Risk Runner is an educational e‑game that combines running, challenges, and quizzes to raise awareness among children about the behaviors to adopt in emergency situations.
Map
Risk Runner
General information
Risk Runner is an interactive video game designed for children aged 9 to 12, which transforms learning about safety into a dynamic and fun experience. Through realistic scenarios – such as floods, forest fires, earthquakes, and environmental crisis – players face challenges and mini-quizzes that teach them how to behave correctly in an emergency. The game combines racing and gamification elements with educational content, promoting awareness, prevention and resilience. It is part of the Feel Safe digital universe, created by Save the Children to prepare the younger generation to deal with the risks associated with climate change and natural disasters.
Risk Runner was dveloped by Save the Children Italy as part of the Feel Safe campaign, which promotes Disaster Risk Reduction and resilience education for children. The game responds to the growing need to prepare younger generations for natural hazards and climate-related emergencies in an engaging and accessible way. The project combines innovation and gamification to make learning about safety interactive and fun.
Status
Topics For Preparedness
Hazard Type
Geographical Scope - Nuts
Geographical Scope
Population Size
Population Density
Needs Addressed
Children are among the most vulnerable groups during crises and climate-related emergencies, yet they often lack practical knowledge on how to prepare for and respond to such events. Traditional educational methods can be abstract and fail to engage younger audiences, resulting in low retention of critical safety behaviors. This gap in awareness and preparedness increases the risk of harm and reduces community resilience.
The primary target group is children aged 9–12 years, who represent one of the most vulnerable populations during natural disasters and climate-related emergencies. Their vulnerability is due to several factors:
- Limited autonomy: Children rely on adults for protection and decision-making in crisis situations.
- Low risk awareness: Many lack the knowledge to recognize warning signs or respond appropriately to hazards.
- High exposure: Schools and homes are often located in areas susceptible to floods, wildfires, or earthquakes, increasing their risk.
- Socio-economic disparities: Children in disadvantaged or high-risk regions face additional challenges, such as limited access to preparedness education and resources.
The game addresses these vulnerabilities by providing age-appropriate, interactive learning experiences that teach preventive behaviors, emergency response strategies, and resilience skills in an engaging and accessible format.
The purpose is to ensure the game is relevant, effective, and user-friendly for its target audience. Specifically, the game aims at improving usability and accessibility by incorporating children’s feedbacka and validating educational content so that safety messages are age-appropriate and understandable.
Addditionally, it fosters ownership and trust among children and educators by involving them in the design process and promotes active learning through participatory approaches rather than passive information delivery.
The method used is consultation through co-creation and experimentation. The different stages of the process included playtesting sessions and structured feedback collection through observations, short interviews and questionnaires. The information gathered is used to make iterative improvements to the design in terms of clarity, enjoyment and accessibility. In addition, collaborative workshops with educators allow the game content to be aligned with DRR guidelines.
Children are actively engaged in play-testing and co-creation sessions, providing feedback that influenced the game’s design.
Risk Runner contributes to capacity-building by equipping children with practical knowledge and skills to recognize risks and adopt safe behaviors in emergencies. Designed as an interactive learning tool, it can be integrated into school curricula and community programs, supporting educators and families in strengthening disaster preparedness. Beyond short-term awareness, the game fosters long-term empowerment by promoting active participation, building confidence, and encouraging behavioral change that extends beyond gameplay. As part of the broader "Feel Safe Universe", it ensures continuity and scalability, creating a foundation for resilient communities and empowering children as proactive agents of safety and climate justice.
Vulnerable Groups
Governance
Emergency Preparedness
Infrastructure Readiness
Engagement Level
Empowerment Level
Implementation
Risk Runner stands out for its innovative approach to disaster preparedness education. It transforms learning into an engaging experience by combining a fast-paced running game with interactive quizzes and mini-games that teach practical safety behaviors. Each level is based on realistic scenarios, making the content relatable and actionable. Developed through co-creation with children, the game ensures usability and inclusivity while leveraging gamification to motivate learning. As part of the broader "Feel Safe Universe", it integrates digital tools and educational resources to promote resilience and behavioral change beyond the game itself.
- Italian and English
Save the Children Italia
Save the Children Italia has a high level of experience in Disaster Risk Management (DRM), particularly in supporting children during emergencies. More specifically, the work of the Emergecy Unit of Save the Children Italia spans all DRM phases: mitigation and prevention through disaster-risk education, preparedness via training and planning, response with immediate aid and psychosocial support, and recovery through safe spaces, education continuity, and child protection. They have extensive experience in national emergencies, such as the 2016–2017 Central Italy earthquakes, and collaborate closely with civil protection authorities. Additionally, they develop practical manuals and toolkits for frontline staff, demonstrating their capacity to translate DRM principles into actionable interventions for children in both acute and longer-term emergency contexts.
The actors involved include:
- CodeThisLab: technical partner specializing in game development and gamification, responsible for designing and programming the interactive platform.
- Children and Schools: end-users and co-creators; their feedback during play-testing sessions shaped usability and content.
- Educators and Parents: key stakeholders for integrating the game into learning environments and reinforcing messages at home.
Experience of the Implementing Organisation in DRM
Target Audience
Resources Required
Timeframe & Phases
Participation Results
The development of Risk Runner requires a balance between entertainment and educational accuracy, ensuring that the game remains engaging while providing reliable safety information. Accessibility is another challenge, as the game must work on different devices and be understandable to children with varying levels of literacy. Achieving real behavioural impact beyond awareness is a further difficulty, along with the need to adapt the solution to different educational contexts and reach vulnerable communities. To address these challenges, the project adopted adaptive strategies such as co-creation with children to refine usability and relevance, the use of gamification techniques to maintain motivation by reinforcing learning, multi-platform design for wider accessibility, and integration into the broader Feel Safe Universe to ensure continuity and long-term impact.
Risk & Mitigation Plan
Scalability and Sustainability
The sustainability of “Corri il Rischio” relies on its integration within the broader Feel Safe Universe, ensuring continuity beyond a single product cycle. The game is designed for curricular use and informal learning, supported by periodic content updates.
Risk Runner is designed for scalability through its multi-platform architecture, allowing deployment on mobile devices and desktops for both classroom and home use. Its modular structure enables the addition of new hazard scenarios and localized content, making it adaptable to different geographic, cultural, and linguistic contexts. Integration within the Feel Safe Universe ensures alignment with broader educational programs, while partnerships with schools, municipalities, and child-focused organizations support large-scale adoption. The game’s flexible design and co-creation methodology allow continuous updates based on user feedback, ensuring relevance and responsiveness to evolving risks and educational needs.
Risk Runner couples a multi‑platform, modular game architecture with co‑creation and iterative improvement based on children’s feedback. Its design enables the addition of new hazard scenarios, localization to different regions and languages, and quick content updates (quizzes, mini‑games) without rebuilding core mechanics. Integrated within the broader Feel Safe Universe, it aligns digital learning tools (including VR experiences) with school programs, making the solution responsive to evolving risks and educational needs.
The main costs relate to the creation of additional scenarios, graphic design, programming and integration of the related educational mini-games. Added to these are the costs of interface design, user testing, any software licences and publication on platforms (App Store, Google Play). If a physical version or support materials for schools are planned, printing and distribution costs must be added.
Operating costs relate to the management and maintenance of the game over time. Periodic updates may be necessary to ensure compatibility with devices, bug fixes and improvement of the user experience. In addition, the costs of hosting and performance monitoring, technical support for users, and communication and marketing activities to maintain high product visibility must be considered. If the game is integrated into educational programmes, there may be expenses for teacher training and the production of additional teaching materials. These costs are recurring and affect long-term sustainability, so it is strategic to plan for partnerships, grants, or sponsorship models to cover them.
During the development of Risk Runner, early user engagement proved essential to refine the gaming experience and confirmed the importance of a participatory approach. The decision to release a prototype with only the flood scenario validated the concept before committing full resources, reducing financial risk and ensuring alignment with user needs. The positive reception of the educational elements demonstrated that gamification is an effective tool for teaching complex topics such as emergency preparedness. At the same time, the game highlighted the need for long-term sustainability planning, as ongoing updates, maintenance, and promotion require stable funding beyond initial development costs.