Games like Cookie Clicker, for numbers that keep going up

Cookie Clicker is the idle game most others copy: click, buy helpers, watch the number climb. Clicker Heroes, AdVenture Capitalist and Universal Paperclips each add a twist. Roam has six idle and tap games for short breaks on the iPhone.

Why Cookie Clicker is so hard to quit

Cookie Clicker is an idle game by Orteil, the name Julien Thiennot uses, released in 2013 and later on Steam in 2021. You click a big cookie to bake cookies. Then you spend them on grandmas, farms, factories and stranger things that bake for you. The number grows even when you leave.

Later you can ascend, which resets your bakery in exchange for permanent bonuses. That reset is the hook: each new run goes faster than the last.

Idle and clicker games like Cookie Clicker

Clicker Heroes. Playsaurus' 2014 idle RPG. Click monsters, hire heroes who attack for you, and push to higher zones.
AdVenture Capitalist. Hyper Hippo's 2014 business idle game. Start with a lemonade stand and hire managers to run your empire.
Universal Paperclips. Frank Lantz's 2017 game about an AI that makes paperclips. It starts tiny and ends somewhere you will not guess.
Tap Titans 2. Game Hive's tap RPG for phones. Each tap is a sword swing, with heroes and pets helping out.

How to get the most out of idle games

Buy the upgrade with the best payback, not the newest one. A cheap multiplier on something you already own often beats a new building.

Reset when progress slows to a crawl. In most idle games the first prestige or ascension feels early, but the bonus makes the next run much faster. Check in a few times a day instead of leaving the game open.

Roam idle and tap games

Roam is a free iPhone app. These six keep the number going up.

Tap Titans. A tap-to-attack idle RPG. Every tap is a sword swing.
Hydraulic Press Crush. A timing clicker. Wait for the green, then flatten it.
Pay Per Step. A liminal office mystery clicker. The job is permanent, and the steps are not free.
Clear The Range. A collect-and-upgrade idle tycoon about thousands of golf balls.
Giant Magnet. One giant magnet and a field full of junk to collect.
Gold Digger. Dig deeper, sell the gold, get a bigger tool.