Bloons Tower Defense 1 — Play Free Online

Bloons Tower Defense 1 is the game that started Ninja Kiwi's long-running monkey-versus-balloon series. Colourful bloons float along a fixed track, and you stop them before they reach the exit by placing monkey towers beside the path. Each tower pops bloons in its own way, and the pops earn the cash you spend on more towers and upgrades.

A round is short and calm. You get a few seconds to set up, then a wave of bloons starts moving and you watch your defence work, spending money as it arrives. The tension comes from the waves getting denser and tougher, so a layout that held at the start can leak badly by the middle of the game.

It is a different kind of game from most of the pages on Doodle Jump. The jumpers and runners here test reflexes. This one tests planning: where to put things, when to upgrade, and when to save. If you like thinking between rounds more than twitching through them, this is the quiet one.

How to play

This is a mouse game. Click a tower in the shop, click a free spot beside the track to place it, and click a placed tower to see its upgrade options. Towers cannot go on the path itself. Start the next wave when you are ready. The keyboard is not needed for the core game, and on a phone or tablet you tap in place of clicking.

You lose a life for each bloon that gets through, and the run ends when your lives are gone. Popping a bloon pays out, so a strong early defence snowballs into money for later waves.

Tips

• Put towers at bends in the track. A tower there covers a longer stretch of the path, so it gets more shots at each bloon.
• Spend on upgrades before you buy many weak towers. A few well-upgraded towers usually beat a crowd of basic ones.
• Pair a tower that hits a single bloon with one that splashes. Area damage clears tight clusters, and single-target shots finish what is left.
• Keep a little cash in reserve so a surprise wave does not catch you unable to respond.

Similar games on Doodle Jump

Bloons Tower Defense 2 is the direct follow-up and the natural next step if you finish this one. Day D Tower Rush is another defence game, with a more military setting. For something with no strategy at all, Doodle Jump and Helix Jump keep the arcade, one-more-try feel.

It suits short sessions when you want something relaxed, since you can pause between waves, and it plays in the browser with nothing to install.