Well, I was looking for idle games as a 2nd screen game, so they came to my wall and knocked it down, and none of them died. Because I tried to idle play it. I dont know if thats helpful feedback, but I just thought with it tagged as idle then not playing like an idle its going to get people come and bounce.
youre right about the tags often being misused together, its really hard to find an idle game these days.
Itch.io definition on their tags:
Focusing on automation and minimal player interaction, idle games let you watch progress unfold over time. Players often engage in occasional interactions like upgrades to influence growth rates or efficiencies, while the game typically accumulates resources autonomously.