Bloons started as a Flash game about a monkey throwing darts at balloons. Six main entries later it is one of the deepest tower defence series ever built, and the monkey is still throwing darts, just with considerably more upgrade paths.
What BTD6 does better than almost anything else in the genre is layering. Every tower has three upgrade branches, heroes level through a match, monkey knowledge carries across runs, and the interactions between towers reward the kind of planning that turns a casual game into a spreadsheet hobby.
The enemies escalate beautifully. A red bloon becomes a blue becomes a ceramic becomes a MOAB becomes a BAD, and each tier arrives exactly when you've grown comfortable. Hearing a MOAB for the first time is a genuine moment.
Ninja Kiwi have also earned enormous goodwill by continuing to update the game for years rather than shipping a sequel, which the community has repaid with an extremely healthy modding and challenge scene.
This collection covers the monkeys, their tools and the bloons they exist to pop. Round 100 energy for your pointer.
