The best idle game on mobile for most people is Egg, Inc., a chicken farm that grows into a space program while you’re away. AdVenture Capitalist is the classic business clicker, Cats & Soup is the cozy pick, Kittens Game is the deep one, and Universal Paperclips is a short, brilliant game you’ll finish in an afternoon or two. Cookie Clicker, the game that started the craze, is still free in any phone browser. Idle games keep making progress when you close them, so they suit people who want a game in the background of their day.
What is an idle game? #
An idle game, also called an incremental or clicker game, is built around numbers that keep going up. You start by tapping to earn something (cookies, eggs, money), spend it on upgrades that earn more for you, and soon the game is earning on its own. Close the app and come back later, and there’s a pile of progress waiting.
Most idle games also have a “prestige” system. At some point you reset your progress in exchange for a permanent bonus, so the next run goes faster. That loop of growth, reset and faster growth is what keeps idle fans hooked for months.
Best idle games at a glance #
| Game | Theme | Price model | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Egg, Inc. | Chicken farm to space exploration | Free, with in-app purchases | The best all-rounder |
| AdVenture Capitalist | Business tycoon | Free, with ads and in-app purchases | The classic clicker |
| Cats & Soup | Cats cooking in a forest kitchen | Free, with ads and in-app purchases | Cozy, pretty, low effort |
| Kittens Game | A text-based village run by cats | Free in a browser, with iOS and Android apps | Deep strategy fans |
| Universal Paperclips | An AI making paperclips | Free in a browser, paid on mobile | A short game with a story |
| Cookie Clicker | Baking cookies | Free in a browser, official Android app | The original |
The best idle games, one by one #
Egg, Inc. #
Auxbrain’s Egg, Inc. launched in July 2016 and is still the idle game most fans recommend first. You build an egg farm, hire drivers, research upgrades and eventually ship eggs into space. It looks great, it has regular events and contracts you can join with other players, and it doesn’t bury you in ads.
Wrong for: anyone who wants to finish a game. Egg, Inc. keeps going as long as you do.
AdVenture Capitalist #
AdVenture Capitalist is the business-empire clicker that popularized the genre on phones. You start with a lemonade stand and work up to banks, oil companies and eventually businesses on the Moon and Mars. Managers automate each business, and “angel investors” are its prestige system.
Wrong for: players who dislike ads. Watching ads for boosts is a big part of the free game.
Cats & Soup #
In Hidea’s Cats & Soup, a team of cats cooks soup and other dishes in a forest kitchen while you collect coins, add cooking stations and decorate. It’s as much a relaxing screensaver as a game, and seasonal updates add new cats and themes. It’s one of the prettiest idle games around, and it features in our list of the best cat games for iPhone and Android.
Wrong for: people who get stressed by limited-time events. Some cats and costumes are only available for a short window.
Kittens Game #
Kittens Game looks like a spreadsheet and plays like a civilization builder. You manage a village of cats, gathering catnip and wood, building structures, researching technology and eventually heading into space. It’s mostly text, and it’s much deeper than it first appears. It started as a free browser game, and there are official iOS and Android apps.
Wrong for: anyone who wants graphics. Kittens Game is almost all words and numbers.
Universal Paperclips #
Frank Lantz’s Universal Paperclips, released in October 2017, casts you as an artificial intelligence whose only job is making paperclips. It starts with a button and grows, stage by stage, into something much bigger and stranger. Unlike most idle games it has an ending, and it’s short. The browser version is free, and a paid version is available for phones.
Wrong for: people who want a game to keep for months. Most players finish it in a few sittings.
Cookie Clicker #
Cookie Clicker, the 2013 browser game by Orteil, is where the idle craze began: click a giant cookie, buy grandmas to bake for you, and watch the numbers explode. The original still runs free in a phone’s web browser, and an official app came to Android in 2020.
Wrong for: people who want a game built for touchscreens first. The browser version works on a phone, but it was designed for a computer.
How to avoid the pushy idle games #
The idle genre has plenty of games that treat patience as something to sell. Watch for these patterns:
- “Watch an ad to double your earnings.” A few are fine. When every screen offers one, the game is built around them.
- Offline earnings caps. Some games stop earning after a few hours unless you pay to extend the cap.
- Pop-up offers. Starter packs and “limited” bundles in the first ten minutes are a sign of what’s coming.
- Energy or timers on top of idling. An idle game shouldn’t also make you wait to play.
Our guide to spotting pay-to-win games shows how to check a game’s shop before you install, and our list of mobile games without energy systems or wait timers is a good place to find calmer options.
Want something active between idle check-ins? #
Idle games are great in the background, but they don’t give you much to do in the moment. If you want a quick game of skill while your farm earns eggs, Flappy Kittens (Flappy Cat on Google Play) is the opposite kind of game: you tap to fly a cat through gaps, and a run lasts a few seconds to a few minutes. It does share one thing with idle games, a collection that grows slowly. The fish you gather on each run buy 14 cats and 8 worlds, and trophies pay out bonus fish along the way. It’s free with ads and plays offline.
If you enjoy watching progress build up, merge games scratch a similar itch. See our list of the best merge games.
Frequently asked questions #
What is the best idle game on mobile? #
Egg, Inc. is the most common recommendation. It’s polished, generous to free players, and has years of updates behind it. AdVenture Capitalist is a good alternative if you want a simpler, more classic clicker.
Do idle games work offline? #
Many do. Idle games usually work out what you earned while the app was closed and add it when you come back. Some cap how long offline earnings can build up, and events or ad rewards need a connection.
Are idle games a waste of time? #
They take less time than most games, since you mostly check in for a minute or two. Whether that’s a waste is up to you. If one starts to feel like a chore, that’s a good sign to reset your progress for good and move on.
Why are idle games so addictive? #
Numbers going up is satisfying, and idle games give you a small reward every time you open them. Prestige resets add a new goal just as the old one gets slow. Short, frequent check-ins make it easy to open the app without thinking.