What is Idle Donkeys?
Idle Donkeys is a business empire idle game where dodgy donkeys run suspiciously profitable farms. You start with a single Hay Farm and work your way up through 14 businesses, earning Hay, Crystals, and eventually real DKV tokens on the Solana blockchain.
The core loop is simple: buy businesses, hire managers to automate them, earn currencies, and level up. Progress continues even when you’re not actively playing — managed businesses run 24/7.
The Goal
Grow your idle donkey business empire as large as possible. Higher-level businesses produce faster and unlock new opportunities. The big milestones:
Currencies
There are three currencies in Idle Donkeys. Each one unlocks the next tier of the game.
Hay
The main currency. Earned from businesses 1–12. Used to buy and level up businesses, hire managers, and fund everything in the early and mid game.
Businesses 1–12Crystals
The premium currency. Earned from Business 13 (Crystal Mine), daily mini-games, and prestige resets. Used for shop upgrades, permanent boosts, and time warps.
Business 13 + PrestigeDKV Tokens
Real SPL tokens on Solana. Produced by Business 14. In-game DKV carries the same value as the real on-chain token. Once you have enough, use the in-game exchange to send real DKV to your Phantom wallet. Requires at least 1 DKV NFT Manager to unlock.
Business 14 • Real CryptoBusinesses
You start by buying your first business. Each production cycle generates income. Level up businesses to increase production speed, increase profit per cycle, and unlock the next business in the chain.
Managers & Skimming
Managers keep businesses running automatically around the clock. Without a manager, a business runs one production cycle and stops. With a manager, it runs continuously.
The catch: managers skim a percentage of your profits. The lower the tier, the more they take.
Prestige System
After unlocking Business 12, you can sell your entire empire. This is called Prestige. It resets your businesses but makes you permanently stronger.
What you keep after prestige
Mini-Games
Mini-games can be played once every 24 hours for a small Hay cost. Currently the Fishing mini-game rewards Crystals — useful for earning premium currency without waiting to reach the Crystal Mine.
The Shop
The shop lets you spend Crystals on upgrades and boosts:
- Permanent boosts — speed and production multipliers that stack with prestige upgrades.
- Temporary production boosts — short-term multipliers for when you’re actively grinding.
- Time warps — skip ahead 5 minutes, 1 hour, or 24 hours. Useful when you’re short on patience.
Offline Earnings
Managed businesses run continuously whether the game is open or not. When you come back, your offline earnings are waiting to be collected.
Unmanaged businesses run one cycle and stop. To maximise offline earnings, make sure every business has a manager assigned before you close the game.
Tips & Strategy
- Prioritise unlocking the next business over maxing your current one early on. More businesses = more income streams.
- Upgrade managers over time. The skim reduction from Tier 1 to Tier 5 compounds significantly at higher production levels.
- Play the daily mini-game every single day. Crystal income adds up faster than you think.
- Don’t prestige too early. Wait until you have Business 12 unlocked and have maximised your Crystal earnings before selling.
- Stack prestige upgrades strategically. Speed upgrades compound well in the early runs; cost reduction becomes more valuable as your empire grows.
- If you have a DKV NFT, assign it to your highest-earning business for maximum benefit from its trait bonuses.
- There is no single correct strategy. Automation allows progress while offline. The bigger your empire, the more you earn. Now get back to farming.
Ready to go deeper on NFTs, DKV tokens, and the Solana side of things?
Read the Web3 Guide →