Grandma

Grandma is the first and most iconic building in Cookie Clicker, and the core of the game’s early production curve. It produces cookies on its own and becomes a major part of the midgame and late-game through upgrades, synergies, and Grandmapocalypse interactions. Hovering over a Grandma in the building menu reveals her name and age, with a rotating set of default “grandma-like” names and, for eligible Patreon supporters, custom names that can appear in white; these custom names can also be disabled from the options menu.

Grandmas have many visual variants. Since version 1.032, they can change appearance according to their type upgrades, and there are also seasonal variants for Easter and Christmas. These type upgrades include ordinary themed grandmas such as Farmer, Miner, Worker, Banker, Priestess, Witch, Cosmic, Transmuted, Altered, Antigrandma, Rainbow, Lucky, Metagrandma, Alternate, Brainy, Clone, Christmas, and Bunny versions. One special case is the Grandma associated with the Javascript Console, which appears after buying the Script grannies synergy upgrade rather than the Binary grandmas type upgrade.

Grandmas are deeply tied to the Grandmapocalypse. Their store icon changes depending on the current state: appeased, awoken, displeased, angered, or mad when Scary Stuff is off. Business Day grandmas do not change. The background also shifts through the Grandmapocalypse stages, with the Awakened, Displeased, and Angered states corresponding to the escalating event chain. These stages can be reached through the One Mind, Communal Brainsweep, and Elder Pact upgrades, and can be reversed to normal by appeasing the Grandmatriarchs with Elder Pledge, Elder Covenant, or by selling all Grandmas. In the appeased state, both the background and the store icon return to the regular grandma until the pledge ends or the covenant is revoked.

Grandmas also unlock an important progression point: owning 7 Grandma types earns the Elder achievement and opens the Bingo center/Research facility. This begins the research upgrade line, with one upgrade becoming available every 30 minutes after purchasing the previous one. Several of these research upgrades both advance the Grandmapocalypse and improve Grandma production.

Their output can be boosted heavily by dragons and late-game infrastructure. The Elder Battalion aura, unlocked by sacrificing 100 Grandmas, increases Grandma production by 1% for every non-Grandma building, while Reality Bending provides 0.1% per non-Grandma building. With enough buildings, all research upgrades, and all Grandma upgrades, these effects become a significant CpS multiplier. The Elder Battalion and Reality Bending effects also combine with each other.

• Hovering over a Grandma shows her name and age.
• Patreon-supported custom names appear in white and can be turned off in the options menu.
• Grandmas are one of the main triggers and beneficiaries of the Grandmapocalypse.
• The Altered Grandma’s appearance resembles an angered Grandmatriarch, which fits the timing of the Research/Bingo center upgrade and the Elder Pact upgrade’s Grandma-related bonuses.
• The Grandma building icon is based on a well-known photograph of White House press corps reporter Helen Thomas.