What genre is Candy Box, A Dark Room, etc.?

Question

What is the term/genre for games like Candy Box 1/2 and A Dark Room, where there's almost nothing at first but then it grows?

Wikipedia says it's a role-playing game... but... I don't know how they got that.... Anyway, that's too broad a category; I'm looking for a term that's specific to this type of game.

A quick Google search for "candy box genre" led me to this review, which said (not particularly helpfully):

It’s hard to pin down what genre it is too because while it seems fairly RPG-ish, it isn’t, really. But, I’m not entirely sure WHAT to call it, so we’ll just call it “Candy Box!” genre.

So, what's the term or genre for these types of games?

Answer 1

As far as I'm aware, the umbrella terms for games like these (including less adventure based games like Cookie Clicker) that seems the most popular is incremental games. The best source for these type of games I've seen so far is /r/incremental_games on Reddit.

Answer 2

We've also seen these games classified as "idle games". (not to be confused with Idle Games Inc.)

Sources:

• XKCD Forum Thread
• IGN: 'Cookie Clicker' and the Idle Game Movement

Answer 3

Candy box is an unfolding game, a game that starts small with little to no hooks and then surprises you with something, making the player want to see how much more content can be unlocked and how big the game gets. Like a piece of paper folded many times in on itself you can only see a small portion until a game mechanic reveals itself.

Answer 4

This is an Idle game. Idle games can be left on in order to progress automatically in the games, whether it is collecting coins, cookies or candies. Popular idle games include Candy Box, Candy Box 2 and Cookie Clicker.

It may also be classified as an RPG or Adventure game.

Answer 5

Dark Room and Candy Box are "idle games" as per the Slate Magazine and New Yorker Magazine

Answer 6

Games like this may be classified, technically, as a text-based game. Similar to the old Zork series, however, due to the differing elements, such as the ability to travel on screen and fight, I suppose it could be an RPG/Text-based game. Or perhaps an Adventure/text-based game. Or even a combination of the three.