Cookie Clicker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cookie Clicker |
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|---|---|
| Designer(s) | Julien Thiennot, Opti |
| Programmer(s) | Julien Thiennot |
| Platform(s) | Web browser, Android |
| Release date(s) | August 8, 2013 |
| Genre(s) | Incremental |
Cookie Clicker is an incremental game created by French programmer Julien "Orteil" Thiennot in 2013. The user initially clicks on a big cookie on the screen, earning a single cookie per click. They can then spend their earned cookies upon purchasing assets such as "cursors" and other "buildings" that automatically produce cookies. Upgrades are also available and can improve the efficiency of clicks and buildings, among many other mechanics that allow the user to earn cookies in different ways. Though the game has no ending, it has hundreds of achievements, and users may aim to reach milestone numbers of cookies.
The game is one of the first and most important in the genre of incremental games and has a dedicated fanbase. Though the first version was coded in one night, Cookie Clicker is regularly updated. It has been widely described as addictive, and it has been noted that the game almost does not require a human to play it.
Gameplay
At first, the player clicks on the large cookie on the far left side of the screen, earning one cookie per click. With these cookies, the player can purchase new assets such as cursors, grandmas, and farms, that automatically make cookies. Upgrades can be purchased to increase the cookies gathered from buildings or clicks. Golden cookies, small cookies that appear in a random location on the screen and fade away after several seconds, appear periodically and grant bonus cookies or increase the rate of production for a short time if clicked before they disappear.
After earning a certain number of cookies, the player can 'ascend', losing their progress but earning heavenly chips and prestige which add a permanent boost to the rate of cookie production in future play-throughs. Other mechanics such as prestige upgrades (unlocked with heavenly chips), "wrinklers", the Cookie Dragon, minigames, and sugar lumps can be used to boost cookie production or generate more cookies in other ways (sometimes even when the game is closed). Achievements can be earned by completing various tasks or goals, such as reaching a certain number of total cookies produced or owning a particular amount of buildings of a certain type. Additionally, seasonal events occur during their respective holidays which come with more upgrades and cookies to unlock.
The game features geometric growth: the player begins baking handfuls of cookies, but can quickly reach billions of cookies, and eventually attain duodecillions of cookies or beyond. The game has no clear ending.
Because of the game's relatively simple code, cheats and add-ons are widely available and simply implemented by using browser consoles and bookmarklets.
History
Julien "Orteil" Thiennot created Cookie Clicker in August 2013. Written in a single evening, the game was posted in a link on 4chan, and garnered 50,000 players within hours. A month after the game's initial release, it had over 200,000 players per day. Orteil later wrote that traffic had peaked at 1.5 million hits in one day during August 2013, and as of January 2014 Cookie Clicker was still getting a steady 225,000 hits per day. The game has had continual updates since its release, notably the "legacy" update in February 2016 and the "spiritual" update in July 2017. On October 25, 2018, Orteil launched the game's Patreon page, with the intent to develop Cookie Clicker and other Dashnet games becoming a full-time job. On August 8, 2019, the mobile beta for Cookie Clicker was released for Android devices after a long delay.
See also
In Spanish: Cookie Clicker para niños
