Run a real workforce
Settlers move through jobs, schedules and priorities rather than acting as decorative population counters.
Medieval colony simulator
Holdfast
Found a settlement with a handful of survivors, put them to work, build a functioning home and keep the colony alive as weather, hunger, injury, production and outside threats begin to compete for your attention.
The premise
A settlement that has to work, not just look busy
Holdfast is a browser-based medieval colony simulation centred on the practical life of a small settlement. Settlers need jobs, usable rooms, food, water, equipment and somewhere safe to sleep. Materials have to be gathered and turned into useful goods. Farms need planting and harvesting. Hunting, industry, research, storage and construction all compete for labour, while seasons and unexpected problems force priorities to change.
GatherSecure timber, stone, food, water and the raw materials needed to keep the colony moving.
BuildCreate rooms, workshops, storage, farms, upper floors and underground spaces around real settlement needs.
OrganiseSet work priorities and make sure the right settlers are available when essential jobs need doing.
EndurePrepare for cold weather, injuries, shortages, raids and the knock-on effects of neglected systems.
What you can do
Build above ground, below it and through the seasons
Shape the settlement
Build connected rooms, furnish them, expand upwards, excavate underground and connect levels with stairs.
Farm and hunt
Grow crops tile by tile, manage food supplies and send hunters after wildlife to support the settlement.
Develop production
Turn raw resources into tools, building materials, preserved food, clothing, equipment and other useful goods.
Manage the environment
Weather, temperature, water, terrain and seasonal change affect what is safe, productive and sustainable.
Protect what you built
Prepare settlers and defences for hostile raids while keeping ordinary work and survival needs under control.
The colony
Small decisions become settlement-wide problems
A missing bed is not just a number on a panel. Poor storage can waste resources. A delayed harvest can become a food problem. A workshop placed badly can slow a production chain. Holdfast is designed around these connected consequences, so expansion is useful only when the settlement can actually support it.
Start a settlement
Holdfast runs directly in the browser. Begin with a small group of settlers and turn an empty landscape into a colony capable of feeding, housing and defending itself.