Best Idle Games

Key Takeaways

The best idle games offer unique mechanics for engaging gameplay.
The genre offers varied settings like fantasy kingdoms, communist dictatorships, and D&D adventures.
Creative titles like SPACEPLAN & Universal Paperclips provide unique narratives and challenges.

As a seasoned gamer with over two decades of clicking, tapping, and scrolling under my belt, I must say that the idle game genre has come a long way since the days of simple clickers. Among these digital time-wasters, there are some truly exceptional titles that have captured my heart – or at least my index finger for hours on end.

On smartphones, the idle game genre has seen rapid growth, offering numerous quality variations on its theme. Despite their basic nature, the top games introduce fresh elements like reset bonuses, unique mechanics, and gratifying “watch your numbers rise” gameplay. Idle games may not appeal to everyone, but for enthusiasts of this genre, discovering new classics is a joyful experience, even though many can feel repetitive and similar. Regardless of the theme – be it authoritarian rule, fantasy quests, futuristic satire, or bizarre bakeries – there’s an idle game to suit every taste.

Here are some top-notch idle games that enthusiasts can sink their teeth into, providing enjoyable entertainment as they await the release of the next timeless masterpiece.

1 Realm Grinder

Kingdom Management

Release: June 15, 2017
Platforms: PC, Browser, Mobile
Developer: Divine Games

In the game Realm Grinder, players are offered an opportunity to transform a simple plot of land and farm into thriving kingdoms they rule. As the game progresses, enthusiasts construct essential infrastructure and invest in upgrades, eventually earning faction tokens that allow them to ally with various mythical races.

Realm Grinder conceals a wealth of content beneath its seemingly modest exterior. Players must decide between choices that shape their character as good or evil. Earning trophies that gradually bestow benefits, as well as uncovering numerous artifacts hidden underground, offers an immersive experience. Building a kingdom tailored to the player’s allegiance and completing a collection of fossils and antiques are just some of the engaging elements players can become engrossed in.

2 Adventure Communist

Satirical Dictatorship

Release: August 10, 2016
Platforms: PC, iOS, Android
Developer: Hyper Hippo Games

In a fresh setting, Adventure Communist invites players from the idle game community to manage a humble nation under the absurd rule of a cartoony communist regime. Beginning with potatoes as currency, the player will gradually expand territory, establish an army, improve healthcare, and grow their country.

Conversely, each advancement necessitates relinquishing some of the earlier enhancements, creating an ironic contrast with Adventure Capitalist. This results in a distinctly original idle game experience. To establish a military, players must trade off land and medicine resources, requiring careful management to ensure steady, sustainable progress.

3 Idle Champions Of The Forgotten Realms

Dungeons & Dragons Clickathon

Release: March 25, 2020
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iOS, Android
Developer: Codename Entertainment Inc.

Transforming the concept of an idle game into the realm of Dungeons & Dragons, “Idle Champions Of The Forgotten Realms” invites players to assemble a team of characters from diverse races, classes, and backstories. These teams are then deployed to confront endless waves of traditional adversaries. Each journey offers extra hurdles, and as players advance, they can acquire superior equipment for each champion and even unlock new ones from well-known online D&D games such as “Dimension 20” and “Critical Role”.

Instead of many casual games that lack narrative depth, Idle Champions stands out by offering players a progression storyline complete with dialogues. It’s not just an idle game; it can be difficult due to boss fights and additional complexities. Undeniably one of the most innovative idle games, it’s a must-play for tabletop role-playing game enthusiasts.

4 Universal Paperclips

Web Based Worker Bots

Release: October 9, 2017
Platforms: PC, iOS, Android
Developer: Frank Lantz

Universal Paperclips, perhaps the most imaginative take on the idle game genre commenting on societal themes, has been remarkably popular while maintaining an inviting atmosphere for all who wish to embark on this paperclip-centric journey. Commencing with a paperclip manufacturing facility, bending wire into paperclips and determining their price, players can swiftly automate production and begin promoting their paperclips to Earth’s inhabitants.

The game originated from a theoretical exercise, and it places players in the role of an intelligent AI learning system. The objective is to transform all matter in the cosmos into paper clips. Upon achieving this, players have the option to move to a neighboring universe or establish a simulation within their own universe for another paper clip-making endeavor. Despite being endless, the concepts and storyline become increasingly discernible.

5 Cookie Clicker

Classic Bakery

Release: August 8, 2013
Platforms: PC, Android
Developer: DashNet

In simpler terms, the game known as Cookie Clicker is often a gamer’s initial encounter with the idle game category. It offers an overwhelming abundance of content that leaves players feeling indulged and captivated, transforming a simple bakery setting into a seemingly demonic cult fixated on sweets and milk.

In simpler terms, “Cookie Clicker” stands out as the benchmark for all clicker games. When you play, you can collect golden cookies by clicking them, earning bonuses. Each playthrough offers various upgrades to enhance your experience. After a universe reset, which happens periodically, you’ll also find a radiant tree of further upgrades. This game is renowned for its endless replayability due to almost every cookie-producing source featuring a mini-game to boost production.

6 Kittens Game

Civilization Management

Release: 2014
Platforms: PC
Developer: bloodrizer

Kittens Game is a more complex text-based idle compared to others on this list. In this game, players guide a community of kittens through the changing seasons, making sure they have an adequate supply of catnip to prevent extinction. As the game progresses, the cats construct fields for farming, dwellings to live in, and start working as farmers, miners, loggers, and scientists, transforming their society.

Discovering ideological principles and making incredible advancements in science are just part of the delightful exploration offered by the Kittens Game. Although players need to stay focused on the game, it maintains a cute and simplistic idle-clicker format with enough unique features to make it stand out among similar games.

7 SPACEPLAN

Potato Fuelled Sci-Fi

Release: May 3, 2017
Platforms: Android, iOS, PC
Developer: Jake Hollands

In an utterly thrilling, puzzling, and awe-inspiring manner, SPACEPLAN places the player in a far-reaching, isolated solar system. Here, you drift aimlessly around a barren planet, with your only energy source being occasional bursts of power from damaged solar panels and tiny potato batteries. Players will engage in setting up these power generators as they collect energy and data from the desolate planet below.

As I soared through the cosmos aboard my spaceship in the game Spaceplan, it hit me hard just how grand this adventure was. By the finale, our planet would be a potato-covered mess, with stations orbiting above, blasting energy back to our hapless explorer – quite a sight!

2024-10-06 15:33