Bloons Tower Defense, more commonly known as Bloons TD, is a strategy game created by Ninja Kiwi. The Bloons TD series has the player defend several different tracks using monkeys to pop “bloons” from passing. Bloons TD6 is the newest version of the series. Bloons’ art style changed a lot with the newest version. Instead of the normal 2D gameplay, the game is now in 3D.  Bloons TD6 has a 4.8/5 rating on google. TD6 was released in 2018 but started to rise in popularity in mid-2021.

TD6 upgraded the bloons to include newer bloons and armored bloons. Ninja Kiwi didn’t just upgrade the bloons, but the monkeys too. Heroes can now be used to help the monkeys defend against the bloons, upgrading as the rounds go on. Monkeys have always had two upgrade paths, but now they have three paths for better defense combinations. Bloons kept most of the monkeys; however, some were removed, but new monkeys were added.

There are three types of tracks in Bloons TD: Beginner, Medium, and Expert. Beginner tracks are usually longer and have more variety for placing monkeys. Medium tracks are a bit harder than Beginner tracks because they are shorter and have less places to place monkeys. Expert tracks are the hardest, they are very short, and have very few good places to deploy monkeys.

There are also three different types of rounds: beginner, medium, and expert. The round types match up with track types: beginner rounds are longer because the bloons move much slower, medium rounds have the bloons move at a decent speed, and the bloons move very fast in expert rounds. Depending on the round type and map, the player has to be smart about how they spend their money, which upgrades they choose to get, and where to place their monkeys to ensure winning.

There are a few different types of bloons in the game. Red, blue, green, pink, purple, yellow, and rainbows are the basic bloons, while rainbow bloons are all the basic bloons combined. The other bloons are black, white, zebra, and ceramic. Black bloons are immune to explosions and white bloons are immune to freezing. Zebra bloons are black and white bloons combined. Ceramic bloons have lots of health. There are also lead, camo, and regen. Lead bloons cannot be popped by all monkeys–certain monkeys and upgrades have to be used to be effective against them. Camo bloons can be popped by all monkeys, but they can’t all see them–certain monkeys have to be used against camo. Regen bloons, also called hearts, can be seen and popped by all monkeys, but if they are not being attacked, they will regenerate back to their original form. Sometimes lead, camo, and regen can be combined for a challenge. 

MOABS are the toughest class of bloons, they are identifiable as blimps. Once a MOAB is popped, they will release many other bloons. There are subsections of MOAB class bloons. Basic MOABs are light blue, and they will release basic bloons when destroyed. BFB is a large red blimp, and it releases basic MOABs when destroyed. The ZOMG is a large black and green blimp, and it will release many BFBs when destroyed. The newest MOABs are the DDT and the BAD. The DDT is a very fast camo and lead mix that is spawned in large groups. The BAD is the strongest non-boss bloons, and when defeated, it will summon ZOMGs to continue the fight.

Every once in a while, special events occur in bloons–usually boss fights. The boss fights allow the player to play up to round 30, so the player can get monkeys and earn money. The bosses have different health segments. After a health segment has been cleared, the boss will release many bloons to distract the player. They can even defeat them, so the player has to be smart with their placement, upgrades, and money. If a boss is defeated, the player will earn money based on which boss they’re up against. They will also get to continue to fight more of the same boss, only with more health and more segments to summon bloons.

Special Agents have always been in bloons games, but Bloons TD6 added new Agents. Special Agents can be used to give the player a large advantage against the bloons. Some can be used to help pop bloons, others to detect hidden ones, and even to collect money automatically. Agents can be bought with money gained from playing the game; they are extremely useful to the player, but they aren’t required to use, just highly recommended.

The rounds have been changed around to force players to come up with new strategies. It also allows players to experiment with new monkeys and to have more fun while playing the game. Monkeys can be upgraded by using skill points gained by playing the game and getting into the higher rounds. The upgrades significantly improve the monkeys performance as the game goes on.

The first few rounds are very easy; the player will only need a few monkeys, but later on, the rounds get really difficult. The player will need to think of a strategy to keep going for as long as possible. In the higher rounds, the new bloons are introduced and the basic bloons get much stronger.

Bloons TD6 can be downloaded on PC for $10, and mobile for $5. I recommend buying it on a PC because it can get very laggy on a mobile device. But overall, Bloons TD6 is a very fun and challenging game that can be played for hours a day.