Summary
Starting on mobile, the idle game genre has exploded, with plenty of worthwhile additions to the formula. Although simplistic, the best games out there bring something new to the table with reset perks, unique mechanics, and satisfying “numbers go up” gameplay. Idle games are not for everyone,but for fans of the genre, any new classics are a great find while most can be predictable and samey. Whether the setting is tyrannical rule, fantasy adventure, futuristic satire, or surreal bakery, there is an idle game for everyone out there.
These examples are some of the best idle games of all time for fans to get their teeth stuck into while waiting for the next classic to appear.
1Realm Grinder
Kingdom Management
Starting with a plot of land and a farm,Realm Grindergives players the chance to become the rulers of their own kingdoms. Fans will build up the infrastructure and purchase upgrades until they have the chance to claim faction coins that will let them align themselves with different fantasy races.
With choices that will determinewhether the player is good or evil, trophies that will each provide slow bonuses and a myriad of artifacts that have to be excavated to be discovered,Realm Grinderhides plenty of content behind its initially small facade. Building a kingdom that matches the special abilities given by player allegiance and trying to complete a collection of fossils and antiques, there is plenty here for players to lose themselves in.
Satirical Dictatorship
Starting again in a wide open field with a farm but in a very different setting,Adventure Communisttasks fans of the idle game genre with running a struggling country in the grips of a laughable cartoony communist dictatorship. First using potatoes as currency, the player will then start to claim land, build a military force, develop medicine, and build up their country.
However, every step forward requires sacrificing some of the previous upgrades,making for a satirical counterpointtoAdventure Capitalistthat also makes for a very unique idle game. To build a military, players will have to give up land and medicine, managing every resource carefully to progress in a sustainable way.
3Idle Champions Of The Forgotten Realms
Dungeons & Dragons Clickathon
Bringing the idle game loop to the world ofD&D,Idle Champions Of The Forgotten Realmssees players choosing a squad of fighters with a range of races, classes, and backgrounds and pitting them against waves of classic enemies. Each adventure has additional challenges that can be added, and as players progress they can collect better gear for each champion and even unlock others from popular onlineD&Dgames likeDimension 20andCritical Role.
Unlike a lot of other idle games,Idle Championsgives fans a story to progress through with dialogue and can be challenging with boss fights and extra complications. Certainly one of the most inventive idle games available,and a must-play for TTRPG fans.
4Universal Paperclips
Web Based Worker Bots
Universal Paperclipsis perhaps the most creative version of the idle game social commentary and has been wildly successful while staying accessible to as many players as want to partake in the paperclip adventure. Starting with a paperclip factory, clipping wire into paperclips, and deciding on the price, players can quickly automate the process and start marketing the paperclips to the people of Earth.
The game came from a thought experiment and attempts to put players in the positionof a learning AIand can be completed by converting all matter in the universe into paper clips. At that point, players can travel to a neighboring universe, or create a simulation within their own universe to start over making more paperclips. While endless, the ideas the game presents and the narrative spiral are clear.
5Cookie Clicker
Classic Bakery
A humble bakery that starts with clicking on a giant cookie with a few grandmas working hard at their ovens becomes a demonic cult obsessed with sweet treats and milk.Cookie Clickeris most gamers' first interaction with the idle game genrewhere they will be spoiled by the huge amount of content.
Floating golden cookies can be clicked for bonuses, and a whole slew of upgrades are available on each run as well as a divine tree of glowing upgrades after every universe reset.Cookie Clickeris the gold standard for every single clicker game to aspire to: almost every upgradable source of cookies has a minigame to increase production and the game has infinite playability.
6Kittens Game
Civilization Management
Kittens Gameis a text-based idle that can be a little more involved than some of the other idles on this list. Players must lead a society of kittens through the seasons, ensuring they have enough catnip to not die out. The cats start to build fields to harvest, then huts to live in, and begin working the land as farmers, miners, loggers, and scientists.
Establishing ideological tenetsand progressing to miraculous leaps in science are all part of the joy of discovery that comes withKittens Game. While players will have to keep an eye on the game, it still functions as a cutesy and basic idle clicker with enough bells and whistles to set it apart from the flock.
7SPACEPLAN
Potato Fuelled Sci-Fi
Far and away the most exciting, curious, and impressive idle game,SPACEPLANthrows the player into avast and lonely solar systemwhere they float in orbit around a desolate planet where their only source of power is the small bursts of solar energy through damaged solar panels and small potato batteries that fans will set up as they harvest power and data from the planet below.
The simulated view given by the ship to the player makes the scale of the adventure obvious. By the end of the story, the planet will be covered in probes made of potatoes with the sky filled with orbiting stations that will beam power back to the unfortunate explorer. With a sense of humor, constant subversion of expectation, and a story that begs for a sequel,SPACEPLANis well worth any fan’s time.
