Best Idler Games on Steam
Games that progress through waiting, upgrades, automation, and incremental growth.
Browse all Idler →
1Cookie 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.
Sep 1, 2021
In this game, you can…
- trigger a grandma apocalypse where grandmas mutate into monsters and merge with the world, then contain and repurpose the fallout.
- turn light into cookies with prisms, pull shipments from other planets, and start harvesting cookies from other dimensions.
- time golden cookie spawns so two huge buffs overlap, then ride the surge into a Legacy reset and a prestige ascension tree.
- start by clicking one cookie, then end up running farms, banks, temples, wizard towers, and portals to the Cookieverse.
- wait for a sugar lump to ripen for a day, then spend it to level buildings and unlock new upgrades and achievements.
- train a cookie dragon to hold two auras at once, then pair it with wizard-tower spells to supercharge your best buff combos.
- mutate garden plants by arranging plots in specific patterns, breeding new plants that boost your production in different ways.
2Clicker Heroes - Click your way through hordes of monsters, earn gold, and recruit quirky heroes with powerful skills. Progress even while you're idle, and watch the numbers climb into the absurd. It’s a never-ending journey of clicks, crits, and colossal damage.
May 13, 2015
In this game, you can…
- set things up before bed, and the game keeps progressing and earning gold even while you're away or the computer is off.
- cash in an entire run by ascending, lose your progress, and come back with hero souls that make you permanently stronger.
- start hunting special bosses past zone 100 that can drop hero souls, and every tenth boss can gild a random hero for a big bonus.
- hire heroes who keep killing monsters while you stop clicking.
- hit a boss wall with a 30-second timer, then farm the previous zone until you come back strong enough to break through.
- plan whole runs around leveling ancients and outsiders, spending hero souls to specialize in huge clicks, huge idle damage, or long-lasting skills.
- trigger clickstorm to auto-fire 10 clicks per second for 30 seconds, then use that burst to punch through a boss timer.
- send mercenaries on missions to bring back rubies, then revive them all later as a long-term completion goal.
3WorldBox - God Simulator - WorldBox is the ULTIMATE god simulator and sandbox game. A petri dish for your fantasy civilizations. Create your own world or destroy it using many powers. Watch civilizations grow, form kingdoms, colonize new lands, sail to far continents, wars to ignite, empires to fall and towns to burn!
Dec 2, 2021
In this game, you can…
- give grasshoppers sapience with monoliths, watch them churn through a hundred kingdoms in a year, then somehow invent agriculture and windmills.
- curse the world so every death leaves a wandering wraith haunting the land for the rest of history.
- drop a landlocked orc tribe into a mountain bowl and watch them still research boats and set up maritime trade routes.
- watch cats become a shoreline empire so influential that other species start naming their children and cities in catlike words.
- build a wall between two civilizations, fast-forward time, then smash it down and trigger instant mass slaughter.
- give a single person immortality and every trait, make them king, and watch them conquer a 78x53 landmass while surviving plagues and gods.
- edit the genes of an entire species at once, then watch them develop their own building style and start conquering other civilizations.
4BALL x PIT - BALL x PIT is a brick-breaking, ball-fusing, base-building survival roguelite. Batter hordes of enemies with ricocheting balls and gather the riches of the pit to expand your homestead, generate resources and recruit unique heroes.
Oct 15, 2025
In this game, you can…
- fuse two level-3 balls and get a completely new ammo type from hundreds of possible outcomes.
- unlock characters that flip the rules, like enabling turn-based mode or making gravity pull balls toward the top of the field.
- turn one ball into more balls into even more balls until the screen is filled with thousands of balls and effects.
- grab balls mid-fight to instantly reset cooldowns, so you keep diving into danger just to fire again.
- build up a town between runs by harvesting materials, constructing upgrades, unlocking characters, and assigning heroes to automated jobs.
- push through a constantly scrolling descent by breaking falling walls while hazards ramp up and bosses wait ahead.
- fight bosses that shift into bullet-hell patterns, dodging dense enemy fire while still keeping your bounce angles working.
- evolve a special ball into something totally different that adds a new power and frees up a slot, rewriting your whole run.
5Leaf Blower Revolution - Idle Game - Blow leaves, upgrade your gear, and automate your progress as you explore the Leaf Universe. A satisfying incremental idle game where every leaf blown brings you closer to the next big upgrade. Simple, relaxing, and endlessly rewarding. Let the leaves fall, and your progress rise!
Dec 4, 2020
In this game, you can…
- craft flasks out of leaves as part of your upgrade path.
- blow a leaf, convert it, then use it to fight enemies while you climb a giant tower and open an Ancient Pyramid.
- upgrade from a leaf blower to ridiculous tools like a blowfish.
- start by pushing leaves with your hands until you earn a rake.
- watch ordinary leaves mutate into gold, platinum, bismuth, and even space and void leaves.
- buy roomba-like auto blowers that clear leaves for you, then upgrade them into a little working army.
- unlock a Cheese Pub with minigames and side rooms packed with optional mechanics.
- keep discovering new areas and galaxies with new shops, collectibles, and automation that stack on top of each other.
6Placid Plastic Duck Simulator - The ultimate high-tech rubber duck simulation, Placid Plastic Duck brings you dangerous levels of relaxation. With chill music, dreamy 3D graphics, and many different happy ducks, your only priority is to float around. Zero Ducks given.
Jul 6, 2022
In this game, you can…
- turn gravity off so a bump sends ducks drifting into the stratosphere.
- get visited by a UFO that abducts a duck, then later comes back and spits a duck into the pool.
- watch a duck stab a flamingo float and actually deflate it.
- click ducks to make them quack.
- use a candle duck to melt an ice cube and unlock a secret duck, then hunt other hidden ducks with weird requirements.
- follow a propeller-hat duck as it keeps leaping out of the water, then suddenly launches over the horizon into the ocean.
- let a submarine duck glide under and over the water, then chug out to sea and sink away into the deep.
7Mr.Mine - Explore the depths of the earth and uncover hidden treasures in this addictive idle mining game. Unlock the power of your drill with hundreds of upgrades, discover mysterious relics, and unearth priceless gems. Can you master the mines and reveal their deepest secrets? Dive in and dig deep!
Sep 30, 2020
In this game, you can…
- meet a blueprint-selling golem vendor 50km underground.
- hit a turning point around km 300 where the mine becomes a monster-fight zone and you manually click enemies down to protect survivors.
- reach absurd depths over months of play, like pushing past the mantle and eventually drilling down into hell.
- send scientists on relic expeditions, then revive them with rare tickets if a danger roll kills them.
- send drones into timed caves for loot, spend a ticket to add 30 more minutes, then gear relics around drone fuel to squeeze in extra runs.
- click individual miners to get unique comments, including fairy-tale references and workplace-complaint jokes.
- dig up treasure chests that only stick around a few minutes, then crack them open for random drops like timelapses, scientists, and hidden upgrades before they vanish.
8Shelldiver - Take a deep breath and dive right into this cozy incremental game about a senior turtle trying to start a business selling jellyfish. Upgrade your equipment, explore biomes, and help your turtly village!
Nov 16, 2025
In this game, you can…
- shoot bubbles to herd and capture jellyfish, including electric ones and mutant blends that explode if they reach you.
- recruit starfish and seahorses that shoot for you, so runs get increasingly automated while you focus on pushing deeper.
- get upgrades that transform your tools and even send you back to earlier zones where you're wildly overpowered.
- run a jellyfish-selling business to fund upgrades, looping dive, sell, upgrade, and dive deeper again.
- chain bubble-catching with a mining beam to harvest ocean-floor scrap and rocks for parts in the same dive.
- dive through volcanic waters and crystalline caverns and haul up mushrooms, crystal rocks, and human trash for upgrades.
- reach a point where the screen is packed with projectiles and loot bursts while you blast through depths that used to stop you.
- build a branching skill tree that changes runs, like starting later zones with more resources or boosting oxygen handling and shop size.
9Spirit City: Lofi Sessions - Spirit City: Lofi Sessions is a gamified focus tool, set to a soothing lofi soundtrack. Discover and collect Spirits, customize your cozy virtual space, and facilitate your real-life tasks with a collection of handy features designed to improve concentration and ease stress.
Apr 8, 2024
In this game, you can…
- read clue entries and combine activity, time, sounds, and lighting to lure a specific spirit into appearing
- open an in-game YouTube browser to play your own podcasts or livestreams without leaving, then mix them with in-game rain or white noise
- customize layered ambience in real time with rain, thunder, fireplace crackle, birds, cooking, dishwasher, typing, and cat purring at separate volumes
- set exact work/break timers, loop them, or run a stopwatch, then get a gentle break cue that nudges you to stretch or drink water
- check off real-life tasks or finish timers to earn XP and currency, then immediately spend it on outfits, decor, and new spirits
- pet your spirit companion after you've unlocked it, and keep unlocking more spirits and cosmetic skins as you level up
- build multiple room presets by changing weather, time of day, lighting, your avatar's activity, outfits, decor, and which spirit hangs out with you
- leave the game running while you study or do chores, and glance over to see your avatar quietly doing the same routine beside you
10Melvor Idle - Inspired by RuneScape, Melvor Idle takes the core of what makes an adventure game so addictive and strips it down to its purest form! This is a feature-rich, idle/incremental game combining a distinctly familiar feel with a fresh gameplay experience. Maxing 20+ skills has never been more zen.
Nov 18, 2021
In this game, you can…
- leave a skill running overnight and come back to thousands of logs.
- start leveling one skill, then end up fighting giants just to keep your astrology plan moving.
- chain summons into everything: make ent summons, catch jewels while fishing, cook the fish, then turn bad meals into pig summons that level more skills and earn money.
- fish for days to buy more inventory slots, then use the space to power every other grind.
- auto-battle monsters but manually eat to stay alive until you unlock upgrades that let combat truly idle.
- unlock cartography that slowly reveals new map locations, then tie archaeology finds to those discoveries for rare rewards.
- turn a tiny plan into a full production web: mine ore, smelt bars, craft gear, stock food and ammo, then push deeper into bosses.
- play an entire idle RPG without any reset system, so every hour stays permanent progress.
