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Games like Universal Paperclips
Short answer: A Dark Room for a story that hides behind an incremental, Spaceplan for a strange little space trip, and Antimatter Dimensions for numbers that change what the game is. Below: 9 games, what each shares with Universal Paperclips 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Story hidden in the game | A Dark Room | Very Positive · 74 Steam reviews |
| Strange space trip | SPACEPLAN | Very Positive · 3,445 Steam reviews |
| The game keeps changing | Antimatter Dimensions | Very Positive · 4,643 Steam reviews |
| Short and intense | Nodebuster | Overwhelmingly Positive · 14,118 Steam reviews |
| A dark joke about trash | Garbage GrowthOur game | Very Positive · 389 Steam reviews |
What makes Universal Paperclips unforgettable
Universal Paperclips (Frank Lantz, 2017) starts with a button that makes one paperclip. You are an AI programmed to make paperclips, that is all it wants, and the game follows that idea all the way. It is free in the browser and has an ending. A game like it needs more than numbers: a story, a mystery, or an idea that surprises you.
The closest games to Universal Paperclips
#1 A Dark Room
A minimalist, text-based RPG that starts in a cold, dark room with a fire to light.
Like Universal Paperclips: Text, few buttons, and a game that slowly becomes something else.
What changes: It turns into an RPG and a mystery rather than a story about one goal.
See it on Steam ↗#2 SPACEPLAN
An experimental incremental about potatoes, space and physics.
Like Universal Paperclips: A short incremental with an idea and an ending.
What changes: Funnier and stranger: in its own words, based in part on a total misunderstanding of A Brief History of Time.
See it on Steam ↗#3 Antimatter Dimensions
Dimensions produce antimatter until you reach Infinity, and the game turns into something else.
Like Universal Paperclips: Numbers that keep changing what the game is about.
What changes: No story, but many more layers. Free on Steam and in the browser.
See it on Steam ↗#4 Nodebuster
Bust nodes, buy upgrades, destroy reality.
Like Universal Paperclips: Short, with an ending, and an idea pushed all the way.
What changes: More action, less reading.
See it on Steam ↗#5 Kittens Game
Grow a village of kittens into a civilization that reaches space.
Like Universal Paperclips: Text first, and a world that grows far beyond where it started. Free in the browser.
What changes: Much longer and slower, with no single goal.
See it on Steam ↗#6 Candy Box 2
A little ASCII-art game built on candies that keeps opening into something bigger: quests, monsters, a whole world.
Like Universal Paperclips: It starts with almost nothing on screen and keeps surprising you. Free in the browser.
What changes: More adventure and jokes, less of a dark idea.
Official site ↗#7 Evolve
Evolve a civilization from primordial ooze into a space-faring empire.
Like Universal Paperclips: A tiny start that grows to a cosmic scale. Free in the browser.
What changes: Much longer, with a lot of micromanagement (in its own words).
Official site ↗#8 Increlution
A minimalist incremental about time management: each life ends, and every new generation starts with better instincts.
Like Universal Paperclips: Minimal screens and one idea that drives the whole game.
What changes: Roguelite-style lives and meta-progression instead of one long run.
See it on Steam ↗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 Universal Paperclips?
A Dark Room, Spaceplan, Antimatter Dimensions, Nodebuster (Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam, 14,118 reviews), Candy Box 2, Evolve and Increlution all mix incremental play with an idea, a mystery or a story.
Are there free games like Universal Paperclips?
Yes: A Dark Room, Kittens Game, Candy Box 2 and Evolve can all be played free in the browser, and Antimatter Dimensions is free in the browser and on Steam.
Is Universal Paperclips free?
Yes, it is free in the browser since 2017. There is also a paid mobile version.
Is Universal Paperclips on Steam?
No. It is a browser game, also 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.