All Alan Wake 2 Nursery Rhyme and charm locations

Figuring out the Alan Wake 2 nursery rhymes to get charms can be challenging as you start amassing a collection of dolls. Every rhyme puzzle is based on interpreting the narrative and themes within the rhyme and placing a few relevant dolls on various chalk drawings to match. Solve the rhyme and the world around you will change in some way, revealing a path to a charm reward for Saga to equip.

However, when completing these nursery rhymes, it's important to remember these tips: firstly, pick up the dolls when you're done with them! The same dolls get used in multiple rhymes, so don't leave them behind. Secondly, completing a rhyme can spawn enemies, so be prepared for a fight. Finally, don't expect to get all the nursery rhymes on your first visit to an area - some are gated off behind locks or obstacles that you'll only be able to deal with once you hit certain points within the Alan Wake 2 story.

I and the others on the team have been combing Bright Falls, Watery and Cauldron Lake and have managed to find every doll and nursery rhyme location in Alan Wake 2, and have got all the charms from them. So, here's everything you need to know about the Alan Wake 2 nursery rhymes, including their locations, solutions, the dolls you need, and the charms you'll get as rewards.

Cauldron Lake nursery rhymes

The Cauldron Lake nursery rhymes are the first one's you'll find when you return there for the second time after the flood water recedes. You'll get the Hammer charm to help stagger enemies, a Coffee mug charm that can save you from dying once before breaking and the Kalavala Knights charm which makes your hand flares burn brighter and longer. 

1. Near the Bridge 
2. Witchfinder's Station / Ranger's Cabin
3. Private Cabin / Near Cauldron Lake
4. Inside the Northwest Rental Cabin
5. Inside the Witchfinder's Station (FINAL RHYME)

1. Near the Bridge Crow doll nursery rhyme

This is likely the first rhyme you'll find in Alan Wake 2 in a camping area just by the red bridge you can reach on your second visit to the area after the flooding has receded. There's a Crow doll on the bench to solve it and the poem reads: 

One for light
Two for darkness
Three for a Fight
Four for a struggle
Five birds for injury
Six for Misery
Seven for the ending
whatever that maybe

2. Witchfinder's Station Ranger's cabin nursery rhyme

You'll find the Witchfinder's Station nursery rhyme just outside the front porch, again on your second visit after the flooding recedes, The poem reads: 

The Hero brave and strong
left home to right a wrong
From the woods came the
Wolf so greedy and hungry
That he ate what he found in
the house without a host
The Hero returned to find
she'd lost the thing she
loved most

3. Private cabin Nursery Rhyme

The Private cabin Nursery Rhyme is another you can get on your second visit to Cauldron Lake. Pass under the fallen tree to reach it and you'll find the rhyme on the right with this poem: 

A mother-Crow sits in her
nest
Guarding her babies, doing
her best
To protect her home from
the Beast coming to feast
But only a Hero brave of
heart can keep the two
apart.

To solve this poem you'll need all three of the dolls you should have found by now: the Crow, Hero and Wolf. 

4. Inside the Northwest Rental Cabin

This one can only be accessed on your second visit and have the bolt cutters to break the chain blocking off the Rental Cabins. Once that's obtained, cut your way through the main gate, walk around to the back of the cabins ahead of you, and there'll be a space under the fallen tree to squeeze under. This'll give you access to a couple of new cabins - one of which has this rhyme written on its floor.

Our Hero courageous and
true
Stalked by the Monster
hatching through
The clever Crows caw their
warning
And keep an eye on the
battle forming
When the fight is done and
over
The Hero and the Crows
Reap the rewards left for
her.

5. Final Nursery Rhyme in Witchfinder's Cabin

This one only becomes accessible when you've completed every other Rhyme in Alan Wake 2, which gives you the Father doll, essential to completing this little side quest. Once you have it, head back to discover to find no Nursery Rhyme, but numerous little places to put dolls all over the house, and static-laden radio giving instructions.

Bright Falls Nursery Rhymes

You won't be able to find any of the Bright Falls nursery rhymes in Alan Wake 2 on your first visit, and will have to come back again when the Western section of the map opens up, giving you access to Valhalla and surrounding forests.

1. Bunker woods
2. Bright Falls Ranger Cabin
3. Beach
4. Billie's boat yard

1. Bunker Woods nursery rhyme

Peeling to the left and heading up the hill after crossing the bridge will help you find this first Nursery Rhyme, where there are toys littered everywhere, and a poem that says the following:

Mother, may I go outside,
may I run and play?
I say to you my Daughter
dear, go outside and play
But only in the light of day
and only 'round the trees so
grown
Never near the lake, my
child, and never may you drown

2. Bright Falls Ranger Cabin nursery rhyme

This one is easy enough to find once you complete the sequence in Valhalla and get the bolt cutters to access the whole lower section of the map through the back gate of the facility. Head to the cabin and you'll find a rhyme on the floor, spelling the following:

A child needs their Mother to keep them safe
And a home as their hiding place
Because outside the Monsters roam and
chase
When they ring your doorbell, don't yell
Don't tell them to go away
Give them treats and pray
They won't rock your house down to the
ground

3. Beach nursery rhyme

This one is very easy to spot, a set up on the beach as you approach the boatyard, with a few scattered toys and this poem in the middle.

To the beach a Child went wandering
Pretty, shiny rocks she's gathering
But from the water a Monster rose
A horrible beast with a pointy nose
A flapping wing and dragging toes!
But the Child was wrong, it was her Mother all
along
On a boat grabbing a towel that's already gone

4. Billie's boat yard nursery rhyme

You can access the boatyard from either side, but either way you'll need to have reached the point where you've unlocked the bolt cutters. At the larger Eastern dock, this rhyme will be set up:

Five little Monsters out on the sea
Competing to see who the winner will be
They rocked their boats to find out who floats
Until one little monster did fall
Mama called out to the Sea and cried
And the Sea she replied
"On the bottom they will rot if they will not
stop rocking their boats."

Watery nursery rhymes

Don't be deceived by the nine empty spaces in the Watery nursery rhymes section of Saga's mind place - there are only eight rhymes to find, the first slot being filled by a file you can find in an FBC safe house that simply gives a rough location of the other rhymes. We've found all of them, though keep in mind that you can only find the first three in the list when you first reach Watery and start progressing - rhymes 4 and onwards require you to hit a specific plot beat in Saga's story here that causes the waters to recede, clearing the scribbled out sections of the map, and 8 requires you to have the bolt cutters found even later.

1. Shooting Range
2. Radio Tower
3. Watery Lighthouse
4. Latte Lagoon
5. Ranger Cabin
6. Trailer Park
7. FBC Cabin / Watery town house
8. Locked Trailer

1. Shooting Range nursery rhyme

You'll find the Shooting Range nursery rhyme when you're heading to Coffee World for the first time. You'll need to double back to reach it, where you'll find this poem: 

The Gentle Beast with a
beautiful crown
Runs through the woods
with a worried frown
From the Hunter he flees
between the mighty trees
To make it out alive.

It's not the clearest puzzle because you can find a moose and deer doll just to the right of the rhyme and could argue both have a crown. So here's what you need to do: 

2. Radio Tower nursery rhyme

You'll find the Radio Tower nursery rhyme if you go left at the tower and follow the tables around. The rhyme says: 

Three little Deers ventured
to roam
And found a nice place to
eat and play
One little Deer never came
home
And two of the Deers cried
all day.

Again not the clearest puzzle because you'll only have one deer doll at this point (assuming you already collected the dolls from the Shooting Range nursery rhyme). Here's what you need to do: 

3. Watery Lighthouse nursery rhyme

This rhyme is at the little dead end on the cliffs to the right of the lighthouse, but make sure you go up the lighthouse door first to grab the new dolls - the mother, the trickster and the wise elder! Once you have those, check the rhyme itself to see the following:

An old Watcher of the Sea
before his demise
Cursed the waters that
ruined his eyes
So he played a trick on the
Ocean deep
The waves to fight and
havoc to wreak
And in doing that wrong,
lost his soul's song.

Catchy, right? You'll need the new dolls from the lighthouse steps in order to solve this one, so come back with those and do the following:

4. Latte Lagoon nursery rhyme

This one is only accessible after you complete the sequence that causes the water in Watery to recede a little, giving you free reign to new areas. Heading to the Northeast corner of Coffee World at this point allows you to reach Latte Lagoon - at the end of the little dock, you'll find this rhyme waiting for you.

A Devil, with a prize, lured
the animals two
To his boat all shiny and
new
Who would float and who
would sink?
Asked the Devil with a wink
The Moose went splash, the
Deer sailed on,
But which one of them was therefore gone?

Clearly you want to make sure you have the Moose and Deer dolls for this one, but you'll also need a third - the Trickster, found at the lighthouse steps mentioned above. Here's how you use them:

5. Ranger Cabin nursery rhyme

Again, this is an area you can only reach once Watery is a bit less watery, found by heading back past the gift shop in Coffee World up the Northern path you first entered by, then heading left. The cabin has some wolves prowling around it you'll want to deal with, and you need the Screwdriver to open the door, but the rhyme itself is behind the cabin, laid outside to study. However, before you deal with it, go into the cabin and the upstairs bedroom to find the Bear doll and Maiden doll on a side cabinet. Now you can address the rhyme itself:

A young Woman eager and
smart
Ventured into the woods,
the beasts' lair
The King of the Forest stole
her heart
And together they now live,
without a care.

With the bear and maiden dolls in play, this one shouldn't be too difficult, but if you need a helping hand, here's the solution:

6. Trailer park nursery rhyme

Another one revealed by receding water, this time you need to head to the Lighthouse Trailer Park and go to its southernmost point where it meets the lake, then along the newly-accessible pier. As you step onto the pier itself, there'll be a Child Doll on the bench to your left, which you need to grab. Then, at the pier's East side, you'll find this rhyme waiting for you:

The Old Fisherman had
great luck
His catch at Sea was
beyond belief
But the Hungry Guest found
relief
In the Fisherman's bountiful
truck.

This is a slightly more esoteric puzzle that I'm not sure makes total sense, but we do have the answer below regardless for if you need it.

7. Watery FBC cabin nursery rhyme

If you head back to Watery after getting the screwdriver and unlock the cabin at the North side of town, you'll find a little outpost of the FBC where they've been orchestrating their study of nursery rhymes in the area. More importantly, the bedroom at the end of the hut has another rhyme in that you can play with.

There once was a faithful
Girl
At home she stayed and
there she prayed
For her Lover to return
But he collected fair
maidens just as he did
Their stolen riches and
broken hearts

Depressing, but hey - solve this and you can get your own stolen riches in the form of a charm, right? If you need a hand on that, here's the solution:

8. Locked Trailer Nursery Rhyme

You'll need the bolt cutters to access this final rhyme, cutting through the lock on the final trailer in the trailer park. Inside you'll find some hay and a comparatively short rhyme laid out at the back:

The Old Man who could
see
Had no children of his own
So he cared for a Fawn not
yet grown
For the Deer for him was
dear
And filled his life with love

All Alan Wake 2 dolls and where to find them

There's a total of 13 dolls in Alan Wake 2, and while they're relatively easy to find - usually close to at least one of the Rhymes that requires them and often in groups of 2 or 3 - the combination of the close camera and constant darkness can make it easy to miss them, especially if Taken are attempting to split your skull with well-slung axes. I've listed all their locations below, arranged in order that they appear on Saga's mind place board, so if there's a space you know where to look.

1. Wolf Doll: Upstairs in the Witchfinder's Station in Cauldron Lake
2. Child Doll: On the bench at the start of the Watery Trailer Park dock as you walk down it towards Rhyme 6 ("The Old Fisherman…")
3. Maiden Doll: Upstairs in the Watery Ranger Cabin bedroom, the building next to Rhyme 5 ("A young Woman eager and smart…")
4. Father Doll: Appears in a closed metal case next to the player when all 15 Rhymes have been completed (not including the final/secret one in Cauldron Lake)
5. Hero Doll: Upstairs in the Witchfinder's Station in Cauldron Lake
6. Crow Doll: On the picnic table near Rhyme 1 of Cauldron Lake ("One for light, Two for darkness…")
7. Mother Doll: On the front doorstep of Watery lighthouse, just before Rhyme 3 ("An old Watcher of the Sea…")
8. Wise Elder Doll: On the front doorstep of Watery lighthouse, just before Rhyme 3 ("An old Watcher of the Sea…")
9. Moose Doll: Next to Rhyme 1 (Shooting Range) in Watery ("The Gentle Beast…")
10. Deer Doll: Next to Rhyme 1 (Shooting Range) in Watery ("The Gentle Beast…")
11. Trickster Doll: On the front doorstep of Watery lighthouse, just before Rhyme 3 ("An old Watcher of the Sea…")
12. Monster Doll: Upstairs in the Watery Ranger Cabin bedroom, the building next to Rhyme 5 ("A young Woman eager and smart…")
13. Bear Doll: Upstairs in the Watery Ranger Cabin bedroom, the building next to Rhyme 5 ("A young Woman eager and smart…")

All Alan Wake 2 charms and where to find them

As you find and solve the various Nursery Rhymes in the game you'll start to collect various charms that act like perks. You can only have three charms on Saga's bracelet at any one time (unless you complete all the Rhymes, which unlocks a fourth slot) so you'll have to pick what you think are the most useful. All the charms are unique and individual items with the exception of the coffee mug, which is destroyed when used and can be found multiple times. 

• Starting Charm
  • Logan's charm -  Increases maximum health
• Cauldron Lake Charms
  • Hammer charm - Attacks stagger enemies more often
  • Coffee mug charm (x2) - Saves you from death but breaks in the process
  • Kalavala Knights charm - Increases a hand flare's area and duration.
• Bright Falls Charms
  • Lantern charm - Adds one Charge to Saga's Flashlight
  • Coffee mug charm - Saves you from death but breaks in the process
  • Valhalla Nursing Home charm - Increases effectiveness of Painkillers and Trauma Pads
  • Anchor Charm - Chance to stun enemy on Flashlight boost 
• Watery Charms
  • Coffee mug charm (x2) - Saves you from death but breaks in the process
  • Deer charm - Increases your resistance to being staggered or interrupted
  • Lighthouse charm - Increases max amount of health restored in safe havens
  • FBC charm - Increases damage dealt while undetected by enemies
  • Mr Drippy charm - Increases damage dealt when low on health
  • Coffee World Token charm - Increases quality and quantity of resources
  • Deerfest charm - Significantly increases time before Darkness Shields regenerate

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