Bloons Pop!

Bloons Pop! (often referred to as Bloons Pop, without the exclamation mark) is a casual bloon-popping puzzle game. Like the original Bloons flash games, the player uses monkeys to pop bloons. In each level, the player has a limited number of shots to pop a certain number of bloons. There are many different monkeys, bloons and obstacles that add variety to gameplay. As the player progresses, they earn Monkey Money and Bloonstones, which can be used to restore buildings, monkeys and decorations in various locations.

Bloons Pop was announced on 25th/26th March 2021 on Ninja Kiwi's March 2021 AMA. On April 9th, 2021, Ninja Kiwi's weekly blog revealed that it would be "reminiscent of the old school original Bloons series, but not a match three or bubble game." It was released on 15th June 2021 for iOS and Android.

Gameplay
The aim of the game is to complete a series of bloon-popping games to restore the Monkey Town. Levels are played sequentially. In each bloon-popping game, the player has a limited number of shots ("moves") to attack at bloons. To win each game, the player must meet the objective by popping the target number of bloons. The player has an arsenal of three slots containing a group of different monkeys to pop bloons. If bloons reach the top of the screen or if the player runs out of shots, the game is over and the player will lose lives. Lives can be regenerated to allow for more subsequent attempts at a rate of one life per hour, up to 5 lives.

As the game progresses, the player gains access to more advanced gameplay options. Heroes are unlocked automatically every time the hero-summoning threshold is met; this can be achieved faster by making powerful combo attacks with each move, which will earn bonus points towards a free hero. Points are earned by inflicting as much destruction to non-obstacle bloons in each move, and an additional point bonus is rewarded for greater amount of damage per second against bloons (+10 for "Nice", +20 for "Good", +50 for "Great" and +100 for "Excellent"). Heroes are stronger versions of normal monkeys that do much more overall damage. Eventually, starting from Level 7, the player can merge two of the same monkey type to create much more powerful combinations of monkeys called Mega Monkeys.

Using rewards from completing levels, monkey money and Bloonstones, the player can improve various locations for periodic rewards. Customization can be done to restore specific missing buildings or ornaments into different sections within each location, which the player can choose.

There are two primary currencies, Monkey Money and Bloonstones. Monkey Money is used to buy powerups, continues and map items. Bloonstones are rarer and used in conjunction with Monkey Money to buy map items. Bloonstones are produced from Bloontonium, which is earned from clearing levels. Bloontonium Collectors produce Bloonstones from collected Bloontonium every few hours.

Four buttons appear in the bottom of the menu: Bloonspedia, Map, Village Market, and Store. Bloonspedia describes each monkey, mega monkey, bloon and powerup and lists their strengths and weaknesses. The Map lists different areas to reconstruct and restore. The Store is for making in-app purchases and collecting currencies through watchable ads.

Tutorial
When the game is first played, there is a brief backstory of how the bloons invaded the Monkey Town. The town was once swarming with life, monkeys and bloons doing their own business. Bloons appear around everywhere. One day, the bloons stole everything in the town, leaving nothing but empty terrain and a broken town hall. Mayor Monkey panics, requesting the help of Max to pop the bloons. Armed with darts and a fellow Bomb Shooter, Max is ready to join in the battle against the bloons. Max tells him that Mayor Monkey should start repairing the Town Hall. Max then asks for backup with Dart Monkeys. Max subsequently guides the player the basics of the game.

Between Levels 1-5 is a tutorial going through the majority of the gameplay.

Levels
There are theoretically infinite levels in the game, which after a certain point are pseudorandomly generated, unlike the common misconception that there are only 1000 levels (see the Video section). The earlier levels unlock new Monkeys, Heroes, and Bloons in the game. The first 70 levels are guaranteed to be pre-set, while levels 71 onwards will be pseudorandomly generated with recurring bloon formations and bloon statuses occurring with each level. Not only will there be random sets of bloons for each level, but also different objectives, and a wide range of different shots, with some going as low as three shots.

Some levels will be marked as "Hard" or "Extreme" to indicate difficult levels according to the developers. This is no indicator for the true difficulty of the level, as the majority of the difficulty of the harder levels are mostly due to luck and execution of the provided decks of towers and heroes. Likewise, normal levels can still pose a threat if you don't have the "On Fire!" boosts on and you have an unlucky loadout.

Currency
There are three currencies in the game: Monkey Money, Bloontonium, and Bloonstones. Monkey Money is the main currency of the game, and is used for general purposes. Bloontonium is used solely to generate Bloonstones using Bloontonium Collectors. Bloonstones are the premium currency of the game, and are mainly used for purchasing buildings.

Monkey Money can be earned through normal gameplay, such as beating levels, completing goals or presents. During Golden Bloon Time, popping Golden Bloons rewards bonus Monkey Money. It can also be earned via popping bloons in the main menu via tapping them. Popping 10-30 bloons in any map location earns 1.

Bloontonium is collected through normal gameplay alongside Monkey Money, and stored in Bloontonium Collectors. By default, the player has one collector; another can be purchased for 500, and a third can be purchased by $2.99 USD. Each collector has a maximum capacity of 500 Bloontonium. When they are full, they start converting the Bloontonium to Bloonstones. This takes 4 hours, and can be skipped for Monkey Money. The less time remaining, the lower the cost to skip. They can also be sped up by watching ads. Afterwards, they will reward 6-10. Any excess Bloontonium collected is used to fill other collectors; if all are full, it is simply discarded.

Bloonstones are earned mainly through the Bloontonium Collectors, but can also be earned through completing goals, team rewards, and reading entries in the Bloonspedia for the first time.

Additional currency can also be earned through watching ads. Watching an ad in the Store has a chance of rewarding any of the three currencies.

Video Advertisements
Many gameplay elements utilize video advertisements as part of their gameplay. These include, but are not limited to:
 * Swap cards
 * Swaps all Monkeys, Mega Monkeys, and Heroes with new ones of the same type.
 * +3 cards (obtainable after having 3 cards left or losing due to no more cards, once per game)
 * Push bloons (obtainable after losing due to bloons above screen, once per game)
 * 1.5x end-of-game rewards (available 5 times every 5 hours)
 * Speed up Bloontonium Collectors by 30 minutes (available 3 times every 30 minutes)
 * Free Random Daily Reward (available every 24 hours)

According to Ninja Kiwi's 14th May 2021 blog, forced interstitial ads are only possible if not utilizing the rewarded ads for several levels.

Microtransactions
Microtransactions can be bought in this game. Buying any item removes forced ads, even using the cheapest option. These can be accessed at the Store. Starter packs, Insta-Mega Packs, Third Canister, Gold Passes, and extra Monkey Money are available in store. The following items purchasable are as shown below:

There are two items that are completely pay-gated: third Bloontonium Collector, and Golden Pass. Golden Pass is a pass that grants many perks in the game. However, Golden Pass is limited to 30-day or 90-day passes, respectively, and there is no permanent one-off option.

(*) Automatically awarded if the associated email account has pre-registered for the game

History
The development of Bloons Pop! had been confirmed on 25th/26th March 2021 on Ninja Kiwi's March 2021 AMA. On April 9th/10th, 2021, Ninja Kiwi's weekly blog post confirmed that it was revealed that it would be "reminiscent of the old school original Bloons series, but not a match three or bubble game."

On May 6th/7th 2021, the Google Play version of Bloons Pop! is available as a pre-register. The iOS version of Bloons Pop! was released later on as a pre-register.

On May 13th/14th 2021, Ninja Kiwi released their 14th May 2021 blog and made a comprehensive explanation as to how the game will operate. According to Ninja Kiwi, they do acknowledge concerns written on various social media regarding the monetization system of the game. Summing up feedback posted on Reddit, Twitter, and YouTube comments of famous Bloons YouTubers (more specifically ISAB), most concerns were about "resisting the dark side (paywalls, heaps of banner ads, taking control of when and how the player can play)", especially with the recent acquisition of Ninja Kiwi by Modern Times Group.

On the same 14th May 2021 blog, they evaluated how the game is developed and what features are added into the game. Ninja Kiwi did make an announcement on the prior week about potential Bloons Pop! questions beforehand, which was done to allow current fans of the Bloons series game to see the upcoming game feel less "hostile" prior to release. Ninja Kiwi once again stated that Modern Times Group themselves made no influence to the game, although some of MTG's other studios have made some "smart feedback" for the game. The freeness of the game is to influence a wider audience, and the addition of ads and in-app purchases are as per the conventional free-to-play mobile game format. Watchable and forced ads are part of this mobile formula, as with other free-to-play games Ninja Kiwi had released with its other games. Lastly, they made a statement that the "lives system" used for Bloons Pop! will not be an energy system, which did became used in Bloons TD Battles Flash. More specifically, their rationale for using adding a lives system to the game is to encourage evaluating on perfecting playstyle rather than brute-forcing out on RNG as the player's main driving force for the game.

Google Play pre-order registrations were announced by Ninja Kiwi on their Twitter page, as announced on May 31st 2021. Later, the pre-register for the iOS version was shared on their Twitter page, as announced on June 8th 2021. Between is a teaser of a Bloons Pop! monkey in a curveless banana suit on their Twitter page, posted on June 3rd 2021.

On 14th June 2021, Ninja Kiwi announced that Bloons Pop! will be coming very soon to iOS and Android on their Twitter page.

Google Play description
"Those Bloons may look cute and colorful but they've made a mess of Monkey Town, and it's up to you to pop them all and set things right!

Aim your friendly Monkeys then watch them jump right into the puzzle and use their signature abilities to pop as many Bloons as possible. Merge shots into powerful Mega Monkeys and unlock bonus Hero Monkey shots to help you win!

Each victory helps you rebuild the beautiful village scenes that the Bloons disrupted. Place buildings, characters, pets, decorations, and a variety of other interactive, animating objects to make each Monkey Town your own creation.

KEY FEATURES:


 * 10 adorable animating Monkey characters that jump straight into the puzzle
 * Thousands of colorful, challenging levels with an endless variety of Bloons, obstacles, and moving formations
 * 10 unique Monkey Town scenes to restore and decorate with 150 beautifully crafted animating objects
 * Merge Monkeys to create awesome Mega Monkeys, capable of clearing huge puzzle sections by themselves
 * Build up your score meter and win powerful bonus Hero Monkeys
 * Earn and collect screen clearing Powerups to help get past tough levels
 * Combine your victories with other players to complete Team Goals and earn special rewards

So sharpen your darts, steady your aim, and pop your way to victory in the richly animated world of Bloons Pop!

**********

Ninja Kiwi Notes:

Please review our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You will be prompted in-game to accept these terms in order to cloud save and protect your game progress:

https://ninjakiwi.com/terms

https://ninjakiwi.com/privacy_policy

Bloons Pop! contains video ads that you can opt to watch for in-game rewards and also contains in-game items that can be purchased with real money. You can disable in-app purchases in your device's settings, or reach us for help at https://support.ninjakiwi.com/hc/en-us. Your ad views and purchases fund our development updates and new games, and we sincerely appreciate every vote of confidence you give us with your time and your purchases.

Ninja Kiwi Community:

We love hearing from our players, so please get in touch with any feedback, positive or negative, at https://support.ninjakiwi.com/hc/en-us. You can also join the community and find Ninja Kiwi news on social media here:

https://www.facebook.com/ninjakiwigames/

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Streamers and Video Creators:

Ninja Kiwi is actively promoting channel creators on YouTube and Twitch! If you are not already working with us, keep making videos and tell us about your channel at streamers@ninjakiwi.com"

Features revealed
These are features that were revealed before the official release of the game that the Ninja Kiwi community have collected over the months. Open the bar to see.

Version History
Several updates have been made to Bloons Pop! since first released. Many of these have been general fixes to gameplay.

Balance Changes
Balance changes aren't too plentiful, but a major update Version 2.0 shaked up the meta of power for features in Bloons Pop!.

Trivia

 * It was actually released at different times around the world. In New Zealand, it was released the earliest. On 11:40am NZST, it has been confirmed to be released. It was released in Canada at around the same time, which was even sooner to the US.
 * Max from Bloons Adventure Time TD returns.
 * This the 3rd Bloons game to be in portrait mode with the first 2 being the the mobile ports of Bloons Super Monkey and its sequel.
 * It is also the first Bloons game in portrait mode and the second Bloons game overall that uses the current "smashed glass" Ninja Kiwi production logo.
 * It is the first game in the Bloons TD 6 generation that does not contain voicelines.

Blog posts

 * According to Ninja Kiwi's June 24th 2021 blog, not all monkeys from BTD6 will be coming into Bloons Pop!, specifically Banana Farms (for obvious reasons). On the same blog, they stated that stronger MOAB-class bloons beyond MOAB might be added but only if difficulty balancing in the game is adequate, and might make possible appearance in "special appearances".
 * According to Ninja Kiwi's July 30th 2021 blog, Bloons Pop! is a separate game and certain monkeys and heroes may require separate game mechanic design in order to balance the game.
 * According to Ninja Kiwi's August 20th 2021 blog, Bloons Pop! would get balance changes at some point in time.
 * According to Ninja Kiwi's September 2nd 2021 blog, Bloons Pop! has up to 34 staff working on it, but normally 10 active staff.
 * According to NK's October 8th 2021 blog, Druid, Tack Shooter, and Alchemist were cut from the Monkeys roster during game development.
 * In response to a comment from one of the questions on Ninja Kiwi's November 12th 2021 blog, Ninja Kiwi stated that the Version 3.0 glitch where Monkeys and Heroes end up floating in the middle of the screen is a glitch that they are clearly aware of but have not been able to reproduce the bug. Reproduction of a bug is an important skill in software testing; this adds predictability to testing "bad" code.