iTechGuides is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more
If you want a colony simulator about building a home, feeding a growing population and assigning useful work, the closest established alternatives to Family Time are Clanfolk for family-centered seasonal survival, RimWorld for character-driven stories, Going Medieval for approachable 3D construction, and Oxygen Not Included for engineering-heavy systems.
Family Time is still in development. FamilyTimeGuide lists a planned Q1 2027 release for Windows, a free Episode 2 pre-alpha and a paid Episode 3 member build. The release window is provisional, and multiplayer has not been officially confirmed, so the games below are the practical choices you can play while you wait.
What makes a good Family Time alternative?
Family Time is described as “A first-person colony simulator about looking after a growing family of wolf children. Build a home, keep everyone fed, and put your growing colony to work.” That premise combines three different types of management: a household you can care about, a settlement that needs reliable production, and a population whose growth creates new demands.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
No released game matches every part of that premise. Instead, the best substitute depends on which part matters most to you:
#1 Best Overall
- Read Before You Buy — No Video Output: These adapters support charging and USB 2.0 data transfer, but cannot transmit video signals. Except for standard USB webcams (which use USB data only), they are not compatible with HDMI/DisplayPort cables, video-capable USB-C hubs, or docking stations with video output.
- Convert USB-A Ports to USB-C: Designed to connect USB-C earphones, cables, flash drives, card readers, and other USB-C accessories to standard USB-A ports. Plug-and-play with no drivers or software required.
- Aluminum Alloy Housing: Built with a sturdy aluminum alloy shell that aids in heat dissipation and protects against daily wear and scratches. Designed to maintain a stable and secure connection.
- Compact & Travel-Friendly: The ultra-compact design allows the adapter to stay plugged into your device without blocking adjacent ports or adding bulk, reducing wear and tear on your original USB ports.
- 12-Month Warranty: Backed by a 12-month manufacturer warranty for peace of mind. Designed to meet strict quality control standards for reliable everyday performance.
- Character stories: colonists’ needs, relationships and crises drive the settlement.
- Simulation depth: the world models many interacting systems and lets unexpected outcomes emerge.
- Construction: you spend more time laying out buildings, defenses and production spaces.
- Family or seasonal survival: warmth, food, schedules, skills and preparation shape daily life.
- Population-scale logistics: water, power, stockpiles, labor and terrain determine whether a larger settlement functions.
The recommendations below are organized around those differences rather than a single ranking. A game that is ideal for a small group of individuals may feel very different from one built around a whole town’s production chain.
Quick comparison
| Game | Best fit | Primary management scale | Defining pressure |
|---|---|---|---|
| RimWorld | Emergent character stories | Small group of crash-landed survivors | Needs, relationships, logistics and crises shaped by an AI storyteller |
| Dwarf Fortress | Deepest simulation | Generated-world fortress | Intricate systems and player decisions that can turn a settlement into history |
| Oxygen Not Included | Engineering and systems balancing | Sealed asteroid colony | Oxygen, heat, germs, food, morale and plumbing |
| Going Medieval | Approachable 3D construction | Medieval castle settlement | Building and managing a settlement in reclaimed wilderness |
| Clanfolk | Family-centered survival | Household and small settlement | Warmth, food, schedules, skills and preparation for winter |
| Stranded: Alien Dawn | Small-group survival on another world | Stranded survivors | Shelter, research, farming, injuries, wildlife and defenses |
| Timberborn | Large-settlement logistics | Beaver settlement | Drought, water physics, reservoirs, food, power and terrain |
| Banished | Classic settlement survival | Growing town | Food, firewood, disease, aging and stockpiles |
| Frostpunk | Society-level survival decisions | City under extreme cold | Heat, labor, laws and morality |
| Against the Storm | Short, replayable settlement runs | Compact settlements across runs | Weather, orders, species needs and risk |
| The Wandering Village | Unusual mobile settlement | Colony on a giant creature | Colony needs balanced against the living host |
The best colony-sim games like Family Time
RimWorld — best for emergent character stories
RimWorld is the strongest choice if your interest in Family Time is primarily the people. Its premise follows crash-landed survivors who build a home while an AI storyteller turns logistics into drama. The colony’s story comes from the interaction between individual needs, relationships and sudden crises rather than from a fixed narrative.
This makes it a good fit for players who want to remember particular colonists and the incidents that changed the settlement. A small group also keeps decisions personal: assigning work is not just an efficiency problem, because each person’s condition and relationships affect what the colony can safely attempt.
Recommended Free Tools
Choose RimWorld when you want the closest match to the “care for a growing group and watch their lives unfold” side of the premise. Choose another game if your priority is a highly visual medieval town, a sealed technical ecosystem or a strict family-and-seasons loop.
Dwarf Fortress — best for the deepest simulation
Dwarf Fortress is the most appropriate alternative when you want the settlement itself to become a detailed historical record. It is a generated-world fortress simulator in which dwarves and player decisions can turn a settlement into history.
The appeal is breadth and consequence. Instead of focusing on a short list of household needs, you are dealing with a world whose systems can produce complicated outcomes. That depth rewards experimentation and patience: the interesting story is often the chain of events created by your decisions rather than a scripted objective.
It is a demanding recommendation for readers who want an easy introduction to colony management. If you are prepared to learn a very intricate simulation and value emergent history over immediate accessibility, it is the benchmark choice.
Oxygen Not Included — best for engineering-minded players
Oxygen Not Included turns colony management into a systems-engineering problem. Your colony is on a sealed asteroid, and survival depends on balancing oxygen, heat, germs, food, morale and plumbing.
Rank #2
- 5-in-1 USB-C Hub: Experience comprehensive connectivity featuring a Power Delivery input, two USB-A 2.0 ports, a USB-A 3.0 port, and an HDMI port. (Note: The USB-C power delivery input port is only for connecting an external wall charger to power your laptop and cannot power peripheral devices.)
- 90W Pass-Through Charging: Achieve optimal charging with 90W pass-through power to your laptop, supported by a total input of 100W, with the hub reserving 10W for operational efficiency. (Note: Wall charger not included.)
- Quick Data Transfers: Accelerate your productivity with rapid data transfers using a high-speed 5Gbps USB 3.0 port and two 480Mbps USB 2.0 ports.
- 4K HDMI Display: Enhance your visual experience with a hub capable of delivering 4K resolution at 30Hz in both mirror and extend modes. Please note that this hub is compatible with MacBook (macOS 12 and newer), Windows 10 and 11, ChromeOS, and laptops equipped with DP Alt Mode and Power Delivery. Note: This device is not compatible with Linux.
- What You Get: Anker USB-C Hub (5-in-1, 4K HDMI), welcome guide, 18-month warranty, and our friendly customer service.
Every expansion can affect several other systems. More inhabitants increase demand; new rooms and production arrangements have consequences for temperature, sanitation and resources. The result is a game about designing a stable environment rather than simply placing homes and assigning jobs.
Pick it if you enjoy tracing bottlenecks, building reliable infrastructure and improving a colony through technical solutions. It is less focused on family relationships or a medieval visual identity, but it is one of the clearest choices for readers who want the “keep everyone alive through careful management” challenge.
Going Medieval — best for approachable 3D construction
Going Medieval is the most direct recommendation if the attraction is building a visible home and expanding it into a defensible settlement. Steam describes it as: “Build and manage your own castle settlement in a land reclaimed by wilderness.” Its focus is detailed management, survival strategy and a moddable sandbox, with single-player support and Steam Workshop integration.
The 3D presentation makes the construction side easier to read than a purely abstract management view. You can approach it as a castle-building project while still handling the survival and production decisions that keep the settlement operating.
The game released on 17 March 2026. Steam showed 88% positive from 8,707 English reviews when checked on 17 October 2026; both the percentage and review count are time-sensitive storefront figures. A Steam review places it alongside established colony simulators such as Dwarf Fortress and RimWorld, which is a useful description of its intended audience rather than a guarantee that its systems work identically.
If you are specifically searching for a Going Medieval PC game, verify the current storefront listing and edition details before purchase. The available evidence confirms the released PC colony sim, but it does not establish a physical edition, a console version or any particular marketplace price.
Clanfolk — best for a family-centered survival loop
Clanfolk is the closest thematic alternative when your favorite part of Family Time is caring for a household. Its survival loop centers on warmth, food, schedules, skills and preparation for winter, with family life taking precedence over combat.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →That emphasis changes how you evaluate a settlement. A good plan is not merely the one that produces the most resources; it is the one that keeps people warm, fed and assigned to work they can perform while leaving enough time to prepare for the next season. Winter preparation gives the colony a clear rhythm and makes stockpiling feel like a household responsibility rather than an abstract economic target.
Rank #3
- Sleek 7-in-1 USB-C Hub: Features an HDMI port, two USB-A 3.0 ports, and a USB-C data port, each providing 5Gbps transfer speeds. It also includes a USB-C PD input port for charging up to 100W and dual SD and TF card slots, all in a compact design.
- Flawless 4K@60Hz Video with HDMI: Delivers exceptional clarity and smoothness with its 4K@60Hz HDMI port, making it ideal for high-definition presentations and entertainment. (Note: Only the HDMI port supports video projection; the USB-C port is for data transfer only.)
- Double Up on Efficiency: The two USB-A 3.0 ports and a USB-C port support a fast 5Gbps data rate, significantly boosting your transfer speeds and improving productivity.
- Fast and Reliable 85W Charging: Offers high-capacity, speedy charging for laptops up to 85W, so you spend less time tethered to an outlet and more time being productive.
- What You Get: Anker USB-C Hub (7-in-1), welcome guide, 18-month warranty, and our friendly customer service.
Choose Clanfolk if you want domestic routines and seasonal planning. It is a better match than the more crisis-driven or engineering-heavy games for players who want the settlement’s identity to come from family survival.
Stranded: Alien Dawn — best for a small group on an alien planet
Stranded: Alien Dawn combines the intimate scale of a small survivor group with a broader survival toolkit. Its systems include shelter, research, farming, injuries, wildlife and defenses on an alien planet.
The game suits players who want individual survivors to matter while still having a clear technology and infrastructure path. Farming and shelter address everyday survival; research expands what the group can do; injuries and wildlife add reasons to protect the settlement rather than treating construction as purely economic.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
It is a strong alternative if you like the idea of a growing home but want an alien setting and a wider set of external threats. Select it over RimWorld when the combination of research, farming and defenses is more important than an AI storyteller’s character drama.
Timberborn — best for settlement-scale logistics
Timberborn shifts attention from a handful of residents to the physical organization of a larger settlement. Drought, water physics, reservoirs, food, power and terrain define the central problems.
Water management is the key planning lens. Reservoirs and terrain are not decorative choices; they shape whether the settlement can survive dry periods and maintain production. Food and power then become connected to the same geographical decisions, so expansion requires an understanding of the whole landscape.
Choose Timberborn when you want to design infrastructure for a population and enjoy seeing a settlement respond to environmental cycles. It is less about household relationships and more about making a town resilient through engineering and logistics.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Banished — best for classic survival settlement management
Banished offers a focused, traditional settlement-survival challenge. Food, firewood, disease, aging and stockpiles determine whether the town survives.
Rank #4
- Dual Converters, Infinite Potential：Includes 2× USB C male to USB A female adapters and 2× USB A male to USB C female adapters. Perfect for a wide range of uses—tablets with Bluetooth keyboards, expand USB ports on macbook, and more. Two different converters for all your daily needs
- Next-Level 10Gbps & 3A Charging: No more slow 480Mbps, this usb to usb c adapter has a transfer speed of up to 10Gbps, allowing you to do more transferring in less time. This usb adapter fits both USB A and USB C charger, supporting up to 3A fast charging
- Upgraded Exquisite Craftsmanship: With an aluminum alloy housing and metal connector, the usbc to usb adapter is extremely durable and sturdy. Rigorously tested to withstand more than 10,000 times of plugging and unplugging, ensuring long-lasting performance
- Broad Compatible: The usb c to usb adapter widely supports all USB C/ USB A devices like laptops, tablets, cellphones, car chargers, and phone chargers. Such as compatible with MacBook Pro/Air 2023/2022, Thunderbolt 4/3 Devices,Apple MagSafe Watch 9/8/7/SE/Ultra, iPad Pro 2022/2021, Samsung Galaxy S23/S20/S10, and iPhone 17/16/15 Pro. Plug and play
- Please Note: To reach 10Gbps speed, keep the cable under 3.3 ft. For USB A Male to USB C adapters, try flipping the USB C connector. USB C Male to USB A adapters support bidirectional 10Gbps transfer within 3.3 ft
Its pressures are easy to understand but difficult to balance over time. A settlement can appear healthy while quietly consuming reserves, aging beyond its labor capacity or becoming vulnerable to disease. That makes stockpile planning and a stable supply of essentials more important than rapid construction.
Pick Banished if you want the fundamentals of colony management without an unusual setting or a large technical stack. It is a useful choice for learning to read population needs, production capacity and reserve levels before moving to more elaborate simulations.
Frostpunk — best for society-level survival decisions
Frostpunk expands the colony-sim question from “How do I keep this household alive?” to “What rules should govern the entire society?” Its extreme-cold setting makes heat, labor, laws and morality inseparable.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsThe defining decisions are political as well as logistical. Labor allocation and heat determine immediate survival, while laws and moral choices determine what kind of society emerges under pressure. That gives the game a sharper ethical focus than the household-centered options.
Choose it when you want survival management to include difficult decisions about authority and values. It is not the closest substitute for a gentle family-building fantasy, but it is an excellent fit if you want the colony’s future to depend on social policy as much as on production.
Against the Storm — best for shorter, replayable settlement runs
Against the Storm is designed around compact settlement runs rather than one endlessly expanding town. Weather, orders, species needs and risk create a series of focused survival puzzles.
This structure is useful if you like colony management but do not want every session tied to a single long campaign. Each run asks you to respond to the conditions in front of you, balance different species’ needs and decide how much risk to accept while completing orders.
Outdated Drivers Are Slowing You Down
One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchPC Slower Than It Used to Be?
A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Choose it for replayability and changing constraints. If your ideal game is watching one family grow in one persistent home, Clanfolk or RimWorld is a closer fit; if you prefer repeated problem-solving with a clear run-based shape, this is the better choice.
Best Value
- 5-in-1 Connectivity: Equipped with a 4K HDMI port, a 5 Gbps USB-C data port, two 5 Gbps USB-A ports, and a USB C 100W PD-IN port. Note: The USB C 100W PD-IN port supports only charging and does not support data transfer devices such as headphones or speakers.
- Powerful Pass-Through Charging: Supports up to 85W pass-through charging so you can power up your laptop while you use the hub. Note: Pass-through charging requires a charger (not included). Note: To achieve full power for iPad, we recommend using a 45W wall charger.
- Transfer Files in Seconds: Move files to and from your laptop at speeds of up to 5 Gbps via the USB-C and USB-A data ports. Note: The USB C 5Gbps Data port does not support video output.
- HD Display: Connect to the HDMI port to stream or mirror content to an external monitor in resolutions of up to 4K@30Hz. Note: The USB-C ports do not support video output.
- What You Get: Anker 332 USB-C Hub (5-in-1), welcome guide, our worry-free 18-month warranty, and friendly customer service.
The Wandering Village — best for an unusual settlement concept
The Wandering Village places the colony on a giant creature. The central management problem is therefore two-way: you must meet the settlement’s needs while also balancing those needs against the living host that carries it.
That premise creates a distinctive version of colony planning. Expansion and production cannot be considered in isolation because the colony’s survival is tied to the creature’s condition. The result is a good option for players who want a memorable setting and a settlement whose environment is also an active participant.
Choose it when novelty matters as much as conventional construction. It offers a different perspective from medieval towns, asteroid habitats and generated fortresses while retaining the core question of how a population survives together.
Choose by the kind of management you enjoy
If you want people and stories
Start with RimWorld for emergent relationships, needs and crises. Choose Clanfolk instead when family routines, warmth and winter preparation are more important than dramatic events.
If you want systems to engineer
Oxygen Not Included is the clearest fit for technical balancing among oxygen, heat, germs, food, morale and plumbing. Timberborn is the better engineering choice when you prefer water physics, reservoirs, terrain and settlement-scale power and food logistics.
If you want to build a visible settlement
Going Medieval emphasizes approachable 3D castle construction and a moddable sandbox. It is the natural first choice for players who want the physical layout of a home or fortress to be central to play.
If you want maximum simulation depth
Choose Dwarf Fortress. Its generated worlds and intricate fortress-management systems are aimed at players who want decisions to accumulate into a detailed, often unpredictable history.
If you want a defined survival challenge
Banished provides classic settlement fundamentals. Frostpunk adds laws, labor and morality to an extreme-cold society. Against the Storm turns the challenge into shorter runs with changing weather, orders, species needs and risk.
If you want a setting unlike a normal town
Pick Stranded: Alien Dawn for a small group on an alien planet, or The Wandering Village for a colony carried by a giant creature.
A practical checklist before you choose
- Decide whether individuals or infrastructure should dominate. Individual stories point toward RimWorld, Clanfolk or Stranded: Alien Dawn; infrastructure points toward Oxygen Not Included, Timberborn or Going Medieval.
- Choose your preferred settlement scale. Small groups make each person significant, while town- and city-scale systems make production chains, water, heat and stockpiles the main concerns.
- Pick a pressure you will enjoy managing repeatedly. That may be winter preparation, drought, extreme cold, plumbing, wildlife, disease or changing run conditions.
- Check the current platform and edition listing. The available information confirms Windows for Family Time and single-player Steam support for Going Medieval; verify current details for any other title before buying.
- Separate confirmed availability from future plans. Family Time has a planned Q1 2027 release and public pre-alpha or member builds, so treat that date as an estimate rather than a guaranteed launch.
Bottom line
For the closest family-and-season feeling, start with Clanfolk. For character-driven colony stories, choose RimWorld; for construction, choose Going Medieval; and for deep technical systems, choose Oxygen Not Included. The remaining games are strong alternatives when you specifically want fortress simulation, drought logistics, classic town survival, political decisions, replayable runs, alien survival or a settlement built on a living creature.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
