Stonehearth
A voxel settlement sim about helping a small group build homes, produce food, defend itself, and grow in a warm fantasy world.
Stonehearth is worth including even with its messy development history because it is a recognizable small-settlement colony sim. It focuses on citizens, jobs, moods, shelters, food, crafting, defense, and gradual expansion into a livable town.
Stonehearth belongs in the catalog because it pushes the core colony-sim question: can a settlement keep functioning when people, resources, environment, and bad timing all collide?
Core mechanics
People pressure
Colonists, settlers, crew, or citizens create needs and priorities that turn a base into a social system.
Base planning
Rooms, storage, production, defenses, temperature, oxygen, water, or logistics decide whether the settlement works.
Failure stories
The best run is rarely perfect. Shortages, bad layouts, events, and cascading mistakes create the memory.
Long-term arc
Research, expansion, seasons, raids, diplomacy, or self-sufficiency give the colony somewhere to go.
Related colonies
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Dwarf Fortress 9.9
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Oxygen Not Included 9.8
A sealed asteroid colony sim where oxygen, heat, germs, food, morale, and plumbing all become survival problems.