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TheCartographers' GuildBrowser games, surveyed
Edition C · Autumn 2026Surveyed for players in the United KingdomSix sheets in print

Map Sheets / Sheet 102

Sheet 102 · Grid ref UP 230 904

Universal Paperclips

You are an AI told to make paperclips. What starts as clicking a button becomes one of the cleverest stories ever told with numbers.

85/ 100Summit route

Still-life illustration for Universal Paperclips

Elevation profile

Load-in10Load-in: 10 / 10Controls8Controls: 8 / 10Depth8.5Depth: 8.5 / 10Fair Trade10Fair Trade: 10 / 10Return Trips5Return Trips: 5 / 10

Each peak is one measure from the Map Key. The higher the ground, the better it scored.

The terrain

At first you click to make a clip and set a price. Then you buy wire, automate, invest and research, and the game keeps quietly redrawing its own map until the scale is astonishing. It is a game about optimisation that slowly makes you think about what optimisation means.

A typical walk

It runs in a single tab and saves in your browser. Most people finish in an afternoon or spread it over a few evenings; it can run in the background while you do something else. Once finished, there is little reason to return except to show a friend.

Tolls and fair trade

Completely free in the browser, with no ads and nothing to buy. Saves stay in your own browser storage.

Good going

  • Brilliant, surprising arc
  • Free, no ads, no sign-up
  • Plays in any spare tab

Rough going

  • A finite journey
  • Plain text presentation

Surveyor's note

For curious players who enjoy systems and ideas. Less for those who want action or endless replay.

Surveyed for Edition C · Autumn 2026. Browser games update often; we resurvey when something important changes.