Play Daoo · Guide
Daoo Guide
Set up Daoo for your child in a few steps.
1. Open Daoo
Open daoo.app in Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome on a computer or tablet. Full screen keeps the keyboard inside the game.
2. Type your child's name
On the start screen, type your child's name. Daoo greets them ("Hello, Sara!") and completes the phrase "My name is …". You can add spellings for Arabic, Bangla, Hindi and Chinese in parent settings.
3. Pick an age and an activity
The age guide (1–2, 2–3, 3–5, 5–7, 7+) sets suitable activities, math level, sentence puzzles and speed as a starting point. Suggested activities get a ⭐. You can change any option afterwards in parent settings. Then choose what your child does today and press Play:
- Keyboard smash: every key shows a real photo with its letter and word.
- Touch & explore: calm real-photo scenes (village farm, beach, coral reef, lake, forest, kitchen and more) with friendly objects standing where they belong. Daoo asks Where, Who says, Which one and How many questions, and sometimes "Can you ask?". Every tap names the thing ("What is this? It's a duck.") and adds a fact, its first letter, a clue or the word in another language. No timers or scores; a calm rest screen appears after a few pictures.
- Photo journey: a big real photo with round pictures of related things around it. Tap one to go there, and Daoo says how they connect, for example "A bird lives in a nest." or "A cow gives us milk." Small pictures at the top go back.
- Words by category: keys and taps show words from one category, such as Animals, Food or Vehicles.
- Object puzzle: three kinds of puzzle with checked photos only. Find it: "Bird! Where is it?" with three pictures to choose from. What is this?: a big photo with three words. First letter (English): "_ird", press the B key or tap B. The other choices are always clearly different things. After a wrong choice Daoo says the name of the picture your child touched, gives a kind word and, for What is this?, a clue such as "It's an animal." or "It starts with B", then asks again until it is solved. It never says the answer.
- Peek-a-boo: things hide under boxes. Tap a box to see what is inside; then they hide again and Daoo asks where one is.
- Shadow match: slide each thing onto its own shadow, or tap it and then tap its shadow.
- Faces & feelings: friendly faces (happy, sad, surprised, angry, scared, tired, calm). Each tap says the feeling and a kind idea, such as "A hug can help when we feel sad."
- Sort it: put each thing where it goes: things we eat or wear, animals or things that go, things that fly or swim, big or small, and farm, kitchen, sea or sky.
- Mix & match: tick the activities you want (words, numbers, object puzzle, math, sentences, daily phrases, Easy to say) and Daoo takes turns between them. Reserved words always stay in their own lane and are never mixed.
- Play: each key shows a real photo with its letter and word. Number keys show numbers; symbol keys show the symbol, then favourite things.
- Touch: tap or swipe right or up to go forward (T → U, 5 → 6), left or down to go back. The direction is spoken and an arrow shows the way. Tap the middle of the screen for the next word of the same letter (with one word per key, it says the same word again).
- Watch & learn: choose a category (Alphabet, Numbers, Animals, Birds, Food, Math, Daily phrases and more) and Daoo plays by itself.
- Math: set "Keys show" to Math in parent settings. Daoo asks a question such as "1 + [ ] = 2" or "How many?" with real things to count, each group with its number. Your child types the answer into the empty box with the keyboard, or taps the on-screen number row laid out like a keyboard (the matching key lights up). Adding fills the answer one thing at a time; taking away lifts things off one at a time. A question stays until your child enters the right number; from the second try Daoo gives a counting hint, never the answer. Parents can switch to "Pick from 3 big answers".
- Sentences (English): set "Keys show" to Sentences. Puzzles: past, present and future ("Yesterday, the cat [ ]."), am / is / are, a / an, pick the action, and build the sentence from word tiles. Your child taps a tile or presses its number key; wrong tiles shake and the puzzle waits until it is solved.
- Talk board: tap a picture to say a core word or phrase.
Ages 1 to 4: what children can practise in Daoo
Every child is different. These are skills many children practise between about 1 and 4, and this page shows where Daoo gives them a calm place to try each one. Daoo does not measure, test or diagnose anything, and it is not a replacement for a parent, teacher or professional.
Language and communication
| What children practise | Where in Daoo | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Naming everyday things | Keyboard smash, Touch & explore, Photo journey, Object puzzle | A real photo or friendly picture appears and its name is spoken. |
| First letters and letter sounds | Keys A–Z, sound-it-out, First letter puzzle | Each key shows its letter and a word; the pronunciation lights up chunk by chunk. |
| Words in the family’s languages | All activities (six languages) | The same word in English, Spanish, Arabic, Bangla, Hindi and Chinese; parents choose the main language. |
| Understanding questions: what, where, who, which, how many | Touch & explore | Daoo asks "Where is the goose?", "Who says moo?", "Which one can we eat?" and "How many ducks can you see?" (tap to count). |
| Asking questions | Touch & explore | Daoo says "Can you ask? Where is the cat?", pauses for the child, then answers "Here it is!" |
| Daily phrases and needs | Daily phrases, Talk board | About 70 phrases such as "More please", "All done" and "Help me", with pictures. |
| Practising a sound | Easy to say | A word said slowly, then a "Your turn!" pause. Fun practice, not therapy. |
| Describing words | Words, Sort it (big or small) | Words such as big, small, hot and cold; Sort it asks "Is it big or small?" |
| Feeling words | Faces & feelings | Happy, sad, surprised, angry, scared, tired and calm, each spoken on a friendly face. |
| Simple sentences (older end of the range) | Sentence puzzle | Past, present and future, am / is / are, a / an, and building a sentence from word tiles. |
Thinking and understanding
| What children practise | Where in Daoo | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| A hidden thing is still there (object permanence) | Peek-a-boo | Things hide under boxes; after they hide again, Daoo asks where one is. |
| Cause and effect | Peek-a-boo, Touch & explore | A tap opens a box or makes a picture speak and bounce. |
| Matching the same thing | Object puzzle (Find it), Shadow match | "Bird! Where is it?" with three pictures; each thing goes onto its own shadow. |
| Shapes and outlines | Shadow match, shape words | A dark outline shows where each thing fits; words such as circle, square and triangle. |
| Sorting by kind | Sort it | Baskets for things we eat or wear, animals or things that go, things that fly or swim. |
| Sorting by size | Sort it | Baskets for big and small, with the same kind of thing shown large or small. |
| Where things belong | Sort it, Touch & explore | Photo baskets for farm, kitchen, sea and sky; real-photo scenes where each thing stands in its place. |
| Counting | Math puzzle, Touch & explore | Counting 1 to 5 with pictures at the beginner level; tap-to-count in the scenes. |
| Animal sounds | Touch & explore | "Who says baa?": the child taps the sheep. |
| Directions | Touch | Tapping or swiping to a side moves to the next or previous letter and the direction is spoken. |
Hands and movement
| What children practise | Where in Daoo | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Tapping a chosen target | Touch & explore and the activities for little ones | In Touch & explore, Peek-a-boo, Shadow match, Faces & feelings and Sort it, things on screen are at least about 64 pixels, with fewer of them on small screens. |
| Pressing keys on purpose | Keyboard smash, number row, First letter puzzle | Every key responds; the math number row is laid out like a keyboard. |
| Dragging and placing | Shadow match, Sort it | Slide a thing onto its shadow or into a basket; tap a thing, then tap where it goes, also works. |
| Swiping | Touch | Swipe to move through letters; tap the middle for the next word with the same letter. |
Feelings and social
| What children practise | Where in Daoo | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Naming feelings on a face | Faces & feelings | "This face is sad." From about age 2 to 3, Daoo also asks "Which face is happy?" |
| Kind ideas for big feelings | Faces & feelings | Short lines such as "A hug can help when we feel sad." and "We can take a deep breath." |
| Manners and greetings | Daily phrases, Talk board | Please, thank you, hello and goodbye, with pictures. |
| Own name | Child’s name | Daoo greets the child by name and completes "My name is …". |
| Taking turns | Easy to say, Touch & explore | "Your turn!" and "Can you ask?" leave a pause for the child. |
| Calm stopping points | All activities; rest screen in Touch & explore and the activities for little ones | No scores, timers or streaks anywhere. In Touch & explore, Peek-a-boo, Shadow match, Faces & feelings and Sort it, a calm rest screen suggests a break after the number of rounds a parent chooses (3, 5, 10 or 20, or never). An optional play-time limit (10 to 60 minutes) shows the same rest screen in any activity. A grown-up holds a button to continue. |
What the age guide sets for each age
- About 1 to 2 years: Keyboard smash with 3 words per letter, plus Peek-a-boo (2 boxes, open them all) and Faces & feelings (3 faces, tap to hear each). Touch & explore shows 5 things and asks "Where is it?". Shadow match uses 1 big, forgiving shadow; Sort it uses 3 things and 2 baskets (animals or things that go).
- About 2 to 3 years: Mix & match takes turns between words, the object puzzle (Find it and What is this?), Peek-a-boo (3 boxes, then 2 "Where is it?" questions), Shadow match (2 shadows), Faces & feelings (4 faces with "Which face is happy?") and Touch & explore (10 things, Where and Who says questions). Sort it uses 4 things: animals or things that go, eat or wear, big or small.
- About 3 to 4 years (the 3–5 setting): Mix & match adds counting, plus and minus from 1 to 5, Shadow match (3 shadows), Sort it (6 things, including fly or swim and farm, kitchen, sea or sky), Faces & feelings (5 faces) and Touch & explore (20 things with Where, Who says and Which questions). The object puzzle adds First letter.
Every option can be changed in parent settings. In Touch & explore, Peek-a-boo, Shadow match, Faces & feelings and Sort it, a touch teaches at least two things (the name plus a fact, first letter, clue or another language), and a calm rest screen appears after the number of rounds a parent chooses. No activity in Daoo has scores, timers or streaks, and puzzles wait until the child is ready.
4. Parent settings
The first time Daoo opens, it asks two things: the child's name (optional, stays on the device) and their age. For ages 1 to 2 and 2 to 3 it starts with Counting, Beginner numbers 1 to 5, the Find it object puzzle and the Calm pace. You can change all of it later.
Hold the top-right corner for 3 seconds, or press Ctrl + Shift + L, then answer the grown-ups-only math question. There you can:
- Choose the main language and whether all six languages are spoken.
- Set the Age guide, words per key (start with 1, then add more), what the keys show, the Object puzzle type, the activities in Mix & match, the math level, and the watch pause.
- Set the Speed: Calm for toddlers (each word finishes before the next key), or Quick for older kids, with "next key after" from 0.5 to 3 seconds. Adjust the Voice speed (0.75× to 1.5×).
- Choose the Math type (counting, plus, minus, times, divided by, counting with plus and minus, or all mixed) and Math difficulty: Beginner 1 to 5, up to 9, 2 digits or 3 digits.
- Choose when Daoo suggests a rest: Suggest a rest after 3, 5, 10 or 20 pictures, or never, and an optional Play time limit of 10 to 60 minutes. When either is reached, a calm rest screen appears and a grown-up holds the button to continue.
- Choose when Daoo switches to Watch & learn if nobody touches the screen: after 15, 30 or 60 seconds, or off (15 seconds to start). The next touch brings play back.
- Edit or switch off Reserved words, the family's own lane of up to 4 words per letter.
- Use Easy to say: practise a sound with a "Your turn!" pause, slower speech, and optional record-and-play-back (the microphone opens only for the few seconds after "Your turn!", and the try is kept in memory, played once and discarded).
Keyboard shortcuts: Ctrl + P pause, Ctrl + R resume, Ctrl + S stop (asks the grown-up question first).
Questions? See the FAQ.