Simulation and management
Idle and incremental
Games where numbers keep growing on their own, and your choices are mostly about what to upgrade next.
Also called: idle game, incremental game, idle clicker, idle tycoon
What defines it
- Progress continues while you are away from the game.
- Spend earnings on upgrades that raise earnings faster.
- Prestige or reset systems that restart you with a lasting bonus.
- Very little skill input; the play is in planning and timing.
Idle games swap action for arithmetic. You check in, collect what built up, spend it, and leave again. That pattern fits mobile well.
Because the loop is simple, much of the design work is in pacing: how quickly the next upgrade arrives, and when a player hits a wall.
Well-known idle and incremental games
Curated by hand. Games in the Gamedexy library come first, with their screens and flows; the rest follow A to Z. This is not a ranking and says nothing about sales or player counts.
- EatventureScreens and flows in the Gamedexy library
- Flop HouseScreens and flows in the Gamedexy library
- Hooked IncScreens and flows in the Gamedexy library
- Lumber IncScreens and flows in the Gamedexy library
- Train MinerScreens and flows in the Gamedexy library
- AdVenture CapitalistGoogle Play listing
- Egg, Inc.Google Play listing
- Idle Miner TycoonGoogle Play listing
