Grimoire Incremental 9+

Grimoire is a great incremental game with unfolding and puzzle mechanics. There is a reason why this game best looking and best playing incremental game of the year! All gameplay is free to try, although I recommend that you support the solo dev with a tip.

I’d like to give some definitions. Idle game: passive “numbers go up” activity, eg Melvor Idle. Incremental game: active “numbers get exponentially larger” game, eg Antimatter Dimensions. Unfolding game: active “secret gameplay unlocks, achievement hunting” game, eg CandyBox2. Grimoire is an unfolding puzzle game with the theme of an incremental. Prestige is outwardly used for increasing rune gain speed, but in practice is so you can guess the next power combo through trial and error. It really makes you feel like you are studying an arcane object with branching paths. I love how there is a hint of a storyline through the use of grimoire cards. It was a great brain teaser trying different card combinations to hit the next milestone. The game took me 45 days to complete. Yes there is a definite ending. The UI is stellar. This is a great addition to the genre and I look forward to future projects.

I’ve been having a blast with this one! By far the best thing about this game is the first item in the App Store description - non formulaic gameplay. I really enjoy the fact that as I’ve progressed I’ve needed different strategies and I had a lot of fun experimenting with different upgrade combinations to see which setups were ideal. At one point I was tapping a lot, at another point I was going full idle and at my current progress I think the best is some mix of idling then tapping then idling etc. I can’t put it down (except for the parts where I really should be idling)!

Oh and for ads/IAPs there’s nothing except for the option to watch ads for a small multiplier for a good while and an IAP to make it permanent. Pretty low key and unobtrusive; kudos to the developer. I can say the game is not balanced in a way that you need to have the multiplier to progress so that’s also nice, though the multiplier is nice to add a little boost especially early on.

A fairly light game but it’s a neat approach. I love the minimal UI but the game itself has some nice testing/problem solving with approach.
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This game isn’t so much a clicker vs idle game as figuring out if you are at a point you should be taking a clicking approach or idle approach. What works best matures depending on how far you are. As you progress you may find that idling for a day or two on a different will be more useful than tapping while watching a show. Then as you prestige to be able to reach a new upgrade or path you may swing back more towards idle. It’s fun figuring out what approaches work well and when a previously useful approach finally delivers great value.
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There is no pay to win and virtually no adds - there is an option to watch an ad for at 2.5x boost that lasts 4 hours - no pop ups every 90 seconds trying to get you to watch ads for resources or any of that crap. The paid option is a 1 time purchase of $5 for the permanent 2.5x. Modest, simple, straight forward. Overall I really enjoy this so far as a game that’s engaging but not distracting and is never shoving payment or ads in my face
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Edit: I also dig the concept of the effort staying with the Grimoire and moving from person to person. It makes things like legacies and creations and such fit in well. I also love that legacies (achievements) provide genuinely impactful but not game breaking benefits, and are slowly discovered.