Cookie Clicker

Cookie Clicker is the ultimate digital "rabbit hole."

Released in 2013 by French developer Julien "Orteil" Thiennot, it is widely considered the pioneer of the incremental (or "idle") game genre. It starts as a simple joke and quickly evolves into a complex simulation of global (and interdimensional) cookie production.

How the Madness Works
The gameplay loop is deceptively simple:

The Click: You start with a giant cookie on the left side of your screen. You click it. You get one cookie.

The Purchase: Once you have enough cookies, you buy things that click for you. This starts with Cursors and Grandmas, but eventually escalates to Cookie Farms, Banks, Temples, and Time Machines.

The Escalation: As your "Cookies Per Second" (CPS) increases, the costs of buildings rise exponentially. You begin unlocking upgrades that double your efficiency or introduce new mechanics.