Thanks for the list dude. You've mentioned every idle game i ever knew. my favorites got to be cookie clicker and clicker heroes though
Two recent releases I’ve been playing as I like the background themes. Idle Fishing Village Tycoon (by Buff Studio) https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/idle-fishing-village-tycoon/id1619717984 I’ll play anything with a fishing village in it! This has the toylike style where I can build up a scene and watch the unfolding activity. TCG Card Shop Tycoon Simulator (by Sia Ding Shen) https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/tcg-card-shop-tycoon-simulator/id1605261462 Do TCG card shops actually exist? Never seen one or seen trading cards on sale anywhere. A traditional tappy idler with a bit more pushy IAP. Just say no.
Idle Dyson Swarm (by Blindsided Games) https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/idle-dyson-swarm/id1631060225 Posting this as a contrast to those above. This is a modern take on idle gaming as it used to be. Numbers and waiting. Appstore reviews say ‘too slow’ and ‘not enough to do’, though that was the whole point of these games originally. Anyway, for me, not so much about the gameplay but the subject matter. A numerical representation of the Dyson Swarm concept - surrounding the sun with thousands of solar panels - the sort of mega-project I can imagine SpaceX undertaking in the future. One novel innovation is that portrait view has all the figures, tipping to landscape shows galaxy view. True the mechanics are basic compared with something like TCG Card Shop, which has a ton of upgrades plus integrated card collecting and trading, but that’s fine. Here I make one upgrade and return later. And no ads, just a tip jar.
Exponential Idle (by Gilles-Philippe Paille) https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/exponential-idle/id1538487382 As mentioned before, I see some idlers as a springboard to learn about new things. Exponential Idle is taking me a little deeper into mathematics - a logical theme for this type of game. Most in the genre increment with straightforward addition. Here it’s done by increasing variables and exponents in a recursive self referencing formula. This is generally a good thing, the only caveat being the numbers generated become of unimaginable magnitude, eg - 10^(10^4.3). How many is that? As well as watching numbers crunching there’s a surprisingly gripping background story, trying to establish if the presented formula converges to a finite value. More exciting than it sounds. Also featured are mini games, over 100 achievements and the ablility to change the value of infinity! Optional ads allow temporary increase to the ‘dt’ variable, or buy out for $2.
Champions of Avan - Idle RPG (by Early Morning Studios) https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/champions-of-avan-idle-rpg/id1560485235 Another of the new type of idler that has ‘things to do’. Pretty much an ultralight RPG with exploring, battling and - it had to happen - collectible heroes. Even so, nothing deep here and I’m mostly AFK while resources accumulate, so it gets the idle qualification. I understand there’s an ending after which it can be replayed with tougher enemies.
Building Arcadia (by Golden Rhino Games) https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/building-arcadia/id1592808957 A challenging city builder with unusual graphic designs. Construct habitation and production centres, then launch probes to discover resources for mining and investigation of planetary anomalies. Not all exploration ends well. Unlike most idlers failure is an option. It’s important to pay attention to the numbers. Restarts provide incremental improvements so all is not lost. I think it’s hampered by an obscure interface and scant tutorial. I got it untangled with some experimental tapping.
UFO RPG: idle wars (by Gukhwan Ji) https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/ufo-rpg-idle-wars/id1626046359 Bonkers, colourful, loads of upgrades.
Melvor Idle https://apps.apple.com/us/app/melvor-idle/id1518963622 I am surprised this is missing from the list. It is not a clicker but a pure idler instead. Based off of RuneScape. Tons of content and just got a new expansion that adds even more levels to skills , more content and reworked some stuff. Game is a premium where you can play some skills to certain levels (recommend doing the tutorial to get an idea of what skills there are and how things go) but to enjoy the game you need to pay a one time purchase. No ads or micro transactions. Game can be played also on web or steam. If you want to play fully cross platform then it's best to buy on Steam as buying on Steam unlocks also on web and mobile. If you purchase on mobile you get only Web + mobile and no Steam. Super recommended to check it out.
Idle Cave Miner (by Pedro Oliveira) https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/idle-cave-miner/id1550645417 A quality production from a one person studio. Features interplanetary mining, crafting, upgrading, and a canary.
ExoMiner (by Exocorp AB) https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/exominer-idle-miner-universe/id1572797969 Another space based auto-miner. Neat graphics. Interesting progression.
I came across this list by accident. Thanks for reminding me of one of my favorite indie games - cookie clicker. I used to play this a lot - I stayed up all night just to click on this cookie lol. Good days!
Progress Knight (by Noe Le Phillipe) https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/progress-knight-mobile/id1637610712 Another one for fans of competitive spreadsheets!
