How to Survive 99 Nights in the Forest: Beginner Survival Guide (October 2026)

In 99 Nights in the Forest you have one goal: survive 99 days in a forest where something is hunting you. It sounds scary, but most defeats come from a few simple mistakes: a campfire that went out, an empty stomach and running around at night without a flashlight. This guide shows you how to avoid them. As of October 2026.

What 99 Nights in the Forest is about

99 Nights in the Forest is a survival game by the group Grandma's Favourite Games. According to the wiki, your tasks are:

• survive 99 days and keep the campfire from going out,
• defend yourself against the Deer, a huge two-legged monster that looks like a deer,
• rescue the four missing kids,
• fight off attacks from the Cultists,
• explore the forest looking for loot, weapons and resources.

You start the game in the lobby. You step into one of the booths and pick a team size from 1 to 5 players. Keep in mind that the bigger the team, the harder it gets, because the campfire needs more fuel, for example.

The first night: the most important time in the game

According to the wiki, the Deer does not attack on the first night. This is your window to prepare in peace, so don't waste it. Your starting plan:

1. Start collecting wood right away. There is always some Coal or a stack of 6 Logs lying near the start, which lets you quickly upgrade the campfire.
2. Upgrade the campfire to level 3 or 4 on the very first day if you can.
3. Hunt bunnies. The meat is food, and the Bunny Foot will come in handy with the Pelt Trader, who always shows up on the second day.
4. Build beds. The wiki recommends building the Old Bed and the Regular Bed within the first few nights, because they speed up the day counter.

The Campfire: your lifeline

The campfire is the most important object in the game. Around it there is a safe zone that the Deer, The Ram, The Owl and animals that are chasing you can't enter. One exception: if you attack an animal inside the zone yourself, it will follow you in. Cultists can always enter.

Near the fire you regain health faster, see better and don't freeze during blizzards. You can also cook food on it and charge your flashlight.

Campfire levels

The campfire has 6 levels. Each next level enlarges the map you can explore and the range of the safe zone. You upgrade it by throwing in fuel:

• Logs,
• Coal,
• Fuel Canisters,
• Biofuel,
• Oil Barrels.

Each level needs more fuel than the one before. For the last one, level 6, the wiki even lists 275-350 Logs or the matching amount of other fuel. In return, the highest level burns down more slowly and handles rain and snow better.

When the campfire goes out

The campfire is always burning down, and even faster in rain and during blizzards. If the fuel drops to zero, the game shows a message that you are no longer safe. Then:

• the Deer is guaranteed to show up and it is hungry (except on the first night),
• the safe zone disappears,
• your health stops regenerating on its own,
• the map stops working, so it's easy to get lost,
• you can't cook food or charge your flashlight.

The good news: as soon as you light the fire again, all the penalties go away and the Deer runs out of the zone. That's why you should always keep a stock of wood by the campfire before dark.

Hunger

The hunger bar goes down all the time. According to the wiki, when you stand still it empties in 12 minutes and 40 seconds, and sprinting drains it much faster. When it drops to zero, your character starts to starve to death.

You can get food from animals you hunt, from plants on the map, from loot in some buildings or from devices you build yourself, like the Farm Plot or the Crock Pot. You cook raw meat by dropping it onto the campfire.

The Deer and other monsters

The Deer is the main enemy in the game. A few facts you need to know:

• It can't be killed. No weapon deals damage to it.
• The flashlight stuns it, but each time it recovers faster.
• It speeds up the longer it chases you. At the start you can outrun it, later it gets harder and harder.
• It won't enter the safe zone as long as the campfire is burning. If you run into the zone during a chase, the Deer gets stunned and runs away.
• Hungry Deer: on some nights the game announces with a message that the Deer is hungry. It is then faster, hits harder and has red eyes.

The wiki's advice for escaping: walk backwards and shine your flashlight at it. On a phone, switch to first-person view, and on a computer, lock the camera.

Owl, Ram and Cat

From the fifth night, the Deer can be replaced by another monster, depending on which biome appeared on the map: The Owl in the Snow Biome, The Ram in the Volcanic Biome or The Cat in the Jungle Biome. Here is how to deal with them according to the wiki:

• Ram: the easiest one. Run in a zigzag or hide behind a big tree or rock.
• Owl: run a short way and stop right before it detects you. Wait until it calms down.
• Cat: it jumps over walls, so hiding does nothing. Run away in a wide zigzag.

Calendar of the first days

Some things always happen on the same days:

• Day 1: the Deer does not attack.
• Day 2: the first visit from the Pelt Trader, then he comes every 3-4 days.
• Day 4: the first night raid by Cultists, then every 4 days.
• Day 5: the Owl, Ram or Cat wakes up and rain starts to fall.
• Day 8: thunderstorms join in.
• Day 50: the halfway point, with a reward of 2 Diamonds.
• Day 99: the end of the main story, a cutscene and a reward of 3 Diamonds. You can keep playing.

Kids and beds: how to speed up the day counter

At the start, each night you survive adds one day. You can change that: rescuing the missing kids and building beds increases the number of days counted per night, up to a maximum of 9.

The missing kids are Dino Kid, Kraken Kid, Squid Kid and Koala Kid. The Deer kidnapped them and hid them in different places in the forest:

• Dino Kid usually appears on the map after you upgrade the campfire to level 2 (sometimes 3). He is guarded by five wolves with red collars. The wiki recommends rescuing him between the first and the second night.
• Kraken Kid usually appears when the campfire is at level 4 (sometimes 5). He is guarded by four Alpha Wolves. You need a blue key to get into his cave.

Take a weapon with you when you go after the kids. The wiki recommends the Spear or a ranged weapon, and for Kraken Kid the best choice is a revolver together with a spear.

Starter classes

Before the game you can pick a class, which is a set of bonuses and starting items. You buy them with Diamonds. For beginners, the wiki lists these, among others:

• Camper (10 Diamonds): 10% slower hunger, and at higher levels better night vision and a Stew at the start.
• Escape Artist (10): less hunger when sprinting, and later monsters chase you a bit slower.
• Scavenger (25): 2 extra slots in your backpack.
• Medic (40): teammates are revived 5 times faster.
• Hunter (40): more meat from animals, and a Bear Trap at the start.
• Lumberjack (70): a 20% chance of an extra log from a tree.

Each class has 3 levels, which you unlock by completing tasks during the game. We cover where to get Diamonds and how to spend them wisely in a separate article: Diamonds in 99 Nights in the Forest.

Most common mistakes

• Going out at night without a flashlight. Without it you have nothing to stop the Deer with.
• Leaving the campfire for the last minute. Rain can put it out quickly.
• Sprinting for no reason. The hunger bar then drops much faster.
• A team that is too big for your first game. More players means a harder campfire, not an easier game.

99 Nights in the Forest at DzikShop

For regular orders in the shop, your Roblox username is enough, and you never give your account password to anyone. We described how an order works in the article how to buy an item at DzikShop step by step.