A Short History of Bloons Tower Defense — And Where You Can Still Play the Classics

Long before Bloons Tower Defense became the massive series it is today — with mobile hits, Steam editions, and speedrunners grinding every map — it began as a tiny Flash game on the web. No fancy upgrades, no hero monkeys, no multi-path skill trees. Just a dart monkey on a simple track, and a bunch of balloons marching forward.

That little idea from Ninja Kiwi turned into one of the most recognizable tower-defense franchises in gaming.

If you've ever been curious about how it all started, or you simply want to revisit the older games you grew up with, here's a quick look back at Bloons Tower Defense 2 and Bloons Tower Defense 3 — plus where you can still play them today.

🕹️ Bloons Tower Defense 2 (2007)

BTD2 arrived only a few months after the first game, but it already felt like a real step forward. More towers, more maps, and your first taste of actual difficulty settings. It's simple by today's standards, but that's exactly why it still holds up — there's no clutter, no grinding, and no 50-wave marathons. You open the game and you're playing within seconds.

If you want to experience it again, you can play BTD2 in your browser through Flash emulation:

It loads instantly, runs in your browser, and feels exactly like the version that lived on so many school computer labs.

🎯 Bloons Tower Defense 3 (2008)

BTD3 is where the early series really found its identity. Eight tracks, better pacing, cleaner visuals, and upgrades that made each tower actually feel worth investing in. If BTD2 was "early experimentation," BTD3 is the moment the developers clearly realized they had something special on their hands.

It's also the version many longtime players remember most fondly — the "my childhood" edition.

You can still play it through Ninja Kiwi's archived page:

Some regions may require a Flash emulator, but the original design and balance remain unchanged.

🌟 Why Revisit the Old Games?

Modern BTD entries like Bloons TD 6 are big, polished, and filled with content — but the old browser games have their own charm. They're fast, minimal, and perfect if you just want to kill a few minutes without committing to a long run.

For new players, they're also a great way to understand the foundations of the series. Everything Bloons is known for today — the pacing, the tower variety, the sense of "one more wave" — started right here.

📌 If You Want a Quick Recommendation

Play BTD2 first if you want something extremely simple and nostalgic.

Play BTD3 if you want a slightly deeper, more polished version of classic Bloons.

Both still run in a browser, both take under a minute to launch, and both remind you why this series survived long after the Flash era ended.