How to make a clicker game

A clicker is one button, one number and a shop. The hook is the math: each upgrade costs more than the last, income per second climbs, and prestige lets players reset for a permanent bonus.

The core formula

Cookie Clicker (Orteil, 2013) raises each building's price by 15% per purchase. Written as a formula: cost = base cost x 1.15 to the power of how many you own. A building with a base cost of 15 then costs 15, then about 17, 20 and 23.

Income works the other way. Each building adds a fixed amount per second, so the player's income grows in steps while prices grow smoothly. That gap is what makes them wait, then buy, then wait a little longer.

Prestige. When progress slows, let players reset their cash and buildings for a permanent bonus based on how much they earned. Each run goes faster than the last.

What keeps a clicker fun

Juice on every tap. A pop-up number, a squash, a sound. The tap itself should feel good.
Milestones. Unlock something at 100, 1,000 and 10,000. The player always sees the next goal.
New things, not just bigger numbers. Each new building should look different and change the screen.
Big number names. Switch to million, billion and beyond so huge numbers stay readable.

Build it in Scratch, Roblox or Roam

Scratch: a clicks variable and a big button sprite with "when this sprite clicked, change clicks by 1". A shop sprite checks "if clicks > cost", subtracts the cost, adds 1 to per second and sets cost to round(cost x 1.15). A forever loop waits 1 second and adds per second to clicks.

Roblox: in Studio, use a GUI button or a ClickDetector, keep the count in leaderstats so it shows on the leaderboard, and save progress with DataStores. All of that is Luau.

Roam: describe the clicker on your iPhone, play it, and tune the math by asking: "upgrades cost less early", "add prestige at a million".

Play it on Roam

Make your clicker with Roam

Describe the thing you tap and what it grows into. Play it the same day on iPhone.

Try: "clicker where every tap feeds a tiny dragon, it grows and burns down bigger castles, prestige at a million"

Create it with Roam See Roam

Questions people ask

How do clicker games work?

You tap to earn, buy upgrades that earn for you, and each upgrade costs more than the last. Prestige resets progress for a permanent bonus.

How do you make a clicker game on Roblox?

In Roblox Studio, add a button or ClickDetector, store the count in leaderstats with a Luau script, and save it with DataStores.

What is prestige in clicker games?

A reset that trades your current progress for a permanent bonus, so the next run goes faster.

Keep exploring

More on Roam: All Roam games Games to play, by kind