Two weeks ago, I discovered a peculiar brand of Mobile game. Described as "Clicker" games, these little time wasters are mostly about one thing, tapping your fingers fast to gain currency. Over time, you use that currency to buy other facilities or items that increase your currency gain automatically, so you're gaining it even when you're not playing. It's a strange genre that's surprisingly addicting. It most likely stems from the euphoria of attaining a level in an RPG, seeing progress bars and numbers constantly rise.
The best thing about these games is that despite having microtransactions, they're largely pointless, making the entire game completely playable without spending a single dollar, and never feeling like you're behind a paywall.
Not all Clicker games are created equally, and there are certainly some better than others, so I'll help you sift through the bad ones and pick out the gems, so that next car ride, bus ride or train ride can be made slightly more enjoyable with these mindless games. Though warning, people might look at you funny.
Epic Dragon Clicker
This is one of the more shallow games as there really isn't much more involved than you continually clicking on dragons to defeat them with gradually more powerful weapons.
The one redeeming factor to Epic Dragon Click are the dragon designs, as well as each one actually having associated lore, meaning you can actually read up on all of them, if you're so inclined.
Meow Clicker
Yet another more shallow Clicker game, but I do have to admit I love the collection aspect of it. You'll tap to release a myriad of kittens out of a box, with each of them themed after certain characters. That means you can expect Ninja Cats, Doctor Cats, Baby Cats and more.
Each time you come across a new cat, you unlock it in your Kitty Catalogue. And since there are 173 cats to unlock, you'll need to be tapping a bunch.
Hero Clickers
For those that enjoy a more RPG approach to your Clicker games, this might be the one for you. You'll be presented with various ugly monsters on screen, and your finger turns into a trusty weapon. Tap away and destroy these ugly beasts for gold, and in return, buy yourself a better weapon and then hire warriors to continually damage monsters to help you out. Yeah, it's shallow, but it is fun.
PickCrafter
For those that enjoy Minecraft and its aesthetic, PickCrafter will satisfy your need to mine. You can even swing your phone like you would a pickaxe, though I highly discourage that.
By mining, you increase your currency of "Picks" as well as gaining materials like Dirt, Wood, Sand, etc. You can then use Picks to buy chests with material, and then use that material to craft various pieces of armor, new pickaxes and unlock new biomes.
Virtual Beggar
You play as a beggar on the street and its your goal to become a business enterpreneaur and eventually move up to beg at high class and expensive real estate. Each tap throws a coin your way which will go a long way with helping you invest in various items that grow your income automatically.
You can also hire various workers and send them off to their respective jobs, such as construction or sort through mail, and any of their income will go straight into your bank account. Buying a cute pet goes a long way since it will make passerbys throw some change at you as well. This is certainly one of the better looking Clicker games, and I highly recommend it.
Money Clicker
This one is a guilty pleasure, and it's certainly much less involved than the previous game. Its presentation largely revolves around a stack of cash in your hand, and as you tap, you throw dollar bills. This money accumulates and it allows you to invest in various things such as a horse race, life insurance, fixed annuities, and growth stocks, which then in turn generates more money automatically.
There is something oddly addicting about throwing money away, combined with the sound of cash falling around you. And I'll obviously never have a never ending stack of cash in my hands, so this is probably the closest thing I'll get to the feeling of throwing money away. Although… I did buy that Ghost Edition of Destiny…
Billionaire
Ok, back to the slightly more involved Clicker games. Presenting Billionaire, the game where you invest in building various properties and then collect their earnings in order to raise your value and in turn, buy more expensive property that earns you even more money.
But there is a slight caveat to this. Each property has a Threat percentage associated with it. Sure, a Lemonade stand has a low threat percentage, but it also doesn't really yield a high income. Build an Alcohol Smuggler however, with a high threat rating, you're at risk of losing that income, or that building entirely!
Oh and the tapping? This is the only of the Clicker games that actually has the least amount of clicking. The only time you'll be doing so is when you're constructing a new building or upgrading it, as each tap decreases the time it takes to finish.
Bitcoin Billionaire
By far my favorite of all the Clicker games. Not only is it one of the more involved games, it easily has the best presentation. You start off by creating your avatar, and immediately after send them to a life of tapping keys on the keyboard as you continuously mine for Bitcoins.
The currency here is measured in units of file sizes, so you'll start off with kb (kilobytes) and eventually make your way to Gb (gigabytes), Tb (terabytes) and beyond. Like in previous games, you invest this currency into various things like Video Games, eSports, Hoverboards, Solar Roads and even Time Travel.
The thing I love about Bitcoin Billionaire though are the little touches. An 'Amazon' like box flies in on a drone to drop off a package. Your room gradually gets upgraded so you'll have an arcade machine instead of a dusty book shelf, or a roomba instead of a garbage basket. Your avatar even talks to you if you don't tap for a while with quotes like "What's the matter, were people looking at you like a maniac for tapping your phone furiously?" Spot on. The game also handles ads pretty geniusly. It will constantly send you 'emails' that you can choose to accept to enable a 30 second ad for instance, and once the 30 seconds is up, you'll be rewarded with a multiplier to your investments.
Cow Evolution
This is a quirky little game. In Cow Evolution, you manage a cow farm where you must constantly evolve cows by combining two of the same ones together. There isn't much tapping going on, again, much like Billionaire, and instead it focuses on constantly providing you a constant stream of cash flow each time you unlock a new evolution of cow.
Your cows start as babies, but after their adult-hood, they become mutated with horns on the side, to eventually growing larger horns and six eyes, to a cow mixed with an alpaca, eventually outgrowing your farm and becoming large cow flying saucers, cowzilla and much, much more. It's such a kooky premise but something about constantly breeding the same type of cow, only to find out what comes next is highly addicting.
There aren't many upgrades you'll be purchasing with your cash, but instead, you'll be able to purchase specific cows to expedite their mutations. Give it a download, you just might enjoy it!
Clicker – Tap your own city
This one is sort of similar to Billionaire. With each tap you basically deliver a citizen to your empty city. Once you have enough citizens, you can start populating your city with various establishments like houses, malls, hospitals, factories, office buildings, etc. Each new establishment then increases the rate at which your population.
The later establishments come with some risk of catastrophes which run the risk of decreasing your overall population. The game also has an upgrade system called Artifacts, which will percentually increase your overall residents, allowing you to gradually purchase even more expensive buildings.
You can then rotate your phone sideways and scroll through your city and marvel at its glory.
