Harrison County Board of Education

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Your child's class is using RealmQuest, an interactive game that teaches essential online safety skills. This guide will help you understand what your child is learning and give you tools to continue these important conversations at home.

The topics in this game are serious but presented in age-appropriate ways. Your involvement helps reinforce these lessons and keeps the door open for your child to come to you if they ever encounter something concerning online.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭?

RealmQuest is an interactive story game designed for students in grades 3–5. Your child plays as a middle schooler who loves an online multiplayer game called “RealmQuest” and plays it with their friend group. Over three episodes, they encounter realistic online safety challenges and make choices that teach them to recognize danger, protect their information, and speak up when something feels wrong.

The game takes about 45–60 minutes total (15–20 minutes per episode) and uses relatable scenarios that children this age actually face: gaming with online strangers, dealing with mean comments, and encountering suspicious messages.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐈𝐭 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡?

RealmQuest addresses seven core digital safety topics required by curriculum standards.

Topics Covered
✓ Safe use of social networks, chat rooms, and online communication
✓ Risks of sharing personal information online and protecting privacy
✓ Copyright: understanding that photos and content belong to their creators
✓ The importance of talking to trusted adults about online experiences
✓ Recognizing and reporting suspicious behavior, predator tactics, and cyberbullying
✓ Resources for help: Cyber Tipline and Take It Down
✓ Risks of sharing photos, including awareness of sextortion

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐄𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞

𝐄𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝟏: 𝐀 𝐌𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐭
Theme: Recognizing online predators and protecting personal information

What happens: Your child's character and their friends are playing their favorite online game when a new player called “ShadowFox” joins. ShadowFox seems cool at first, complimenting everyone and offering to help. But then ShadowFox starts asking personal questions: Where do you live? What school do you go to? The friends must decide whether to share this information or recognize the warning signs.

Key lesson: The game teaches four warning signs of “grooming” (when someone builds fake trust to manipulate a child): being too nice too fast, giving free gifts, asking personal questions, and pushing for private contact. Children learn that they should never share personal information with strangers online and should always tell a trusted adult.

𝐄𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝟐: 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤
Theme: Cyberbullying and how to respond

What happens: One of the friends makes a mistake during a game, and another player records it and posts it online with mean comments. The bullying spreads, and the targeted friend is devastated. Your child must choose how to respond: fight back with angry comments, stay silent and hope it stops, or stand up the smart way.

Key lesson: Fighting back online usually makes things worse. Staying silent allows bullying to continue. The “smart way” is to screenshot the evidence, report the posts, tell a trusted adult, and support your friend. Children learn that their actions as bystanders matter.

𝐄𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝟑: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐫
Theme: Phishing scams, photo safety, and getting help

What happens: The friends receive a flashy message inviting them to a “Secret Server” with exclusive game content. To join, they need to “verify” by sending a selfie. The friends must recognize this as a scam and learn why sending photos to strangers is dangerous.

Key lesson: This episode teaches about phishing (fake messages designed to steal information) and photo privacy. In an age-appropriate way, it explains that once a photo is sent, you lose control of it. It introduces the concepts of sextortion (when someone uses photos to pressure someone) and teaches children that if this ever happens, it is never their fault and they should tell an adult immediately. The episode also introduces two real resources: the Cyber Tipline and Take It Down.

𝐀 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭

Episode 3 includes age-appropriate discussion of why some people online might ask children for photos and what “sextortion” means. This content is carefully presented through a trusted teacher character who explains:

• That some people start by asking for a normal selfie, then ask for “more personal, more private” pictures
• That these people might threaten to share photos to get more
• That this is called sextortion and it is against the law
• That it is NEVER the child's fault, and they will NEVER be in trouble for telling an adult

We include this content because research shows that children who understand these risks are better protected. Sextortion targeting minors has increased significantly in recent years, and many children do not report it because they feel ashamed or fear getting in trouble. The game repeatedly emphasizes that telling an adult is always the right choice.

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

After your child plays RealmQuest, ask open-ended questions:

• “What happened in the game today? What choices did you make?”
• “What did you think about ShadowFox? What made you suspicious?”
• “How did it feel when Stef was being bullied? What would you do if that happened to a friend?”
• “Why do you think the Secret Server asked for a selfie?”

𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬

The most important things for your child to know:

“You can tell me anything. You will never be in trouble for telling me about something that happened online.”

Children often stay silent because they fear punishment. Make it absolutely clear that coming to you is always safe.

“If something feels wrong, it probably is. Trust your gut.”

Help your child recognize that uncomfortable feelings are important signals, not something to ignore.

“Never share photos of yourself with someone you only know online.”

Once a photo is sent, you lose control of it. It can be copied, saved, or shared without permission.

𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝

The game teaches four warning signs that someone online might be trying to manipulate your child. You can use the same language at home:

1. Too nice, too fast: Excessive compliments, making your child feel “special” or “different from others”

2. Free gifts or favors: Offering in-game items, money, or promises without expecting anything (at first)

3. Personal questions: Asking where they live, what school they attend, their age, or what they look like

4. Push for private contact: Wanting to move to a different app, talk “just us,” or keep the conversation secret

𝐈𝐟 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝

If your child discloses that they experienced something like what happens in the game:

• Stay calm. Your reaction matters. If you appear shocked or angry, they may shut down.
• Believe them. Say: “Thank you for telling me. I believe you.”
• Reassure them. Say: “This is not your fault. You are not in trouble.”
• Do not delete anything. Evidence may be needed for reporting.
• Get help. Use the resources below to report and get support.

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬

Cyber Tipline
CyberTipline.org
Report online exploitation of children. Run by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Reports go to law enforcement.

Take It Down
TakeItDown.NCMEC.org
Free tool to remove intimate images of anyone under 18 from the internet. Creates a digital “fingerprint” to find and remove copies without anyone else seeing the image.

StopBullying.gov
Federal resource with guidance on preventing and responding to bullying and cyberbullying.

988 Lifeline
Call or text 988
24/7 support for mental health crises, including those caused by online experiences.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐚𝐥: 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

The most important outcome of this game is not that your child memorizes rules. It is that they know they can come to you if something ever makes them uncomfortable online. Keep the conversation going, stay curious about their online world, and let them know you are always in their corner.

Questions about RealmQuest? Contact your child's teacher or school counselor.