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Games like PickCrafter
Short answer: Idle Cave Miner for the closest free mining idle game, To The Core for mining planets with upgrades, and Digseum for a short digging adventure. Below: 6 games, what each shares with PickCrafter and what changes.
Updated October 18, 2026 · Steam ratings checked the same day · By the Garbage Growth team
Quick answer
| If you want | Play | On Steam |
|---|---|---|
| Closest, and free | Idle Cave Miner | Very Positive · 1,251 Steam reviews |
| Mine whole planets | To The Core | Very Positive · 5,210 Steam reviews |
| Short digging trip | Digseum | Overwhelmingly Positive · 8,221 Steam reviews |
| Bosses to click down | Clicker Heroes | Very Positive · 62,180 Steam reviews |
| A mining empire on mobile | Idle Miner Tycoon | Not on Steam |
What makes PickCrafter fun
PickCrafter (Fiveamp, 2017) is a free idle game on Steam where you break blocks, forge equipment and collect powerful pickaxes, then prestige to higher tiers with an Ascension skill tree. You discover new biomes and fight bosses. A game like it needs something to dig or break, tools that get better and better, and a reset that makes the next run stronger.
The closest games to PickCrafter
#1 Idle Cave Miner
An idle game about crafting items, mining gems and building a team of miners, then prestiging and traveling to other mines to dig deeper.
Like PickCrafter: Mining, crafting and prestige, and a deeper layer each time. Free on Steam.
What changes: A team of miners instead of a single pickaxe.
See it on Steam ↗#2 To The Core
An incremental game about extracting resources from planets and using them to buy upgrades.
Like PickCrafter: Dig, upgrade, dig faster.
What changes: Whole planets instead of blocks, and a paid game.
See it on Steam ↗#3 Digseum
A short incremental journey about digging up ancient relics and building the greatest museum ever.
Like PickCrafter: Digging that gets faster with every upgrade.
What changes: Relics and a museum to fill, and a short game in its own words.
See it on Steam ↗#4 Clicker Heroes
Click monsters for gold, hire heroes to fight for you and push to deeper zones. Free on Steam.
Like PickCrafter: Clicking that turns into automation, and bosses to beat.
What changes: Monsters and heroes instead of blocks and pickaxes.
See it on Steam ↗A mining idle game on your phone
Idle Miner Tycoon
Build your own mining business and grow it into an empire.
Like PickCrafter: Mines that keep producing while you are away.
What changes: You run a mining company instead of swinging a pickaxe. Free on iOS and Android, with in-app purchases.
Official site ↗How we picked
This guide is written by the team behind Garbage Growth, an idle / incremental game on Steam. We kept games that:
- Steam players rate well (official Steam review summary, checked on October 18, 2026);
- you can still get today, on Steam or in the browser;
- each bring something different, so the list is not ten copies of the same game.
Garbage Growth is our game. When it appears in a list it is marked Our game, and you can check its Steam reviews yourself. No studio paid to be on this page.
Questions
What games are like PickCrafter?
Idle Cave Miner (Very Positive on Steam, 1,251 reviews) is the closest, with mining, crafting and prestige. To The Core (Very Positive on Steam, 5,210 reviews) and Digseum (Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam, 8,221 reviews) are digging incrementals, and Clicker Heroes has the same click-then-automate rhythm with bosses.
Is PickCrafter free?
Yes, PickCrafter is free to play on Steam.
Are there free games like PickCrafter?
Yes: Idle Cave Miner and Clicker Heroes are free to play on Steam, and Idle Miner Tycoon is free on mobile.
Is there a mining idle game on mobile?
Idle Miner Tycoon is a free idle mining business game on iOS and Android.
Looking for a new idle game?
Garbage Growth: pick up people’s trash, hire rats, pollute everything and become a quintillionaire.
- No slow start, no grind. It is fun from the very first minute.
- Every upgrade makes it worse. In the best possible way.
- Play active or let it idle. Your rats keep working.
- Updates keep coming. Two areas today, the Moon is next.