With the anticipated release of Cookie Clicker on Steam, fans are coming back to the classic browser game now that it's been given a fresh coat of paint, as it were. The game is practically the same as the browser version, but with a few additional upgrades and changes that make it much more of a robust game rather than an idle experience.
The Grandma is the second cookie generator that players can buy in Cookie Clicker, right after the Cursor. They aren't exactly powerhouses at the start, but as the game keeps going and players put more and more investment into their elderly cookie makers, they quickly out-produce items all the way up to the Idleverse.
9 Grandmas Have Names...
If the player hovers over their Grandma section on the left side of the screen, they will find something oddly humanizing. Each Grandma has her own name, and will sometimes even make comments in the news ticker at the top of the screen.
It's a small detail that doesn't go unnoticed - names like Heinous, Peanut, and Warty are just three of the dozens of possible names given to these cookie producers. There are also Patreon-specific names, but these can be turned off in the menu.
8 ...And They Aren't All The Same Age
Just like Grandmas in real life, not all Grandmas in Cookie Clicker are the same age. In fact, Grandmas can be anywhere from age 70 all the way past age 100, and every number in between.
The ages of your Grandmas have no effect on their ability to produce cookies. There's nothing quite as hilarious as mousing over your Grandmas and discovering that your first Grandma, Stinky, is still making cookies at the ripe old age of 106.
7 In Cookie Clicker Classic, Grandmas Are Very Different
The Grandmas in the modern iterations of Cookie Clicker are pretty cute, compared to renditions of versions in the past. They are rendered in pixel art and change their costumes depending on what upgrades the player has purchased. In the original version of the game, though, it's a different story.
Grandmas in the original Cookie Clicker had four different versions - Inverted, where their color palette is inverted, Lustful, which gives her glowing white eyes, Skeleton, which of course turns her into a Skeleton, and Kaleidoscope, a psychedelic version of the Grandma. These all appear based on the types of Grandma unlocked and what stage of the Grandmapocalypse the player is on.
6 They Are A Requirement For The Bingo Center/Research Facility
Once the Bingo Center/Research Facility is unlocked through Ascension, it can be unlocked early in the game. By owning seven Grandmas, the option to buy a Bingo Center/Research facility opens up, and this should be done as early in a playthrough as possible.
The Bingo Center/Research Facility is key to unlocking special upgrades that fundamentally upgrade your cookie production across the board. It also grants access to certain upgrades that can't be attained any other way.
5 Grandmas Are A Good Investment Early On...
While they cost a little bit more than a Cursor, and don't produce as much as a Farm, Grandmas should be a player's primary focus until later in the game. Upgrades associated with Grandmas improve cookie production for almost every other item that can be bought, and some upgrades increase their production based solely on the number of Grandmas owned.
They produce one cookie per second by default, but with regular upgrades they quickly cascade into an unstoppable cookie-producing machine that is hard to match with other items.
4 ...And They Are Arguably The Best In The End-Game, Too
Theoretically, Grandmas are the best item in the game, even outpacing the Idleverse. The only problem with this is that it's actually impossible to reach the number of Grandmas necessary to outpace the Idleverse thanks to the limits of the game's engine.
However, with careful planning and regular upgrades, Grandmas quickly outproduce Farms, Factories, Shipments, and everything else in their way. They stay cheaper than most other options, too.
3 They Have Lots Of Great Synergy Upgrades Available
The Grandmas have access to the best upgrades throughout a regular playthrough of Cookie Clicker. This is thanks to their variety of Grandma types. Farmer Grandmas for example increase the production of Farms by 1% for every Grandma - at 100 Grandmas owned, this effectively doubles Farm production without having to purchase another upgrade.
There are several special upgrades, like the Script Grannies, that further increase these synergistic bonuses. The Bingo Center/Research Facility allows access to upgrades like One Mind, which further increases the amount Grandmas can produce based on the number of Grandmas owned.
2 There Are 19 Different Grandma Appearances To Unlock
When a player unlocks a new Grandma type, like the Farmer Grandma, the Miner Grandma, or the Witch Grandma, it changes the appearance of some Grandmas standing in their section on the left side of the screen.
While it would appear at first that this means the upgraded bonuses only apply to Grandmas donning the associated outfit, the upgrades apply to all Grandmas. This means that even if a Grandma looks like a Worker Grandma, but the player has unlocked the Altered Grandmas upgrade, all Grandmas will still produce cookies as if they were all Altered.
1 The Grandmapocalypse Is A Terrifying End-Game Event
The Grandmapocalypse is an event that only the most dedicated Cookie Clicker players will ever get to see. The Grandmapocalypse can be triggered by owning the One Mind Bingo Center/Research Facility upgrade, but further Grandmapocalypses can be triggered with the Communal Brainsweep and Elder Pact upgrades too.
The Grandmapocalypse fundamentally changes how the game is played. Some Golden Cookies are replaced with Wrath cookies, Wrinklers will start to spawn, and the Grandmatriarchs will begin to alter the appearance of Grandmas in the Store. The Grandmapocalypse can be ended by making a pact with the Grandmatriarchs, but not after the horror has taken over the game.
Cookie Clicker is available on PC via Steam, or in its original browser-based version