The Complete Glossary of Idle Game Terms

A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · K · L · M · N · O · P · R · S · T · W · #

This idle game glossary defines the working vocabulary of incremental and clicker games — the prestige systems, scaling math, community jargon, and quality-of-life features that shape the genre. Definitions favor plain language first, then add nuance for veterans, with concrete examples drawn from games such as Cookie Clicker, Antimatter Dimensions, Trimps, and Realm Grinder. Use the A–Z strip above to jump to a letter, or start with the quick reference below.

Most-searched quick reference

• Prestige — voluntarily reset progress to earn permanent bonuses.
• Idle vs incremental vs clicker — overlapping genre umbrella terms.
• Tick — the discrete time slice during which the game updates production.
• Softcap — point where gains slow but don't stop.
• OOM — orders of magnitude, the standard unit of incremental progress.
• Heavenly chips — Cookie Clicker prestige currency.
• Antimatter — Antimatter Dimensions primary currency.
• Tickspeed upgrade — purchase that shortens tick interval.
• Offline progression — production that accrues while the game is closed.
• Buy max — UI button that purchases as many units as currency allows.
• Wall — a stalled phase requiring new mechanics or upgrades to clear.
• K/M/B/T notation — short suffix system for large numbers.

A

AD

Community shorthand for Antimatter Dimensions, an incremental game by Hevipelle first released in 2016. The acronym appears constantly on r/incremental_games when discussing prestige layer design, tickspeed, and dilation. See also: CC, IC, Trimps.

AFK

Away From Keyboard — playing the game while not actively interacting with it. In idle games AFK time is a productive resource because generators keep producing during it, often modified by an idle bonus or offline progression cap. See also: anti-AFK, autoclicker, run.

Anti-AFK

A game design measure that limits or detects extended inactivity, typically capping offline earnings or requiring periodic check-ins. Mobile titles like Make It Rain originally required active log-ins to convert progress, an early example of anti-AFK monetization design. See also: offline progression, autoclicker, paywall.

Antimatter

The primary resource in Antimatter Dimensions, produced by stacking eight tiers of "Antimatter Dimensions" that each generate the next tier down. The term is sometimes used loosely on r/incremental_games as a generic stand-in for any base currency in a dimension-stacking game source: antimatter-dimensions.fandom.com. See also: generator, dimension boost, galaxy reset.

Ascension

A prestige system in which the player resets the current run in exchange for a persistent currency or stat bonus, the canonical example being Cookie Clicker's Ascension introduced in version 1.0.35, which yields heavenly chips and Prestige Levels source: cookieclicker.fandom.com. The word is used both as the system's name and the act of triggering it. See also: rebirth, soft reset, prestige currency.

Autobuyer

An automation feature that purchases generators or upgrades automatically when they become affordable, often configurable by threshold or interval. Antimatter Dimensions unlocks distinct autobuyers for each dimension, tickspeed, dimension boost, and galaxy reset at staggered eternity milestones. See also: buy max, autoclicker, milestone.

Autoclicker

External or built-in software that simulates rapid mouse clicks, used to automate manual input in clicker games. Wikipedia notes autoclickers are commonly used to automate manual tasks in the genre, and many games either embrace them or design anti-AFK checks against them source: en.wikipedia.org. See also: automation, exploit, AFK.

Automation

Any mechanic that removes manual input from a gameplay loop, from autobuyers to scripted run execution. Automation usually unlocks gradually as a reward — Antimatter Dimensions, for example, gates full automation behind the 100-eternities milestone. See also: milestone, optimal play, idle.

B

Buy 10

A UI button that purchases ten units of a generator at once, popularized by Antimatter Dimensions where each tenth purchase of a dimension grants a ×2 multiplier. It exists primarily to align purchases with that breakpoint. See also: buy max, buy 100, tier bonus.

Buy 100

A bulk-purchase button that buys 100 units, common in mobile and tycoon-style idles such as AdVenture Capitalist where bulk discounts and milestone bonuses arrive every 25, 50, 100, and 200 owned. The button trades fine-grained optimal play for speed. See also: buy 10, max all, milestone.

Buy max

A button that spends all available currency on as many units of one generator as possible, typically the cheapest still-affordable option. In Antimatter Dimensions "Max all" runs through tickspeed and the eight dimensions in priority order. See also: max all, buy 10, autobuyer.

C

CC

Community shorthand for Cookie Clicker, the 2013 incremental by Julien "Orteil" Thiennot widely credited with popularizing the genre source: en.wikipedia.org. On r/incremental_games "CC" almost always refers to this game rather than other CC-initialed titles. See also: AD, heavenly chips, ascension.

Challenge

A self-imposed restricted run that grants a permanent reward on completion, such as a multiplier or unlock. Antimatter Dimensions features Normal, Infinity, and Eternity Challenges, each with goals like reaching 1.8e308 antimatter under handicaps such as disabled tickspeed. See also: run, completion bonus, feats.

Challenge tree

A graph or grid where completing one challenge unlocks neighbors, usually with branching choices the player cannot fully complete in a single run. Realm Grinder's Research and Antimatter Dimensions's Time Studies are commonly cited examples on r/incremental_games. See also: challenge, theorycraft, completion bonus.

Clicker

A subgenre of incremental games where active clicking or tapping is the primary input for generating resources, in contrast with idle games that emphasize automation. Cookie Clicker and Cow Clicker (Ian Bogost, 2010) are the foundational clicker examples. See also: autoclicker, idle, incremental.

Column bonus

A multiplier granted for owning items down a column of a grid-organized upgrade or generator layout, the vertical counterpart to a row bonus. Column bonuses are common in grid-based prestige tree mods built on TMT. See also: row bonus, tier bonus, synergy.

Completion bonus

A permanent reward granted for finishing a challenge, achievement set, or challenge tree node, typically a multiplier or unlock. In Antimatter Dimensions, repeating each Eternity Challenge up to five times stacks its completion bonus. See also: challenge, milestone, feats.

Content cliff

A point where new mechanics, upgrades, or layers stop being introduced and the player faces only longer waits or larger numbers without fresh systems. The term is common on r/incremental_games as a critique of games that pad end-game with grind rather than design. See also: end-game, post-end-game, wall.

Cost scaling

The function describing how a generator's price grows per purchase, typically exponential (e.g., Cookie Clicker's 1.15 multiplier) or polynomial. Cost scaling is the primary lever designers use to enforce a softcap without explicit caps. See also: scaling, growth rate, softcap.

Currency

Any countable in-game resource used to purchase upgrades, generators, or unlocks, distinct from raw stats like damage. Most idle games run multiple currencies layered by prestige, e.g., cookies → heavenly chips → Prestige Levels. See also: resource, prestige currency, premium currency.

D

Dilation

Originally an Antimatter Dimensions mechanic in which all dimension and tickspeed multipliers have their exponents raised to the power 0.75, drastically reducing growth in exchange for Tachyon Particles on completion source: antimatterdimensions.wiki.gg. The community uses "dilation" generically for any mechanic that suppresses growth temporarily for a separate reward. See also: time dilation, challenge, eternity.

Dimension boost

A reset action in Antimatter Dimensions that wipes current dimension counts in exchange for unlocking a higher dimension or compounding a multiplier on existing ones. The first four dimension boosts unlock dimensions 5–8; later boosts give a flat ×2 to all dimensions. The term has spread to other dimension-stacking games as a generic label. See also: galaxy reset, soft reset, generator.

E

End-game

The phase where the player has unlocked the final mechanic or prestige layer and is optimizing within it toward a defined completion goal. In Antimatter Dimensions end-game refers to clearing Reality content and reaching "The End." See also: late-game, post-end-game, content cliff.

E-notation

Scientific notation rendered with the letter "e" — 1e6 means 10^6, 1.79e308 is the maximum value of a JavaScript double-precision float and a common soft ceiling in browser-based incrementals. Most idle games switch from K/M/B/T notation to e-notation once values exceed roughly 10^33. See also: OOM, aa/ab/ac notation, scaling.

Eternity

The second prestige layer in Antimatter Dimensions, unlocked after reaching ~1.8e308 Infinity Points and resetting in exchange for Eternity Points and access to Time Dimensions, Time Theorems, and Time Studies source: antimatter-dimensions.fandom.com. The term is sometimes borrowed in derivative games for the second prestige tier generally. See also: infinity (prestige layer), reality, dilation.

Exploit

A use of game mechanics that yields outsized results unintended by the developer, distinct from cheating in that it stays within the rules. Common idle exploits include glitch buy sequences and save scumming around random rewards. See also: glitch buy, save scumming, optimal play.

Exponential

A growth rate where output multiplies by a constant factor per unit of input — the default scaling shape for both production and cost scaling in incremental games. Cookie Clicker's building cost formula base × 1.15^owned is the canonical exponential cost curve. See also: polynomial, logarithmic, scaling.

F

Fast-forward

A time skip feature that simulates elapsed game time in compressed real time, often consumed from a stockpile or watched-ad reward. Trimps offers a "Time Warp" that simulates up to 24 hours of online progress on launch. See also: time skip, offline progression, idle bonus.

Feats

Realm Grinder-specific term for one-time trophies obtainable only during seasonal events such as Easter or Halloween, sometimes with hidden requirements source: realm-grinder.fandom.com. The community occasionally extends "feats" to mean any conditional achievement with a discoverable trigger. See also: milestone, completion bonus, challenge.

G

Gacha

A randomized-reward purchase model adapted from Japanese capsule toys, where players spend currency — often premium currency — for a chance at items of varying rarity. Many idle RPGs hybridize gacha with prestige loops to monetize hero acquisition. See also: loot box, microtransaction, premium currency.

Galaxy reset

An Antimatter Dimensions reset that consumes the player's highest dimension to add an Antimatter Galaxy, which strengthens tickspeed reductions source: ivark.github.io. The community uses "galaxy reset" generically for any mid-run soft reset that exchanges progress for a permanent multiplier. See also: dimension boost, soft reset, tickspeed upgrade.

Generator

A purchasable unit that produces a resource per tick, sometimes producing the next-lower tier of generator instead of the base currency directly. Cookie Clicker's 20 buildings (Cursor, Grandma, Farm, … Javascript Console) are generators producing cookies. See also: producer, tick, multiplier.

Glitch buy

An exploit that purchases an upgrade or generator at an unintended price by abusing rounding, refresh order, or sell-buy mechanics. Early Cookie Clicker builds had several glitch buys involving selling buildings before a Frenzy expired to keep the multiplier on the refunded cookies. See also: exploit, save scumming, optimal play.

Growth rate

The mathematical class of a curve — exponential, polynomial, logarithmic, or compound combinations — describing how a value changes with input. Idle game balance is largely the comparison of production growth rate against cost scaling. See also: scaling, cost scaling, softcap.

H

Hard reset

A full wipe of save data with no prestige currency or carryover, equivalent to starting a new game. Hard reset is contrasted with soft reset and is typically a player choice rather than a mechanic. See also: soft reset, save scumming, NG+.

Hardcap

An absolute upper limit on a stat, resource, or multiplier beyond which no further gains are possible. Antimatter Dimensions hardcaps Replicanti Galaxies at a fixed total even though Replicanti themselves can keep growing. See also: softcap, wall, scaling.

Hardlock

A state where progress is impossible without a full hard reset, typically caused by a save scumming misstep or unrecoverable resource loss. Hardlock is rarer than softlock because most idle games are designed to allow eventual unstuck progress. See also: softlock, hard reset, exploit.

Heavenly chips

The prestige currency of Cookie Clicker, introduced alongside Ascension in version 1.0.35 and earned 1:1 with Prestige Levels by sacrificing total cookies baked across all runs source: cookieclicker.fandom.com. They purchase Heavenly Upgrades that persist across ascensions. See also: ascension, prestige currency, CC.

I

IC

Community shorthand for "incremental" or "idle/clicker" depending on context, used as a category label on r/incremental_games and itch.io tags. It is also the in-game abbreviation for "Infinity Challenge" in Antimatter Dimensions, so context disambiguates. See also: AD, incremental, idle.

Idle

A genre label for games that progress with minimal active input, typically through automation and offline progression. "Idle" is often used interchangeably with incremental and clicker, though strictly it emphasizes the AFK side of the spectrum. See also: incremental, clicker, AFK.

Idle bonus

A multiplier applied to passive production while the player is AFK or has not clicked recently, rewarding inactivity. Realm Grinder's Inactive playstyle and Clicker Heroes's idle gold bonus are common examples. See also: offline earnings, AFK, anti-AFK.

Incremental

The umbrella genre term — per Wikipedia — for games characterized by the incremental accumulation of in-game resources via repetitive actions or automation source: en.wikipedia.org. It encompasses both idle and clicker subcategories; r/incremental_games treats the three as overlapping rather than strictly hierarchical. See also: idle, clicker, tycoon.

Infinity (math)

In incremental math, the practical ceiling imposed by floating-point representation — Number.MAX_VALUE ≈ 1.7976931348623157e308 in JavaScript, beyond which production registers as Infinity. Games that need to scale further use libraries such as break_eternity.js to represent values like 10^^1.8e308. See also: e-notation, OOM, hardcap.

Infinity (prestige layer)

The first prestige layer in Antimatter Dimensions, triggered when the player reaches 1.8e308 antimatter and exchanges it for Infinity Points used to buy Infinity Dimensions and Break Infinity upgrades. The term "infinity" is reused in derivative games for any prestige layer that triggers at a numeric ceiling. See also: eternity, reality, prestige.

K

K/M/B/T notation

The short-suffix system used to abbreviate large numbers: K = 10^3, M = 10^6, B = 10^9, T = 10^12. Most idle games extend this with: qa = 10^15, Qa = 10^18, qi = 10^21, Qi = 10^24, sx = 10^27, Sx = 10^30, sp = 10^33, Sp = 10^36, oc = 10^39, Oc = 10^42, no = 10^45, No = 10^48, dc = 10^51, Dc = 10^54, before falling back to e-notation or aa/ab/ac notation. See also: e-notation, aa/ab/ac notation, OOM.

L

Late-game

The phase after the major prestige layers are unlocked but before the final end-game optimization, typically dominated by long runs and stacking completion bonuses. In Antimatter Dimensions late-game roughly maps to mid-Reality before reaching the final unlocks. See also: mid-game, end-game, push.

Logarithmic

A growth rate that flattens as input increases, the typical curve applied to bonus formulas to prevent runaway scaling. Antimatter Dimensions uses logarithmic terms in many of its prestige-currency formulas, e.g., EP gain scales roughly as IP^(1/440.65). See also: exponential, polynomial, softcap.

Loot box

A purchasable container that grants randomized contents drawn from a defined pool, structurally identical to gacha pulls. Loot boxes are regulated as gambling in several jurisdictions including Belgium and the Netherlands. See also: gacha, microtransaction, premium currency.

M

Max all

A UI command that runs buy max across every available generator in priority order in a single click. Antimatter Dimensions binds this to the M key, executing tickspeed then dimensions 8 → 1. See also: buy max, buy 10, autobuyer.

Microtransaction

A real-money purchase of in-game resources, premium currency, or convenience features, usually small in unit price. Mobile idle games derive most of their revenue from microtransactions paired with rewarded video ads. See also: premium currency, paywall, gacha.

Mid-game

The phase after the first prestige loop is mastered but before deeper layers fully open up, where the player learns to optimize runs rather than maximize a single session. In Trimps, mid-game is roughly Zone 100–200 territory after Helium gains compound. See also: late-game, run, push.

Milestone

A condition-based unlock — often count-based, such as "100 of building X" — that grants a permanent reward, multiplier, or feature. Milestones overlap with achievements in many idle games; Antimatter Dimensions's Eternity Milestones up to 100 unlock most of its automation. See also: completion bonus, autobuyer, feats.

Multiplier

A factor applied to production, click reward, or stat — the basic unit of progression in most incremental games. Multipliers stack additively or multiplicatively depending on source; Cookie Clicker's Kitten upgrades multiply with each other while Heavenly Chips add to the same CpS multiplier pool. See also: tier bonus, synergy, prestige multiplier.

1.15 multiplier

The cost-scaling factor used by every building in Cookie Clicker — each additional purchase of a building multiplies the next price by 1.15, producing roughly a 2× price every five purchases and 1000× every 50 source: cookieclicker.wiki.gg. The number is often cited on r/incremental_games as the genre's reference cost scaling baseline. See also: cost scaling, exponential, CC.

N

NG+

"New Game Plus" — borrowed from JRPGs, an idle-context NG+ is a hard reset variant that retains a small subset of progress (achievements, unlocked layers) while restarting numerical resources. Trimps's "Time Portal" sends the player back to start while preserving select stats, fitting the NG+ pattern. See also: hard reset, prestige, recursion.

O

Offline earnings

The resources credited at login for time elapsed while the game was closed, typically capped (e.g., 6 hours in many Antimatter Dimensions configurations) and sometimes scaled by an idle bonus percentage. Offline earnings are a distinct mechanic from real-time offline progression simulation. See also: offline progression, idle bonus, fast-forward.

Offline progression

The full simulation or approximation of game state advancement during periods when the game is not running, computed at login. Trimps's "Time Warp" simulates real progress for up to 24 hours offline, while Cookie Clicker grants partial CpS based on Heavenly Upgrades. See also: offline earnings, fast-forward, AFK.

OOM

"Order of magnitude" — a factor of 10. The plural "OOMs" is the dominant unit of measure on r/incremental_games for describing distance to a goal: "I'm 4 OOMs from my next prestige" means 10,000× short. See also: e-notation, scaling, push.

Optimal play

The mathematically best sequence of purchases, resets, and run timing for a given goal, usually computed via spreadsheet or community calculator. Optimal play often diverges from intuitive play; in Antimatter Dimensions short repeated infinities can outperform a single long one for IP/min. See also: theorycraft, push, run.

P

Paywall

A point in a game where progress is gated behind a real-money purchase, either explicitly (locked content) or effectively (impractical grind without premium currency). The presence and aggressiveness of paywalls is a frequent r/incremental_games critique distinguishing free-to-play idles from premium ones. See also: microtransaction, premium currency, gacha.

Polynomial

A growth rate of the form x^n for fixed n, slower than exponential but faster than logarithmic. Polynomial scaling appears in late-layer formulas such as Cookie Clicker's Prestige Level requirement of (level)^3 × 1 trillion cookies baked. See also: exponential, logarithmic, scaling.

Post-end-game

Optional content beyond the canonical completion goal, often achievement-hunting, secret challenges, or developer-added "challenge of challenges" tiers. Antimatter Dimensions exposes Pelle / "The Reality" content as post-end-game past the first reach of "The End." See also: end-game, content cliff, completion bonus.

Premium currency

A currency primarily acquired through real-money microtransactions, often with a small free trickle to seed engagement. Trimps's Bones are a soft example — earnable through gameplay but purchasable for direct support. See also: microtransaction, gacha, paywall.

Prestige

A voluntary soft reset that exchanges current run progress for a persistent currency or multiplier that accelerates future runs. The pattern was popularized in idle games by Cookie Clicker's Ascension (v1.0.35) and is now a near-universal feature of the genre source: en.wikipedia.org. See also: ascension, rebirth, prestige currency.

Prestige currency

The currency granted by a prestige reset, persisting across runs and used to buy permanent upgrades. Examples include heavenly chips (Cookie Clicker), Helium (Trimps), Infinity Points (Antimatter Dimensions), and Hero Souls (Clicker Heroes). See also: prestige, currency, prestige multiplier.

Prestige multiplier

A multiplier to base production scaled by accumulated prestige currency or prestige level count. Cookie Clicker's Prestige Level grants +1% CpS per level once unlocked, an additive prestige multiplier; Antimatter Dimensions Reality Machines grant scaled multiplicative ones. See also: prestige currency, multiplier, synergy.

Producer

Synonym for generator — any unit that produces resources or higher-tier producers per tick. The term is preferred in tycoon-leaning idles where "factory," "worker," or "business" maps to producer. See also: generator, tycoon, multiplier.

Push

The act of extending a run past efficient yield to reach a new unlock, milestone, or zone. Trimps players "push" to a new highest zone for one-time perk unlocks even though Helium-per-hour drops sharply. See also: run, optimal play, wall.

R

Reality

The third prestige layer in Antimatter Dimensions, unlocked after extensive eternity progression, granting Reality Machines and Glyphs that persist across realities. Reaching Reality typically takes weeks of play and is the gateway to the game's named end-game. See also: eternity, infinity (prestige layer), prestige.

Rebirth

A prestige variant that resets the run and grants a small currency or stat bonus, common in Tap Titans and similar mobile idles. "Rebirth" is sometimes used interchangeably with ascension, recursion, and prestige depending on the game. See also: prestige, ascension, soft reset.

Recursion

A meta-prestige pattern in which a prestige layer is itself reset by a higher layer, producing nested loops — Antimatter Dimensions's Infinity → Eternity → Reality is the canonical example. The term is used loosely on r/incremental_games for any "prestige of prestige" structure. See also: prestige, NG+, reality.

Resource

Any countable in-game value that production accumulates, including currencies, stats, and consumables. Resources are usually distinguished from currencies only by intent of use — currencies are spent, resources may be consumed or simply tracked. See also: currency, generator, producer.

Row bonus

A multiplier granted for completing all entries in a row of an upgrade or generator grid, the horizontal counterpart to a column bonus. Trimps's Spire row clears award scaling Helium and stat bonuses per completed row. See also: column bonus, tier bonus, synergy.

Run

A single play period bracketed by two resets, the basic unit of repetition in prestige-driven idle games. A run is variously called a "session," "rebirth cycle," or "ascension" depending on the game. See also: push, prestige, optimal play.

S

Save scumming

Repeatedly reloading a save to retry a randomized outcome until a desired result occurs. In idle context this often targets seasonal events, Cookie Clicker Golden Cookie spawn timing, or RNG-based loot box pulls. See also: exploit, hard reset, softlock.

Scaling

The general behavior of any value as inputs grow, usually classified as exponential, polynomial, or logarithmic. "Scaling kicks in" is community shorthand for hitting a softcap where additional input yields diminishing output. See also: growth rate, cost scaling, softcap.

Soft reset

A reset that wipes most progress in a run while preserving a prestige currency, upgrades, or unlocked layers. Trimps's Portal and Cookie Clicker's Ascension are both soft resets. See also: hard reset, prestige, run.

Softcap

A point on a curve where returns flatten substantially without stopping — the gain function continues but at sharply reduced rate. r/incremental_games uses "softcap" specifically for this gradual taper, in contrast with a hardcap's absolute ceiling. See also: hardcap, wall, logarithmic.

Softlock

A state where progress is theoretically possible but practically blocked, typically requiring a full hard reset or developer save edit to clear. A Trimps softlock can occur if a player enters a Portal during a Spire II run before unlocking the Capable perk, losing Fluffy. See also: hardlock, save scumming, hard reset.

Synergy

A multiplier granted when two specific systems are owned or active together, named generically across the genre. Cookie Clicker's Synergies Vol. I and II are the textbook example, where each Synergy upgrade pairs two buildings to boost both source: cookieclicker.fandom.com. See also: row bonus, column bonus, multiplier.

T

Theorycraft

The community practice of modeling game systems mathematically to find optimal play, typically via spreadsheets, simulators, or automation scripts. Antimatter Dimensions has produced extensive theorycraft including IP→EP conversion tables and Time Study tree presets. See also: optimal play, push, challenge tree.

Tick

The discrete time slice during which the game advances state — production, costs, and timers all step forward one tick at a time. Antimatter Dimensions runs internally at 20 ticks per second regardless of displayed tickspeed. See also: tick rate, tickspeed upgrade, generator.

Tick rate

The number of ticks processed per real-time second, often fixed by the engine but effectively boosted by tickspeed multipliers. Higher tick rate means more production cycles per second and is a primary scaling lever. See also: tick, tickspeed upgrade, multiplier.

Tickspeed upgrade

An Antimatter Dimensions purchase that reduces the interval between ticks by 11% per upgrade (compounding multiplicatively), with each Antimatter Galaxy strengthening that reduction by an additional 2 percentage points source: ivark.github.io. The term is now used generically for any "everything goes faster" upgrade. See also: tick rate, galaxy reset, dimension boost.

Tier bonus

A multiplier granted for owning a specific count of a generator — Antimatter Dimensions's ×2 every 10th purchase, or Cookie Clicker's 15 tiered upgrades that each double a building's CpS. Tier bonuses encourage buy 10 and buy 100 interactions. See also: buy 10, milestone, synergy.

Time dilation

The named Antimatter Dimensions mechanic unlocked by a 5,000 Time Theorem study after defeating Eternity Challenges 11 and 12 five times each with at least 13,000 TT total source: antimatterdimensions.wiki.gg. It is a specific implementation of dilation, suppressing exponents to ^0.75 in exchange for Tachyon Particles. See also: dilation, eternity, challenge.

Time skip

A consumable or one-shot feature that fast-forwards the simulation by a fixed duration. Time skips are common monetization features in mobile idles, usually purchased with premium currency or earned from rewarded video ads. See also: fast-forward, offline progression, microtransaction.

TMT

The Modding Tree, a JavaScript engine by Acamaeda released September 27, 2020, derived from Jacorb90's Prestige Tree (August 19, 2020) and built around layered prestige trees source: tvtropes.org. Hundreds of community games use TMT, and it ships with break_eternity.js for super-large numbers. See also: recursion, prestige, theorycraft.

Trimps

An incremental game by GreenSatellite (browser, later Steam) where the player breeds Trimps to fight through Zones, soft-resetting via the Portal mechanic to spend Helium on Perks source: trimps.fandom.com. It is a common reference point on r/incremental_games for long-form idle/active hybrids. See also: run, prestige currency, push.

Tycoon

A subgenre adjacent to idle games where management of producers is themed around a business, factory, or empire, often borrowing pricing curves from incrementals. AdVenture Capitalist and AdVenture Communist sit at the tycoon-idle boundary. See also: producer, generator, incremental.

W

Wall

A point in progression where current production fails to keep up with cost scaling, forcing the player to wait, push, or unlock a new mechanic. Walls are designed; Trimps's Zone 60 is a well-known early wall cleared by accumulating Helium across runs. See also: wallbreaker, softcap, content cliff.

Wallbreaker

An upgrade, milestone, or unlock specifically designed to break through a wall, typically the first item players target after hitting one. The dominant r/incremental_games usage is mechanical (a wall-breaking upgrade); a minority usage refers to a player skilled at clearing walls quickly. See also: wall, milestone, push.

#

aa/ab/ac notation

A notation used by Antimatter Dimensions and many later incrementals to extend K/M/B/T notation past the standard 10^54 limit by switching to two-letter suffixes — aa, ab, ac, …, az, ba, bb — most commonly with aa starting at 10^57 (the OOM after Dc = 10^54) in Antimatter Dimensions's Standard letter notation. Other games such as Trimps start aa at 10^33 or 10^60 depending on configuration, so the threshold is not universal. See also: K/M/B/T notation, e-notation, OOM.