About Kinfolks
Kinfolks is a text-based idle game about one Appalachian family, starting in the middle of the 1800s and running forward from there. You're not playing one character. You play the clan, and when the head of the house grows old and dies, the land passes to whoever is still around to hold it.
Life moves the way it did in those hills. Children are born, people marry in, some move away, some go off to war, some get thrown out of the church and later come home. A family book records all of it, and every wedding and birth adds a branch to the family tree. Its moonshine, feuds, church life, farm work and family names are drawn from the region's real history, and no one in the game is played as a joke.
There's no ending. If a family line runs out, it closes, and a new one starts on the same creek. The screen looks like an old ledger, with a sepia sketch of farmhouses across the top, a running count of money and the year, and buttons for the family tree, saving and the other books. You can play Kinfolks online in your browser, and it's built to be checked on over days.
How to Play Kinfolks
- Click inside the game window and start a line by rolling the person you were born as.
- Check their traits, such as Ornery, Stout, Slick, Horse Sense and Luck of the Draw, then roll again or settle with That'll Do.
- Let the years pass and watch your money build as the family works the land.
- Follow births, marriages and deaths as the family tree fills out.
- Press Save the Family Bible to save, and Load to pick up where you left off.
- Browse the family tree and the other books along the bottom of the screen to look back over the generations.
What to Expect in Kinfolks
Kinfolks is slow on purpose. It's a game you return to over days, checking how the family is getting on, rather than one you race through. The writing carries it: plain, period-flavored text, with people described down to their hair, height and crooked teeth.
The themes fit the time and place, so expect mentions of moonshine, feuds, war and people being cast out of the church, all handled with a straight face. If you like a text-based idle game with history behind it, you can play Kinfolks free and let a family grow at its own pace.
Tips for Kinfolks
- Roll a few times at the start. What you roll affects your prospects, so it's worth getting a start you like.
- Save to the family bible before you close the tab. A game that runs over days needs a save you can trust.
- Check in now and then rather than watching constantly. Kinfolks is built for the long haul.
- Keep an eye on who will inherit. When the head of the house dies, the place passes to whoever is there.
- Use the family tree to keep track of who married whom once the branches start to spread.
Who Made Kinfolks
Kinfolks was made by M Dawg, who released it on itch.io. It runs entirely in the browser as a text game, with sketched artwork across the top of the screen. FunClicker embeds the creator's own version so you can play it here without downloading anything. We did not make the game, and the credit for its design, code, and art belongs to its creator. You can find the original on the Kinfolks page on itch.io.
FAQ
Is Kinfolks free?
Yes, Kinfolks costs nothing. It runs in your browser, so you can start right away, roll your first family member and begin a line without an account or a download. Since it plays out over days, you can come back to it as often as you like.
How do you play Kinfolks?
Start by rolling the person who begins your line, then accept a roll you like. From there, years pass, money comes in and the family grows through births and marriages. When the head of the house dies, the place passes on. Save with the family bible button and come back over days to see how the clan is doing.
What is the goal in Kinfolks?
There's no ending to reach. The aim is to keep your family going on its land for as many generations as you can. If a line dies out, it closes, and a new family starts on the same creek, so the story of the place carries on either way.
Who made Kinfolks?
Kinfolks was made by M Dawg and released on itch.io. It's a text-based game set in Appalachia that draws on the region's real history. We embed the original browser version here, and the credits above link back to it so you can follow future updates.
Can I play Kinfolks on a Chromebook or phone?
A Chromebook is a good fit, since Kinfolks is mostly text and buttons and runs in any modern browser. A phone may work too, but the screen is laid out wide, with a row of small buttons along the bottom, so a laptop or tablet is easier to read.
Is Kinfolks unblocked at school?
Kinfolks unblocked works wherever FunClicker can open. It needs only a browser tab and nothing to install, but each school runs its own filters, so we cannot promise it will load on your network. If the site opens, the game should too.
Is Kinfolks based on real history?
Kinfolks draws on real Appalachian history from the mid-1800s on. Farm work, church life, moonshine, feuds and the names people carried all come from that setting, and the people are written seriously rather than as hillbilly jokes. Family members live through the events of their time, including going off to war.
How long does Kinfolks take to play?
It's built to run for days or more. Kinfolks is an idle game you check in on, watching years pass and generations turn over, rather than something you finish in one sitting. Since there's no ending, you can keep a family going as long as you like, so save often.
