Dinkum

You land on an uninhabited island in a very Australian corner of the world and start a town. Fletch, who runs the place, hands you a tent, a loan, and a lot of encouragement.

The loop borrows the best of two genres. From Animal Crossing it takes the town building, the debt-driven progression and the daily rhythm. From Stardew it takes real farming, mining, fishing and crafting depth. What it adds is a landscape that is actively hostile: the wildlife here is not decoration, and a bad encounter with a croc ends your day.

• Licences gate your abilities. You buy each one with permit points, and they unlock mining, farming, hunting, building and more.
• Permit points come from doing things for the first time and from daily activity, so exploration pays twice.
• Loans from the bank fund your buildings, and paying them off is the progression spine.
• Seasons are wet and dry rather than four, and they change what the island does to you.

1. 1

   Talk to Fletch and take the loan

   The loan is not a trap, it is the tutorial. A tent becomes a house becomes a town.

2. 2

   Spend permit points on licences, not luxuries

   Mining, farming and hunting licences unlock whole systems. Buy the ones that open a new verb first.

3. 3

   Do a bit of everything daily

   Permit points come from firsts and from variety. Fish once, mine once, chop once, catch a bug.

4. 4

   Learn what is dangerous

   Crocodiles, sharks, and the larger birds will kill an underequipped player. Carry a weapon and respect the water.

5. 5

   Invite the first residents

   Buying a deed and placing a building brings NPCs in. Each one is a shop, a service or a quest source.

6. 6

   Set up a farm and a base of operations

   Somewhere central, near water and trees, with storage. You will haul a lot.

• Deeds from Fletch place buildings. Each new resident adds a shop or a service that saves you time forever.
• The town has a layout you control, so think about walking distance before you plant a building.
• Residents have friendship levels, requests and personalities. Keep them happy and they stay.
• Town score rises as you build and decorate, and it unlocks further growth.

• Farming: crops by season, animals for produce, and a genuine profit curve once you scale.
• Mining: quarries and deep mines for ore, gems and the materials for better tools.
• Fishing and bug catching: money, museum-style collections, and the calmest way to spend an in-game day.
• Hunting: the island has real fauna, and it is both a threat and a resource.
• Tools upgrade in tiers, and the difference between the first and third tier is enormous.

Dinkum is not a story game, and it does not pretend to be. What it has instead is a strong sense of place: a specific, affectionate, slightly sunburnt version of rural Australia, from the wildlife to the way people talk.

• The island is uninhabited when you arrive, and everything that appears is something you or Fletch put there.
• Residents arrive with their own reasons for coming, and the town gains a personality as they stack up.
• The tone is warm, jokey and low stakes. Nothing is trying to conquer anything.
• The wildlife carries the danger the plot does not. That balance is deliberate and it works.

• Friends can join your island, work, gather and build alongside you.
• Progress belongs to the host island, so pick one town and grow it together.
• Splitting the licences across players does not work: licences are personal, so everyone needs their own.
• Two players hunting a croc is dramatically safer than one.

• Buy the licences that unlock systems before the ones that improve systems.
• Carry water and food. Heat and stamina are real.
• Do not swim casually. Ever.
• Sell through the right shop. Prices differ and some residents pay far better for their speciality.
• Place your bed and storage centrally before you decorate anything.
• Check the noticeboard and the daily requests. Easy points, easy money.

• The Steam page changelog, which is where the developer actually communicates.
• The community wiki for licence costs, deed prices and seasonal spawn tables.
• Ask in our Discord. It is cheap, it is charming, and it is best played alongside someone.