A settlement at dusk, its hearth-fire glowing
Hearthline
Hearthline · Open beta

Keep the fire lit.

Grow something that lasts — from a single hearth to a whole world, one warm night at a time.
Carry the warmth, or just the reach?
Family›Camp›Village›Town›City›Nation›World
The heart arc

One fire, lit on the first night, has never gone out. It does not narrate your conquest — it remembers your people. Every scale you cross is a chapter it keeps.

Family
Playable now

Family

Arrival

A single household around one fire — the seed of everything that follows.

You gathered wood in the dark. Sparks took. I have not gone out since.— the hearth
You learn to
Gather woodLight the hearthCook the first meal
Hearth
Hearth
New this chapter
  • The hearth — your first structure, lit in an instant
  • Two needs to tend: warmth & hunger
New mechanic+ warmth & hunger
5capabilities
1structure
2needs
NextBuild the hearth and cook a first meal to settle the camp.
Camp
Playable now

Camp

Staying

A handful of households that have chosen to stay — the first settlement to outlast a season.

He came alone, with nothing, and asked to sit by me. You made room. That is how a camp begins.— the hearth · Bram, the first stranger
You learn to
Knap stone toolsFish the weir & trap gameHunt with a spearWeave basketsTwist cordagePreserve & smoke foodRaise permanent shelter
Workshop
Workshop
Fishing weir
Fishing weir
Smokehouse
Smokehouse
Storage pit
Storage pit
Shelter
Shelter
New this chapter
  • Tool-making gates the deeper crafts
  • Protein arrives: fishing, hunting, trapping
  • Preservation turns surplus into a lasting store
  • Storage caps & spoilage come online — mind the larder
New mechanic+ storage & spoilage
22capabilities
8structures
2needs
NextTwo shelters, a stocked larder, and a second household to found the village.
Village
Playable now

Village

Home, not shelter

Lasting homes, shared stores, and crews that work as one — a camp grown into a community.

Born here. She has never walked the cold road you walked. She thinks the fire was always burning.— the hearth · the child, by the fire
You learn to
Organise work crewsTrain specialists — cook, tanner, artisan, carpenterSaw planks · weave cloth · fire potteryTan hides into garmentsRaise the longhouse & granary
Commons
Commons
Sawpit
Sawpit
Loom
Loom
Kiln
Kiln
Longhouse
Longhouse
Granary
Granary
New this chapter
  • Organised crews unlock workforce management
  • Value-added goods: planks, cloth, pottery, household goods
  • A third need awakens: belonging
  • Shared stores hold the whole settlement
New mechanic+ workforce & specialists
12deeper capabilities
9structures
5specialist roles
3needs
Beta beatThe village is where the beta’s story comes to rest — for now.
Town

Town

The shared fire

Specialised quarters and a market that draws in the surrounding country.

New specialists staff new civic buildings — a town hall, watch post and well house — with public works and settlement upkeep to keep the town running. A need for safety arrives, and the hearth turns from cook-fire to gathering-place.

New mechanic+ maintenance & safety
On the horizon the long arc
City

City

Forgetting

Walls, wards, and trades enough that few who live here have ever worked the land.

Nation

Nation

Carrying the warmth

Many settlements bound under one rule, reach extending past any single horizon.

World

World

For better or worse

The whole of the known world, answering — for better or worse — to one people.

Live now
A living world

Every season. Every hour.

Four seasons, passing weather, and the turn from day to night change what you gather and how fast needs drain. Winter asks the most, but the world is gentle, never punishing.

Spring
Springdawn
Summer
Summernoon
Autumn
Autumndusk
Winter
Winternight
New & on the way

Landing in the beta.

Live now
Many worldsKeep several worlds going at once — start a new one whenever, and return to any of them right where you left off.
Soft-launch
Larders & spoilageCap your stores and keep perishables fresh. Size your storage against the hours you are away.
Coming soon
Building upgradesInvest in a structure to raise what it can do — deeper output as the settlement matures, not just more of it.
ExpeditionsSend crews on bounded, high-stakes ventures — real risk and real reward, with the odds shown before you commit.
MaintenanceBuildings need ongoing upkeep; neglect wears output down gradually — never a hard stop — so sprawl carries a cost.
Economic legibilitySee your binding constraint, your runway, and what is limiting growth — at a glance.
Sound effectsHandmade, acoustic sounds for the everyday work of the settlement.
SoundtrackA warm, acoustic score that grows as the settlement does.

Needs, not numbers. Value comes from what your people need, what your stores can hold, and who’s free to work — a village you care for, not a spreadsheet you grind.