Playing to Wait: A Taxonomy of Idle Games
Abstract
Idle games are a recent minimalist gaming phenomenon in which the game is left running with little player interaction. We deepen understanding of idle games and their characteristics by developing a taxonomy and identifying game features. This paper examines 66 idle games using a grounded theory approach to analyze play, game mechanics, rewards, interactivity, progress rate, and user interface. To establish a clearly bounded definition of idle games, we analyzed 10 non-idle games with the same approach. We discuss how idle games move players from playing to planning, how they question dominant assumptions about gameplay, and their unusual use of resources such as player attention and computer cycles. Our work illuminates opportunities for the design of idle games, suggests design implications, and provides a framework for researchers to clearly articulate questions about this genre.
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The back-and-forth moments between the user and the tool are similar to how players interact in idle games, where both sides contribute to the final result through small, ongoing steps.
“These back-and-forth moments between the user and the tool are similar to how players interact in idle games—games that progress without player interaction for some time—where both sides, the player and the game, contribute to the final result through small, ongoing steps (Alharthi et al. 2018; Spiel et al. 2019).”
From Generative AI in Game Design: Enhancing Creativity or Constraining Innovation? (2025) · cites this paper as Alharthi et al. 2018
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Self-citationByers, T. H., Gibbs, M., & Nansen, B. (2026) · CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/3772318.3790636 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
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Waszkiewicz, A., & Tymińska, M. (2024) · Replay The Polish Journal of Game Studies · doi:10.18778/2391-8551.11.02
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dos Santos, T. L., & Fróes, M. M. (2024) · Simpósio Brasileiro de Jogos e Entretenimento Digital (SBGames) · doi:10.5753/sbgames.2024.241264
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Therapy gamification to improve children compliance. A systematic literature review.
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Mulargia, S., & Serafini, L. (2026) · The Communication Review · doi:10.1080/10714421.2026.2647307
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Mazur, E. M. (2026) · Studia Humanistyczne/Studia Humanistyczne AGH · doi:10.7494/human.2026.25.1.8007
- Authors
- Alharthi, S. A., Alsaedi, O., Toups Dugas, P. O., Tanenbaum, T. J., & Hammer, J.
- Affiliations
- New Mexico State University (US)
- New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, USA
- University of California, Irvine (US)
- Carnegie Mellon University (US)
- Venue
- Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
- Publisher
- ACM
- Published
- 2018-04-21
- Pages
- 1-15
- OpenAlex
- W2795739371
- Cited by
- 79
- References
- 52
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 3
- FWCI
- 23.62
- Type
- conference paper
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (IIS-1651532)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Games and Media
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Educational Games and Gamification
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Innovative Human-Technology Interaction
- Keywords
- game mechanics, game taxonomy, player attention, game rewards, interactivity, user interface, game design
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