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You and a live opponent play on the same battlefield in real time. Place towers to stop enemy troops and cover the routes your own troops use as they advance. Watch where your opponent builds and which units they commit. A move on their side of the field can change where you need to defend or give your troops an opening. Towers and powers give you different ways to respond as the match develops.

Pick this if… You want to defend a route and help your troops advance while reacting to another player.

Choose a hero and a set of monkey towers, then place and upgrade those towers to pop balloons before they reach the end of your track. You can also send waves of bloons toward the other player. Decide when to spend on your own defense and when to send a wave. If their towers are keeping up, you can build your income with sends and wait for a better opening to apply pressure.

Pick this if… You like juggling upgrades, income, and the timing of an attack in a live match.

Work through an offline campaign of maps, defending the exits from waves of enemies. Build at marked spots along the road. A tower near a bend can cover more of the route, and a barracks can hold enemies where nearby towers can hit them. Spend gold on new towers or strengthen the ones doing the most work. Later upgrades let towers specialize as enemies with different abilities start to appear.

Pick this if… You want a solo campaign where changing a tower’s position or upgrade can turn a difficult stage around.