Here's A Roundup Of All The Best Idle Games You Can Play in 2024 (2024)

Over the past decade or so, the idle clicker or incremental upgrade genre of video games has become increasingly popular. The general concept of idle games revolves around players either waiting for their resources to refill or repeatedly clicking a button to raise their resources, using those resources to buy upgrades and other general power-ups to gain faster and the cycle loops. The best part about idle games is that, while the beginning usually requires active play, they become games that can be checked up on every so often with minimal effort while still satisfying players with powerful upgrades.

Some of the best idle clicker games have been around for a decade, like well-known titles including Cookie Clicker and Clicker Heroes. Other more recent fan-created projects also deserve recognition for their unique concepts and engaging gameplay loop.

Updated on February 15, 2024 by Hannah Grimes: Idle clicker games are still incredibly popular as ways to relax and enjoy slow, constant progression. We've updated this list to include a few more, and to include extra information about the ten excellent idle clicker games already recommended.

15 Open Card Packs To Collect, Raise, And Sell Fish In Chillquarium

Chillquarium is a relaxing idle game where players purchase packs of fish to feed, raise, and sell them before buying more packs. There are four rarities of fish — common, painted, golden, and rainbow — and every fish has all four variants. This means there's a ton for collectors to sink their teeth into with Chillquarium, and aside from the initial six-dollar purchase for the game, buying packs is completely free.

Rather than having to constantly click — or try to set up an auto-clicker — Chillquarim has a single-click feeding mode that continues dishing out XP to fish until players click again. In addition to the fish themselves, players can also buy extra tanks, lighting effects, pebble colors, decorations, and upgrades for their tanks.

14 Increlution Is A Time Management-Based Idle Game Inspired By Roguelites

Inspired by rogue-lite games, Increlution is an incremental game focusing on time management. Players go through life, managing the various resources and tasks that come with being alive, and with each death, their chances of survival increase as they're reborn and have the knowledge of their past lives to help guide them.

Players can queue up any number of tasks to automatically complete in Increlution, and time pauses if the queue runs out, so players don't waste any time. There are currently eleven chapters that provide players with hundreds or even thousands of hours of content, with another fourteen chapters planned.

13 Orb Of Creation Is A More Active Incremental Game Focused On Spellcasting

Orb Of Creation is more active than other incremental games, so it's not an ideal choice for those who want a mostly hands-off experience, but it still deserves mentioning. Instead of waiting and letting time pass to gain resources and progress, players cast all sorts of spells that determine their progression.

There aren't any tutorials or hand-holding in Orb Of Creation, as players are instead left to discover spell combinations and outcomes on their own. Orb Of Creation goes at whatever speed players choose, from optimizing their playthrough to complete tasks more efficiently, to slowly taking the time to uncover everything Orb Of Creation has to offer.

12 Click On Cute Kiwi Birds To Earn Upgrades In Kiwi Clicker - Juiced Up

With its adorable art style and tasty premise, Kiwi Clicker - Juiced Up has players collect kiwis, juice them, and sacrifice that juice to their adorable king. By doing so, they'll earn coins that can then purchase upgrades to the auto-clicker gameplay, the semi-active potion station, or the Carpentry upgrade which makes the full-idle experience more satisfying.

Like most idle clicker games, Kiwi Clicker - Juiced Up also has a Transcendance feature, where players reset their progress in exchange for bonus multipliers and rewards to make subsequent runs easier. Kiwi Clicker - Juiced Up has a cute art style and relaxing atmosphere that hooks players, making it one of the best idle games.

11 Evolve A Species From Ooze Into A Mighty Civilization In Evolve Idle

Evolve Idle is an incremental idle game where players evolve a species from nothing but ooze into something sentient, before building a mighty civilization and eventually reaching and colonizing space. At first, players only have access to DNA and RNA, as well as constructions that raise how much players can hold at once.

There are several other phases players go through in Evolve Idle, including Civilization, Government, Morale, and Taxes, while players build up their resources and try to reach their ultimate goal. There are multiple universes and planets, each with its own buffs and drawbacks that affect gameplay.

10 Realm Grinder Boasts Months Of Content With Tons Of Trophies

Realm Grinder is a surprisingly deep incremental idle RPG where players start with a mere farm, building it all the way up into a glorious kingdom. There are twelve alliances players can join, each with its own distinct benefits, like rewarding players for building towering structures or granting them extra bonuses for tapping.

Realm Grinder boasts "months and months" of content, as more systems unlock over time and grant players new ways to lead their realm. There are tons of trophies to unlock in Realm Grinder, many of which grant players extra upgrades or boosts that make playing easier.

9 Guide The Gnorps And Gain Riches In (the) Gnorp Apologue

(the) Gnorp Apologue is a unique incremental clicker game that also incorporates roguelite elements. Simply, players hit a rock that produces shards, which can in turn buy new Gnorps that act as workers and structures that aid in progression. Even though all Gnorps collect shards, they do so in unique ways — some hit it with their heads while others use guns.

Each Gnorp also has its own strengths and weaknesses that players can take advantage of to maximize their earnings, and tons of upgrades that make each playthrough feel unique. By the end, (the) Gnorp Apologue explodes into a beautiful mess of pixelated color and rising numbers sure to keep fans of idle clicker games entertained.

8 Tap Wizard 2 Is A Unique Incremental ARPG With Shooter Mechanics

Marketing itself as a mixture of an idle, incremental, ARPG, and twin-stick shooter game, Tap Wizard 2 is a unique idle experience that's also completely free. Players can play Tap Wizard 2 completely idle, as the wizard will simply control itself, casting spells and defeating enemies to gain resources.

Still in early access, reviews for Tap Wizard 2 cite it as one of the best idle games, even while still missing many of its core features. The combat of Tap Wizard 2 is similar to Vampire Survivors but gives players who only want to upgrade every once in a while a completely hands-off option.

7 NGU Idle Is Incredibly In-Depth And Packed Full Of Early Internet Humor

NGU Idle stands for Numbers Going Up Idle and is an incredibly in-depth idle game with its own RPG and inventory systems. Players slay monsters and collect powerful loot to slay bigger monsters while upgrading resources to make the entire process smoother.

The humor of NGU Idle is weird and quirky, full of awful puns, providing an experience that feels similar to the early days of internet flash games in the best way. Players on Steam have upwards of one thousand or even ten thousand hours of playtime, making NGU Idle an idle game that truly never ends.

6 Make A Game Out Of Blowing Away Leaves In Leaf Blower Revolution

Leaf Blower Revolution proves that even a concept like blowing away leaves and getting cooler leaf blowers over time can be incredibly fun and make a good idle game. With its charming pixel art style, Leaf Blower Revolution starts out simple as players have a mere hand rake, and work their way up to huge fans, or use silly items like a rainbow fish.

While it seems simple, Leaf Blower Revolution doesn't just take place in a single backyard but has tons of creative environments and even grandiose boss fights against more than leaves. A creative and free-to-play idle game, Leaf Blower Revolution makes a seemingly boring concept relaxing and fun.

5 Idle Champions Of The Forgotten Realms Is An Idle Game In The D&D Universe

Set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe, Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms is an idle strategy management game. While playing, players collect familiar champions from all sorts of Dungeons & Dragons properties, using them to build their preferred team.

Unlike many other idle games, Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms has an expansive story where players go through adventures based on books like Wild Beyond The Witchlight and Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus. Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms is also still supported with content updates every month.

4 Clicker Heroes Has A Charming Art Style And Tons Of Unlockables

Clicker Heroes is one of the most recognizable free-to-play idle games, and while a sequel was released, it was abandoned before making it out of early access and also has a hefty price tag. Players hire thirty-five heroes to fight for them as they repeatedly click on monsters to gain gold to buy more upgrades.

It's a simple loop, but Clicker Heroes' cartoony art style is charming, and each hero comes with a plethora of unlockable abilities that provide active or passive buffs to kill monsters even faster. Each section in Clicker Heroes is made up of ten lower-level enemies and then a timed, more challenging boss, making for a satisfying loop.

3 Slay Monsters, Get Loot, And Upgrade Gear In Idle Slayer

Idle Slayer takes inspiration from classic RPGs, starting the player out with a simple sword and a jump mechanic to kill monsters and collect coins, to get stronger weapons, and collect more coins faster. Along the way, bosses and special loot boxes appear that drop extra rewards, speeding up progress further. Idle Slayer's art style uses charming pixel art, and its 8-bit sound is a nice touch.

For those who don't have a lot of time, Idle Slayer is a great idle game, as players actually get more benefits while it's completely closed. When players return, they not only get all the coins collected while they were away, but they get to double their offline earnings as well.

2 Cookie Clicker Is A Simple, Beloved Classic That's Been Around For Over A Decade

Cookie Clicker

An idle game about making cookies! Originally released in 2013 on the web, and actively developed since then. This is the official version for Steam.

Platform(s)

Android , PC

Released

August 8, 2013

Developer

DashNet, Playsaurus

Publisher

DashNet, Playsaurus

Genre(s)

Idle Games

Mode

Having originally launched back in 2013, Cookie Clicker made its way to Steam in Fall 2021 and is still being updated over a decade later. The core loop is simple: players click a cookie to gain resources to buy buildings and mouse pointers that provide upgrades and click the cookie for them. Out of these, the one most often made into memes by the community is the grandmas, which is the first upgrade players unlock after the basic mouse pointer.

Cookie Clicker also has various mini-games to keep players engaged, and with its release on Steam, the addition of community-made mods in the Steam Workshop to help keep the community thriving. It's a simple-looking idle game that actually provides hundreds or thousands of hours of content.

1 Pickcrafter Is An Incremental Clicker That Takes Inspiration From Minecraft

PickCrafter is the perfect free-to-play idle game for Minecraft fans. Players use their pickaxe to mine blocks, explode Creepers, and upgrade their arsenal in order to mine faster and get more resources. Everything in PickCrafter revolves around crafting, and each block is a different resource type that lets players either upgrade one of their gear pieces or weapons or exchange resources for other materials.

There's an in-depth skill tree that lets players customize various aspects of their experience, from idle benefits to player abilities. This tree can be reset at any time, so there's no worry of accidentally wasting points on the wrong upgrade.