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Games like Universal Paperclips

Universal Paperclips leans active, finishes in about 4–8h. These games share the most with it, and each one says why.

Only
  1. Spaceplan cover art

    SpaceplanComplete

    Also narrative, short · Same active/idle balance (leans active) · Has an ending, about 1–3h

    A stranded ship, a potato, and a soundtrack that makes the finale land. A short, focused story idler.

    91% steam
    1–3h ending
    30% idle
  2. A Dark Room cover art

    A Dark RoomComplete

    Also narrative, classic · Same active/idle balance (leans active) · Has an ending, about 3–6h

    Light a fire. Then the text opens up into a village, a map, and a story told almost entirely through what it doesn't say.

    3–6h ending
    25% idle

  3. Candy Box 2Complete

    Also narrative, classic · Same active/idle balance (leans active) · Has an ending, about 5–10h

    An ASCII adventure that starts as a counter of candies and turns into quests, spells and a lollipop farm.

    5–10h ending
    30% idle
  4. Project Basilisk cover art

    Project BasiliskUpdated

    Also ai, narrative, short

    Grow an AI lab by hiring researchers and buying compute in a race to AGI, told as a mix of interactive fiction and strategy.

    3.4★ galaxy
  5. A Tale of Poop and Vengeance cover art

    A Tale of Poop and Vengeance

    Also short, narrative · Same active/idle balance (leans active)

    A short story-driven clicker: shovel manure, buy upgrades and work your way toward toppling the government.

    4.4★ galaxy
    25% idle
  6. Magic Archery cover art

    Magic ArcheryUpdated

    Also short · Same active/idle balance (leans active) · Has an ending

    Train an elf commoner into a master archer by shooting targets, taking quests for gold and buying magic upgrades in a brief, hands-on climb with a set ending.

    98% steam
    has ending
    25% idle
  7. Luna's Fishing Garden cover art

    Luna's Fishing Garden

    Also short, narrative · Has an ending

    Catch fish, trade them to a fox spirit, and spend the proceeds turning an archipelago into a garden. A short pixel-art story you can keep playing after.

    95% steam
    has ending
  8. The Last Cat in the Universe cover art

    The Last Cat in the Universe

    Also short, narrative · Has an ending

    As a space station AI, sweep your cursor over debris to salvage parts and build a warm home for the last cat, in a short story meant for one or two sittings.

    94% steam
    has ending
  9. akabos cover art

    akabosDormant

    Also narrative, short · Has an ending

    Touch a dog to help it destroy the squares it hates. A tiny clicker with a plot and several endings, played in one sitting.

    90% steam
    has ending
  10. Astrodle cover art

    Astrodle

    Also short, narrative · Has an ending

    Shoot blobs in space for Zodiac essences and upgrade your ship on a path to godhood. Both modes have a clear finish reachable in about a day of active play.

    91% steam
    has ending
  11. Execute cover art

    ExecuteUpdated

    Also short · Same active/idle balance (leans active) · Has an ending

    A dark comedy on a retro Windows desktop: capture people and escalate from a guillotine to nukes until the world population hits zero.

    91% steam
    has ending
    25% idle
  12. Journey to Ascension cover art

    Journey to Ascension

    Also narrative · Same active/idle balance (leans active) · Has an ending

    An active looping incremental in the vein of Prismatic Adventure with no idle waits and a complete story, finished in 10 to 25 hours.

    4.4★ galaxy
    has ending
    25% idle
  13. Idle Chapel cover art

    Idle Chapel

    Also short, narrative · Has an ending

    Convert cultists into worshipers whose prayers fund your chapel, purify 12 areas, and reset through penance for lasting upgrades in a pixel dark fantasy.

    78% steam
    has ending
  14. Advent Incremental cover art

    Advent IncrementalComplete

    Also narrative · Same active/idle balance (balanced) · Has an ending, about 20–40h

    Twenty-four days, twenty-four interlocking mini-incrementals, one workshop to save Christmas. Built on Profectus.

    4.6★ galaxy
    20–40h ending
    40% idle
  15. PROFITS 2167: Planetary Resource Optimization & Freight Infrastructure Technician Simulator cover art

    PROFITS 2167: Planetary Resource Optimization & Freight Infrastructure Technician Simulator

    Also short · Same active/idle balance (leans active) · Has an ending

    Drive a mining train by hand between stations, defend against alien insects and reinvest profits into upgrades and delivery drones, satirizing tech startups.

    98% steam
    has ending
    25% idle
  16. Breakfront cover art

    Breakfront

    Also short · Same active/idle balance (leans active) · Has an ending

    Bouncing balls chip away at enemy tiles; spend captured points on a branching tree for more, faster and special balls, then beat the boss.

    4.3★ galaxy
    has ending
    25% idle
  17. The MachinEGG cover art

    The MachinEGGUpdated

    Also short · Same active/idle balance (leans active) · Has an ending

    Raise chickens, sell their eggs and automate the farm in a relaxed clicker that takes around 20 to 25 minutes to finish.

    4.2★ galaxy
    has ending
    25% idle
  18. Tower Wizard cover art

    Tower WizardComplete

    Also short · Same active/idle balance (balanced) · Has an ending, about 3–5h

    Climb your tower toward the sky with magic and spirits. A short, calm, finishable idler.

    97% steam
    3–5h ending
    40% idle
  19. Unfair Flips cover art

    Unfair Flips

    Also short · Same active/idle balance (leans active) · Has an ending

    Flip a rigged coin with a 20% heads chance and upgrade the odds, aiming for ten heads in a row in a bleak far-future setting.

    88% steam
    has ending
    25% idle
  20. Journey to Incrementalia cover art

    Journey to Incrementalia

    Also short · Same active/idle balance (leans active) · Has an ending

    A necromancer summons minions and casts spells to smash through 99 walls, exploring a big resettable skill tree on a short hands-on run.

    89% steam
    has ending
    25% idle
  21. Out With a Bang cover art

    Out With a Bang

    Also short · Same active/idle balance (leans active) · Has an ending

    With two minutes before a bomb goes off, figure out the unexplained mechanics and generate as much energy as you can.

    3.1★ galaxy
    has ending
    25% idle
  22. Ink Remnant cover art

    Ink Remnant

    Also short, narrative

    A short incremental where a mage starts with nothing in a magical city and researches upward, with new systems revealed as the story unfolds.

    4.6★ galaxy
  23. Stone Story RPG cover art

    Stone Story RPG

    Also narrative · Has an ending, about 15–30h

    A hand-animated ASCII RPG that plays itself while you script its behaviour. Gorgeous and strange.

    91% steam
    15–30h ending
    50% idle
  24. Instruction cover art

    Instruction

    Also narrative, short

    Meet power quotas at a plant using five generation systems while its sarcastic AI mentor reveals a story. A student project.

    94% steam