What Do Kiwis, Ninjas, Darts, Balloons and Monkeys Have in Common?

They all have to do with an incredibly addictive and entertaining Flash based game entitled Bloons Tower Defense. Hosted by NinjaKiwi.com, Bloons Tower Defense is the first of three games providing quality entertainment; the most recent being Bloons Tower Defense 3. Bloons Tower Defense (BTD) is not to be confused with Bloons, another game series from the same host.

Like its predecessors, Bloons Tower Defense 3 is a classic strategy game based on the tower defense game models. As with all the BTD games, you control the placing of dart-throwing monkeys along a maze. Their mission is not to let a single “bloon” pass by. With each new version, the BTD games have improved and BTD 3 is by far the best of them all. It is more challenging, offers more towers, and more mazes. As with the previous BTD games there are three difficulty levels.

On easy, players start with 650 money and 100 lives while in medium and hard difficulties players are given fewer lives and less money with which to buy their monkey towers. The towers can be placed anywhere outside the maze but are best put in places where they can throw their darts for the longest. Most towers have range upgrades to cover a larger area as well as upgrades to allow them to pop more bloons. There are some, however, that may seem completely useless.

The towers include:

• Dart Monkey: This tower upgrades to pop up to three bloons per dart and can expand its range.
• Tack Shooter: An eight-way shooting device can be upgraded to shoot faster and farther.
• Boomerang: This tower pops multiple bloons from the start, up to eight per throw with upgrades and can also be upgraded to pop different types of bloons.
• Spike-o-pult: A new addition in BTD 3, this device hurls spiked balls in a straight line and pops the bloons in its path. It can be upgraded to fire multiple balls which roll across the screen.
• Cannon: Mainly used for popping lead bloons in previous versions of BTD, the upgrades in BTD 3 make the cannon useful in more situations as well.
• Ice Ball: Fairly useless in previous BTD versions because it only froze bloons (which you then needed special towers to pop), the ice ball is now upgradeable to pop bloons on its own.
• Monkey Beacon: This tower can increase the range and speed of other towers in its range. It also has a hidden power that would spoil the fun of the game if I told you what it was.
• Super Monkey: The absolute most expensive tower and well worth the price as super monkey fires a stream of darts and is upgradeable to the entire maze as well as to burst any bloon.
• Road Spikes: Great last minute resort, but they do not earn the amount of money they cost. They only last for 10 bloons.
• Monkey Glue: Slows bloons down a little. It has its uses in certain mazes but is useless in others. Wears off after about 5-10 bloons.
• Pineapple: It explodes. It is wonderful. Quite possibly the single greatest upgrade. It has a 3 second timer, but is more effective than spikes; hands down the best consumable.

Bloons Tower Defense 3 has fifty levels which get progressively more difficult. Money comes easier in the higher levels but bloons come faster and harder to pop. Eating before playing is recommended as the sound of constantly popping bloons will cause a strange desire for popcorn.

Stop monkeying about! Play the original Bloons Tower Defense or have a go at the fabulous new Bloons Tower Defense 3.