Monkeys, Towers and Balloons, Oh My!
Monkeys, Towers and Balloons, Oh My!
Muhammed Khan
Recently, a mobile game has become increasingly popular among Freshmen at THS. It can be played with random people online or with friends. Not only is this incredible game fun to play, but it includes strategic thinking and helps build up your critical thinking skills.
The game is Bloons Tower Defense: Battles, or BTD Battles. It was created by a mobile game company called NinjaKiwi. The basic premise of the game is that there are different types of monkeys that can be used to defend your side against streams of balloons. In each game, balloons are sent to each side of the map automatically and each player can also send extra balloons manually. As the game progresses, more powerful balloons that are harder to pop are unlocked.
In order to purchase balloons, you need money. At the beginning of each game, you start with some money that is usually used to purchase monkey towers, but I’ll talk more about that later. Below your money balance is a green number that represents your eco, or income. You gain that amount of money every few seconds. As you send balloons, your eco increases. The more powerful the balloons are, the higher your eco will be raised.
There are many different monkey towers in the game. Each has their own special abilities. Also, they can be upgraded using money so that they become more powerful. Some towers are the monkey wizard, monkey ninja, superhero monkey, spike factory, and more. For more information about the different towers, visit: https://bloons.fandom.com/wiki/Bloons_TD_Battles/Strategies.
One special type of tower is the banana farm. It allows you to collect bananas that are converted into money. The default is $60 per banana, but that can be increased through upgrades. You can also buy farmers using the in-game currency (medallions). They cost 200 medallions and are a one time use. You earn medallions from playing games. There are special games called Arena games in which you pay medallions to play and the winner gets their medallions back and the medallions that the other person paid.
Personally, I really enjoy playing this game. It is especially fun when playing with friends. It helps increase reaction time. It isn’t a game that you can be good at immediately. You need to spend some time playing to figure out the different tactics and find what towers you play best with. However, even with not much experience there is plenty of fun to be had.
One student and experienced player said “BTD Battles is a unique strategy game. This is because it allows multiplayer, making every game unique. The multiplayer aspect also makes the game more enjoyable.” Another student said that the game was “truly an incredible experience.”
Overall, it is clear that this game is very well made. It allows you to have fun with your friends or even with random people on the internet. I would highly recommend that you give the game a try. It’s free on the IOS and Android app stores and on Microsoft.
Feature Photo: Screen Shot BTD Battles, Microsoft & ©2015 Ninja Kiwi Ltd.
