{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/tactics-defense--t083","type":"mechanic","id":"tactics-defense--t083","lang":"en","title":"Tower defense","summary":"The player places defenses along enemy routes, splitting a budget between coverage, damage types and upgrades.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/tactics-defense--t083/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/tactics-defense--t083.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/tactics-defense--t083.md","aliases":[],"tags":["Tactics and defense","Mechanics and variants"],"sourceIds":["source-32d0598945d8807a","source-71403440f270db22"],"sources":[{"id":"source-32d0598945d8807a","title":"OpenRA","url":"https://www.openra.net/","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-71403440f270db22","title":"Bloons TD 6","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/960090/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"The player places defenses along enemy routes, splitting a budget between coverage, damage types and upgrades."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Mechanic variants\n\n<a id=\"t083-variants\"></a>\n\n- A tower covers a limited route segment. <a id=\"t083-v1\"></a>\n- Slowing increases time spent under fire. <a id=\"t083-v2\"></a>\n- Armor calls for a different defense type. <a id=\"t083-v3\"></a>\n- Selling enables rebuilding between enemy waves. <a id=\"t083-v4\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"A slowing tower before a bend gives artillery time to hit a dense group.\n\nPrototype check: Test whether two viable defense layouts exist for the same budget and a known enemy wave."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"Tactics and defense turn positioning, action order and preparation into limited resources. Each overview separates player actions, state changes and alternative rules. Examples are hypothetical design scenarios, not claims about a named game. A prototype check states an observable question for the next iteration. Existing detailed references remain separately linked from the direction map."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"tactics-defense","id":"t083","title":"Tactics and defense","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/tactics-defense/#t083","categoryIds":["mechanics"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Tower defense","description":"The player places defenses along enemy routes, splitting a budget between coverage, damage types and upgrades.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/rpg-bloons-td6-05.webp","width":1440,"height":810,"game":"Bloons TD 6","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/960090/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/960090/ss_ab05c1ce749ecc1a6e76a8efc4d4dd21f534d091.1920x1080.jpg?t=1782123772","credit":"Ninja Kiwi / Ninja Kiwi","rights":"© Ninja Kiwi / Ninja Kiwi. All rights reserved.","caption":"Towers defend the route against another wave","alt":"Towers defend the route against another wave","markers":[{"x":79,"y":4,"label":"The round counter tracks the continuing session"}]},"tips":["Test multiple viable tower layouts at the same budget."],"examples":[{"title":"Bloons TD 6","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/960090/"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/tactics-defense"}}