99 Nights in the Forest Kids Guide

99 Nights in the Forest hides four missing children somewhere on its map, and finding them is the real objective behind surviving each night. Every rescue speeds up the in-game clock and pushes The Deer to grow more aggressive, so knowing where to look and what each kid needs matters as much as building up your camp defenses.

The four children, Dino Kid, Kraken Kid, Squid Kid, and Koala Kid, aren't just a checklist to clear. Once rescued and given the right personal items, each one takes on a job around camp that chops wood, catches fish, cooks food, or gathers scrap for you automatically.

In this article, we'll explain how to unlock and rescue each missing kid, which items befriend them, and what job each one performs once they're back at camp.

Meet the Four Missing Children

Each kid is trapped behind a locked cave guarded by hostile animals, and the caves only open up as your campfire climbs in level. Dino Kid is always the first to unlock, followed by Kraken Kid, Squid Kid, and Koala Kid last, since each cave needs a higher campfire tier than the one before it.

The four kids are widely believed to be a nod to a real 2023 survival story, though the developers have never officially confirmed the connection, and it's best treated as unofficial framing rather than a stated fact.

Campfire Levels, Keys, and Guards

Reaching each kid takes a high enough campfire level to reveal the cave, the matching colored key dropped by its guards, and enough firepower to clear those guards. The table below breaks down what's required for each of the four.

Cave locations are randomized on every map, so hitting the campfire level doesn't guarantee the cave is nearby. You'll usually still need to explore to find it, and if it doesn't seem to appear right away, try maxing out your campfire's meter at that level rather than just reaching it.

Rescuing and Befriending Each Kid

Once you've cleared the guards and grabbed the key, unlocking the cave frees the kid and sends them back to your camp automatically. From there, they sit in their own tent until you interact with them and start the befriend process.

Every kid has a handful of personal items, called trinkets, scattered somewhere on the map. Finding any one of a kid's trinkets and returning it unlocks the option to befriend them. Once you're friends, any trinkets found afterward instead level the kid up.

Each Kid's Trinkets

Three of the four kids share the same basic setup: a lunchbox plus two items unique to them. Dino Kid is the exception, since he has an extra fourth trinket tied to a separate story beat.

Dino Kid's plush works differently from the rest. It's the final trinket tied to his own story arc, and picking it up sets off a Cultist Attack instead of simply adding experience. The other three kids' plush toys are ordinary trinkets with no extra event attached.

What Each Kid Does Once Befriended

Dino Kid chops wood and drops the logs off near your tent or campfire. His axe gets better the more he levels up, and by level 5 he's chopping on his own without you needing to prompt him.

Kraken Kid fishes from the nearest water and drops her catch straight into her own tent rather than shared storage. Past level 3, she starts bringing back better quality fish, just in smaller numbers.

Squid Kid cooks any raw food you hand off near the campfire. His automatic Crockpot placement doesn't kick in until level 5, so cooked food won't flow on its own until he's maxed.

Koala Kid digs up scrap and drops it off at your tent or scrapper. Unlike the other three, she wanders off outside the camp area to do it, so don't be surprised if she's not sitting by the fire when you look for her.

Feeding and Leveling Up

There are two ways a kid gains experience: getting fed and having their trinkets returned. Feeding gives a steady trickle of experience, while trinkets hand over a much bigger chunk at once.

Only feed a kid once their hunger bar has actually dropped, since feeding one that's already complete wastes the food for no experience. Better food gives more experience too, so once your camp has a Crockpot running, stew is worth prioritizing over basic cooked meals.

Level 5 is the milestone every kid works toward. It's when Dino Kid's auto-chopping and Squid Kid's auto-Crockpot placement switch on, and it's also the level tied to each kid's badge reward.

Final Words

Rescuing all four missing kids does more than clear a checklist. It speeds up your run, unlocks a badge for each one, and eventually turns your camp into something that runs itself while you focus on surviving the nights. Prioritize getting them home early, since every night spent fed and cared for is progress toward the payoff.