Particle Clicker is a free browser incremental game from CERN Webfest 2014. Click the detector to collect data, spend it on research discoveries, hire lab workers for automatic data, and buy upgrades with funding. Progress saves under ftol:particleclicker keys. About ~2 MB after Play, no install, no account.
Want a business idle loop instead? Try Idle Capitalist Loop. Prefer emoji reels? Try Emoji Slot Machine.
Click the detector for events, research particle discoveries, hire HR, and buy upgrades. Adapted from particle-clicker/particle-clicker (MIT, CERN Webfest 2014). Progress uses ftol:particleclicker:* keys. About ~2 MB.
Works with mouse or touch. Landscape mode works best on phones.
Particle Clicker is a free browser particle-physics incremental from CERN Webfest 2014. Press Play, click the detector for data, research discoveries along a historic timeline, hire lab workers for automatic data, and buy upgrades with funding.
How to play
Click the detector to collect particle events and turn them into data. Spend that data on research discoveries, then hire lab workers who keep collecting data while you plan your next move. Funding upgrades speed up how fast the detector and your team gather data, so the lab keeps growing between clicks as you walk the historic particle timeline.
Key features
- Press Play once to load the lab (about 2 MB, then cached), so there is no install and no account.
- Your progress stays under ftol:particleclicker keys on this device, nothing is uploaded, and it never clears other games' saves.
- A fullscreen button hands the detector the whole screen on desktop or phone when you want to focus.
- The game works with a mouse or touch, and landscape mode works best on phones.
- This build is adapted from the open source particle-clicker project (MIT, CERN Webfest 2014), and the in-game About panel still credits the original authors by name.
For more free browser games, open the game hub. Prefer a different idle loop? Try Idle Capitalist Loop for a business idle, or Emoji Slot Machine for emoji reels.
Depth: how the one-time 2 MB load and the Play now button actually work
Nothing downloads when the page first opens. The launch panel shows a Play now button, and only when you click it does the wrapper fetch the roughly 2 MB game and inject it as a cross-origin frame into the #pcStage area, removing the launch overlay. While that fetch runs, the #pcStatus line reads a loading state and then flips to a loaded message that tells you to click the detector for data, then research, hire, and upgrade. That single fetch is cached by the browser, so returning to the tab or reopening the game later skips the download rather than pulling the 2 MB again. The tradeoff is a short wait on the very first Play in exchange for no installer, no sign-in, and no background loading before you have decided to play. Because upload is disabled at the wrapper and the frame runs entirely in your browser, that one initial transfer is the only network cost the lab ever asks of you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Particle Clicker?
A free browser incremental game made at CERN Webfest 2014. You click a detector for particle events, then spend data and funding on research, workers, and upgrades.
How do I play?
Press Play, click the detector canvas for data, open Research to spend data on discoveries, hire workers in HR for automatic data, and buy upgrades with funding.
Does it save progress?
Yes. Lab state, research, workers, upgrades, and achievements use ftol:particleclicker:* keys on this device.
How big is the download?
About ~2 MB of HTML, JS, CSS, fonts, and icons after you press Play.
Does it need an account?
No. Everything runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded to a server.
Is this open source?
Yes. Adapted from particle-clicker/particle-clicker (MIT). Google Analytics and runtime CDNs were removed.