4 idle games I play while working on my PC

If you work from home on a PC, you have probably been tempted to play games while working, but that's often easier said than done. Most games require a bit too much attention to make them something you can do while also working. It usually ends up as something you do instead of working, but there is a genre of game that is much easier to do while working. Those are idle games, games where progress can be automated, and you instead only have to give directions. It lets you check in every few minutes on your second monitor, or in some cases, the bottom of your main monitor. The best idle games on Steam are indie games, games that only cost a few bucks but can provide plenty of needed distractions from your work without fully disengaging. Presumably, a AAA idle game doesn't make much sense, since I'm not sure what the extra budget would get you, but indie developers have come through.

4 Rusty's Retirement

A farm sim on the side of your screen

Rusty's Retirement might not have invented the genre, but it was the first indie game I saw that works as an overlay on your screen instead of its own window. In Rusty's Retirement, you are setting up the layout of a farm sim game, but you aren't directly planting or watering crops. Instead, Rusty, along with some help from robot assistants and some friends, takes care of the process. They water the plants, harvest the crops, and drop them off where they need to go. You need to ship enough of certain crop types to unlock more, and the money you earn can be used to expand your farm, with additional fields or facilities to improve your efficiency. Even as you expand and grow, the work is still mostly automated, and it doesn't necessarily make the work go faster, so you won't reach a point where you have to give all of your attention to Rusty's Retirement. It's also got a cute art style, making it fun to look at.

3 Cauldron

An idle game, with five smaller games in it

Cauldron is one of the more involved games on this list, but it is primarily an idle game. It just has several mini-games you will need to interact with occasionally. In Cauldron, you are set in a small clearing, and you need to defeat the surrounding darkness in turn-based battles. But in between those battles (which can be automated early in the game), you need to upgrade. You upgrade by tossing increasingly large amounts of five resources into a cauldron. Those resources come from five mini-games, sort of. The mini-games do award resources at fixed intervals, but the amount is determined by the average of your five best runs in each mini-game. These runs last about 20 to 30 seconds in the earliest parts of the games. You also use the resources to upgrade a skill tree for each mini-game, which can increase how many points you can score, increase the average, and increase the idle output. It's a perfect game loop, and the mini-games are all a ton of fun to play in short bursts, making this a perfect little idle game.

Platforms:

• Steam

2 Cast n Chill

A low key fishing game

Cast n Chill is a relaxing and peaceful pixel fishing game. It's a unique game on this list, as it is both an active fishing game and an idle fishing game. Not because it's an idle game that requires a ton of your attention, but because it can switch between the two modes. You can manually go out with your pet on your small boat, catch a few fish, bring them back, and sell them to buy upgrades to catch better fish. But, you can also hit the idle mode option in the menu, which will automate the process of catching and selling fish, so you can progress without fully fishing yourself. Getting to earn money without needing your full attention, instead letting you enjoy the serene sounds of fishing while it runs. You can also shape the window to whatever size and shape you want, making for a fantastic little distraction to have open.

1 Bao Bao's Cozy Laundromat

Run a laundromat for cute pandas

Bao Bao's Cozy Laundromat is another game that can be played on the bottom or side of your screen. You operate a small laundromat, which is both operated and patronized by cute little pandas. It has some nice lo-fi music and sound effects, offering peaceful sounds if you want something to help you focus on the task at hand. You can decorate and expand your laundromat, while also increasing the number of machines so more pandas can come by. It also has a focus timer that you can use, which will temporarily lock you out from engaging, forcing you to only check in occasionally. It has cute vibes, it's $4, and the music tracks are worth the price of entry if you need something relaxing while you work. Who doesn't like pandas?

Platform:

• Steam

Relaxing idle experiences

The nicest thing about all of these idle games is that there is nothing forcing you to check back in on them. You won't fail or game over, making it a nice second screen experience to provide you with serene sounds and something relaxing you can engage with for a minute or two, before returning to whatever your main task is.