Sharmila - created by the World Food Programme

Sharmila logotype - the word Sharmila in a Egyptian style.

Learn about WFP’s cross cutting areas of protection and accountability as you play Sharmila. In this video game, we take a people-centred approach in discovering the many protection risks that impact populations in this fictitious world of Kaya.

You have the freedom to travel the map at your own pace and direction, engage with affected populations to understand their needs and work with them to find solutions to reducing these risks.

You will notice that this game is different to other learning tools, in that you will have the freedom to explore at your own pace. The learning is in the exploration, with the aim that you will be better equipped to apply a protection and accountability lens to your programming.

Download for Windows Download for Mac

Download Instructions

Click on the "Download for Windows" button or "Download for Mac" button at the bottom of your screen, depending on your device. This will download a .zip file to your computer's downloads folder.
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Double-click the .zip file and select "Extract All" (Windows) or double-click the .zip file to extract it (Mac). This will create an "Sharmila.exe" file (Windows) or "Sharmila.app" file (Mac) next to the .zip file.
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Double-click the "Sharmila.exe" file (Windows) or "Sharmila.app" file (Mac) to launch the game.

System Requirements

Sharmila has been created for a wide range of laptop and desktop computers used by the World Food Programme.
Once the .zip file is downloaded, Sharmila can be played offline and does not require an internet connection.

‍OS: Windows 8 or newer, MacOS 10.13 (Sierra) or newer
Storage: 1GB available hard-drive space

Please note: Sharmila does not run on Chromebooks, Android or iOS tablets (including iPads), or mobile devices.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do I do?

Sharmila is a game about exploring a world different to our own but with familiar problems. Your goal is to help all of the people you encounter in this world - speak to them, understand their problems, and help them to build infrastructure that improves their specific situation.

As you do this, you will increase your engagement score. Your goal is to get the highest engagement score you can in 100 days.

How do I increase my engagement score?

Your engagement score increases as you explore the world, engage with different communities and help with their problems. To earn more engagement score, you need to decide on the correct solutions without making mistakes.

Having trouble?

If you are having trouble downloading or playing the game, you can contact the development team at:
hq.protection@wfp.org