sends something flying across the sky.

The same key always brings the same creature, in the same colour, with the same soft note. Each one wears its letter like a name tag, so letters become familiar long before anyone teaches them.

Space: A big stomp, and everyone hops.
Enter: An egg appears and hatches.
Delete: The newest creature walks home, like undo.
← →: A little friend walks along.

The Animals world in play: big animals up close from the bottom row, smaller ones in the middle and far away, a bird in the sky, each wearing its letter

Three worlds

Pick one at the start. Every creature is drawn like a natural-history picture book: real shapes, real colours, no cartoon faces.

The Dinosaurs world: dinosaurs by a river with a smoking volcano behind, each wearing its letter — **Dinosaurs** A Cretaceous river plain under a quiet volcano, with T. rex, Stegosaurus, long-necks and pterosaurs.

The Animals world: zebra, giraffe, elephant and others on an African savanna below Kilimanjaro — **Animals** An African savanna below Kilimanjaro, with everyday animals that move like the real ones.

The Bugs world: a ladybug, ant and caterpillar in the grass, with daisies and butterflies — **Bugs** Down in the grass at bug height: ladybugs, bees, butterflies, a snail and a spider on its silk.

Bedtime: the savanna at night under the moon, with a goodnight card

Calm on purpose

No points, no prizes, no "great job!" sounds. The reward is the key working.

Soft notes from one scale, so even a smash sounds pleasant.
Nothing flashes. Movement is slow, and fast typing gets a little dust puff instead of a stampede.
A whole palm on the keys makes one gentle rumble. A single finger gets the creature.
The sun crosses the sky during the session. Near the end it sets, then everyone goes to sleep.

Letters and numbers, when they’re ready

A second way to play shows each key as a big card: the letter, its creature and its name. Numbers count eggs into a nest, one note at a time. Letters appear on a line at the top, and Delete takes them away, just like your computer.

On an iPad or phone, a big on-screen keyboard appears, laid out like a real one. Plug in a keyboard and that works too.

Letters and numbers on an iPad: a big S card with a spider, above an on-screen keyboard

Set it up

It runs in the browser, so there's nothing to install. Sit together the first time, press one key slowly, and point at what arrives.

iPad or iPhone

Open dinokey.app/play in Safari.
Tap Share, then Add to Home Screen. Open Dino Keys from there: it fills the screen like an app and keeps working offline.
To lock it, turn on Guided Access in Settings > Accessibility, open Dino Keys and triple-click the top or side button.
Tap the grass to bring a creature. To pause, hold the faint dot in the top-right corner for two seconds.

Dino Keys on a phone: the Bugs world with a ladybug, ant and butterflies

Mac or PC

Open dinokey.app/play in Chrome, Edge or Safari.
Pick a world and a time, then press Start. The screen goes full screen and locks.
To pause, hold Ctrl Shift P. To leave, press ⌘ Q on a Mac or Ctrl F4 on a PC.

Good to know

Give them a low-profile or silicone keyboard. Mechanical keycaps pop off and are a choking hazard.
Keep sessions short. Ten to fifteen minutes is plenty, and the sunset ending makes stopping easier.
If their keyboard is plugged into your work laptop, it types into your work. An old laptop or tablet of their own works best.

Privacy

Dino Keys has no accounts, no ads and no tracking. It doesn't collect anything: the name you type and your settings stay in your own browser. After the first visit it works without internet.