Cookie Clicker: how the idle classic works
Cookie Clicker is the idle game that made the genre famous. Orteil released it in 2013: you click a big cookie, spend cookies on grandmas, farms and factories, and watch the count grow by itself. A Steam version came out in 2021.
How it works
There is no way to lose. The only question is how fast the numbers grow, which is why many people leave it open in a tab for days.
- Click. Each click on the big cookie bakes one. It is the slowest way to play, and the way every game starts.
- Buildings. Cursors, grandmas, farms, mines, factories and banks bake cookies for you every second.
- Upgrades. Upgrades multiply what your clicks and buildings make.
- Golden cookies. They pop up on screen for a few seconds. Click one for a big short boost.
- Ascending. Reset your run to earn heavenly chips and prestige, which make the next run much faster.
Why it still works
Numbers going up is a strong hook on its own. Cookie Clicker adds a layer of weird jokes on top, like the grandmas slowly turning into something else, and that keeps people curious about what the next building does.
The original web version is still free on Orteil's DashNet site. The Steam version adds achievements and cloud saves and has kept getting updates.
Later layers keep the long game going: a garden with plants to breed, a stock market, a pantheon of gods to slot, and sugar lumps that slowly level up your buildings. A full run can last weeks or months.
Quick tips
- Buy for value. Pick the building that gives the most cookies per second for its price, not the newest one.
- Never ignore gold. Golden cookies are the biggest jumps in the early game.
- Ascend early once. Your first ascension feels like a loss but speeds up everything after it.
Play it on Roam
More on Roam
Make your own clicker with Roam
Roam is a free iPhone app. Describe what you click, what you buy and what the joke is, and play your own idle game. Roam is rated 13+ on the App Store.
Try: "idle clicker where I bake pizzas, hire my friends as chefs, golden pizzas fall every minute, prestige resets for a bigger oven"Roam ("Roam - Make Games" on the App Store) is an iPhone app where you play games and make your own by describing them or from a photo. It is free to download and play, and making games works without a subscription; optional Spark and Reality plans and credit packs add more creation. Android: pre-register on Google Play.
Questions people ask
Who made Cookie Clicker?
Orteil, together with Opti, under the name DashNet. It first came out in 2013.
Is Cookie Clicker free?
The original web version is free. The Steam version from 2021 is paid.
Does Cookie Clicker have an ending?
No. It goes on forever, with achievements and ascension as the long goals.