What is Cookie Clicker?
Cookie Clicker is one of the best known idle games on the web. It was made by Orteil (Julien Thiennot) with DashNet and first released in 2013, and the browser version is still updated and free to play.
You start by clicking a big cookie. Cookies buy upgrades and buildings, such as cursors, grandmas, farms and factories, that produce cookies on their own. The numbers grow absurdly large, and later you unlock golden cookies, achievements, minigames and an ascension system that resets your bakery for permanent bonuses.
Main Features
- Classic click-then-automate idle gameplay
- Dozens of buildings and hundreds of upgrades
- Golden cookies that give short, powerful boosts
- Minigames such as a garden, a stock market and a spell book
- Ascension and heavenly chips for long-term progress
- Progress saves in your browser, with save export and import
How to Get Started with Cookie Clicker
- Open orteil.dashnet.org/cookieclicker in your browser.
- Click the big cookie on the left to bake your first cookies.
- Buy a Cursor and a Grandma from the store on the right.
- Keep buying buildings and upgrades, and click golden cookies when they appear.
Cookie Clicker Pricing
The browser version of Cookie Clicker is free and shows ads. A separate paid edition is sold on Steam with extras such as achievements and a soundtrack, but you do not need it to play.
Who Should Use It?
- Fans of idle and incremental games
- Anyone who wants a game to leave running in a tab
- Players who enjoy optimising numbers and upgrades
- People curious about the game that started the clicker genre
Cookie Clicker Alternatives
- Stimulation Clicker: a chaotic modern clicker
- ClickClickClick: a playful clicking experiment
- Spend Bill Gates' Money: spend a fortune one purchase at a time
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Cookie Clicker free?
Yes. The original browser version is free to play. There is a paid Steam edition, but it is optional.
Does Cookie Clicker save my progress?
Yes. It saves automatically in your browser. You can also export your save as text from the Options menu to back it up or move it to another device.
Does Cookie Clicker ever end?
Not really. You can keep unlocking achievements, ascending and growing your bakery for as long as you like.