Cookie Clicker is a popular incremental game with a simple premise that grows into a surprisingly complex and deep experience. Here's a breakdown of how to play, from the basics to more advanced strategies.

The Basics

The game's core loop is straightforward:

1. Click the Big Cookie: When you start, the only thing you can do is click the giant cookie in the middle of the screen. Each click earns you one cookie.

2. Buy Buildings: As you accumulate cookies, you can purchase buildings from the right-hand menu. These buildings, like "Cursors," "Grandmas," and "Farms," automatically generate cookies for you over time. This is where the "idle" part of the game begins.

3. Buy Upgrades: As you build up your cookie production and purchase a certain number of buildings, new upgrades will appear in the top-right section of the screen. Upgrades are crucial as they significantly increase your cookie production rate (Cookies per Second, or CpS) and can unlock new game mechanics.