What if I say tower defense games can develop your mindset? Gamers will love this fact, and this fact is actually true. Playing games is all about fun, but subconscious mindset development is something that takes place in TD games. If you already have experience playing tower defense games, then you may have noticed how it impacts your strategic thinking approach and decision-making ability.
Tower defense games or TD games are combat games with funny and attractive characters fighting hard to protect their area or zone in a visually attractive environment. These games are packed with a rich game environment that includes playful characters, zones, strategies, action modes, and combat with bosses.
Importance of Strategic Planning and Decision-Making
In tower defense games, your abilities to make quick decisions and think of every action as a strategy will define your victory. From understanding the capabilities of different types of towers that you have and how they can be useful for you at what time, deciding all these may challenge you.
So more or less, tower defense games are completely mind games. Winning in tower defense games gives you more clarity about your strategic thinking. So the next time, you realize your past mistakes and improve. Here you will get to know the best tower defense games for iPhone and iPad.
ARKNIGHTS
ARKNIGHTS is one of the most popular tower defense and role-playing games. This exciting tower defense game becomes more fun when operators (characters in the game) start blocking enemies from taking a step further. There are different chapters in the game like Originiums, Reunion, Nomadic City, Originium Arts, Infected & Rhodes Island. Originiums has a storyline of a mineral that is a huge source of energy and becomes a reason to spread disease among humans, called Oripathy. The Reunion story is also interesting as it comes with a radical infected organization that causes violence and destroys the city.
There are different and unique characters in the game, and the interesting part is that every character comes with a story. For instance, Projekt Red is a character in Rhodes Island who has her story as an abandoned child raised by an old woman. The skill activation of the players brings more fun to the game. The in-game currency, in-game items, and loot boxes add a rich experience to the game for the players. Also, this game’s television series was produced in the form of anime that grabs the attention of anime lovers too.
➡️ Download: iOS
Bloons TD 6
Bloons TD 6, or Bloons Tower Defense 6, is an amazing game offered by Ninja Kiwi. The gameplay is really fun, in which the players stop the bloons (or balloons) from reaching the tower and try to pop them out. This game is part of the Bloons TD game series by Ninja Kiwi.
In-game currency makes the game more interesting in the form of bananas. There are several ways to collect more in-game currency, and collecting bananas or playing and winning the game over and over are the major ways. Other in-game currencies are referred to as ‘Monkey Money’, ‘Monkey Knowledge Points’, and ‘Trophies’.
You get to build a team that consists of monkeys, and the battle starts with stopping the fast-going bloons. There is a co-op mode available in the game in which up to three players can team up and play together. XP (Experience Points) makes this game more competitive for the multiplayer mode. Big bloons like Zeppelins and Blimps have more strength and are harder to pop. After every 20 levels, there will be a new boss with more strength. Different bosses in the game are Phayze, Vortex, Dreadbloon, Bloonarius, etc.
➡️ Download: iOS
Clash of Clans
Clash of Clans is one of the best tower defense games on iOS devices. This game is so popular because of its multiple experiences. Players get to build their own villages with their developed clans. Attacking other villages, acquiring them, winning rewards, connecting with other players, in-game chats, and many more gaming activities are there to make this game the best tower defense game for iOS.
The vastness of the game can be realized with the features that it gives. Multiple players can win the game, and there are multiple in-game currencies that bring unique and amazing things to the player. Each clan can have up to 50 people in them. Attacking a new area or ‘village’ with a big group becomes more exciting. The multiple currencies used are Gold, Elixir, Gems, Dark Elixir, etc.
The game provides fun at a very micro level, like developing buildings, storages, mines, and storing currency and rewards. Also, clans can use different currencies for different purposes. Different types of buildings can be built to protect the village of your clan, such as mortars, traps, inferno towers, spell towers, cannons, etc. Town hall levels increase as you play more and win more, serving as a decent impetus for players to continue playing.
➡️ Download: iOS
Clash Royale
Clash Royale is another tower defense game by the famous developer Supercell. This game seems similar to Clash of Clans, but there are numerous differences in gameplay and player experience. Both are tower defense games, but they have slight differences in how they are played. Both fall under the same TD games category, but to be more specific, Clash Royale can be known as a tower rush game.
Here, you’ll have to destroy the towers. Your opponent will be destroying the towers as well, and you’ll have to be faster than them. This game can be played in 2×2 and 4×4 modes. The more towers you destroy, the more you win. There are King Towers, where they can go further up to 15 in terms of levels.
There are gaming arenas such as Goblin Stadium, Boot Camp, Clash Fest, Pancake Arena, Silent Sanctuary, Rascal’s Hideout, etc. Also, there is a training arena where players can get the training experience. The card-building systems, buildings, troops, and spells are there to make it more strategic. Similar to the Clash of Clans, Clash of Royale also gives an opportunity to form clans and start clan wars.
➡️ Download: iOS
Kingdom Rush
Kingdom Rush Frontiers is a tower defense game that claims to have won awards for its amazing gaming experience. With a claim to have more than 18 million plays, this game has been played with passion in the last 10 years. The game’s storyline is simple yet interesting — monsters attack a specific area, and you, as a player, need to protect it.
As a player, you need to stop the enemies marching towards the roads and the kingdom. As you are serving the King Denas of Linirea, you will be in charge of making strategies on the pre-fixed roadmap of the game. Different types of towers are available, including barracks, archers, artillery, and mages. They all have their own strengths, and it is you who will decide which tower to be placed at what spot.
The player fights the enemies, those who are monsters with different abilities provided in the game. You can call up the soldiers of your kingdom to stop the enemies and take them away from the kingdom, as you are the general.
➡️ Download: iOS
Lords Mobile: Kingdom Wars
Lords Mobile: Kingdom Wars brings you the fun of real-time strategy and role-playing games, both at the same time. As the name goes, the gameplay is around the Lord (as a player), who struggles to keep the unity in the Kingdoms. Almost 50 fabulous characters are available to choose from. They all have different abilities, intelligence, and strengths. Players can get more characters with in-game purchases. There are hero stages that let you get heroes starting from the game’s launch itself.
The city-building mechanics are the ones that excite players. You can play within the kingdom while your kingdom’s enemies. But the thrill goes to the next level when you enter the Kingdom Wars mode and destroy enemies in other kingdoms too. Bosses are the big monsters in the game. These monsters will come on your way after some time, and you can find them on maps to start the fight.
The best way to play this tower defense game is in Hero Stage mode or The Labyrinth. In the Hero Stage, you get challenges one after the other in a series. The Labyrinth mode lets you fight directly with the boss or the monster. Other modes that you can choose are Colosseum and Tycoon.
➡️ Download: iOS
Plants vs. Zombies 2
As the name suggests, Plants Vs Zombies 2 is a tower defense game based on combat between plants and zombies. Plants are on your side, and you build an army of your plants fighting the scary zombies. You need to use plants to protect the area from zombies’ attack. If you know a little about zombies, then this game will skyrocket your excitement. You get to see zombies from different eras of history. Ice Age, ancient Egypt, or the age of piracy, a variety of zombies reflect the different eras.
When we talk about the army of plants, there are no limits on the species. Not just regular plants but plants with specific powers and strengths are there to help you. Lava Guava, Sunflower, Beans, and Peashooter are just a few of them.
The expansion of the adventure goes to the next level with the different worlds. Almost 300 levels are there for an endless experience. Dr. Zomboss is the final boss that will challenge you in the game. Rather than just coins, the points are collected in the form of seed packets. These seeds can be used to grow more powerful plants.
➡️ Download: iOS
Bad North
When you’re thinking of tower defense games for iPhone or iPad, Bad North isn’t the first name that would come to mind. That’s because the game is already a mish-mash of many genres, and is also termed by the developers as a roguelite game.
Regardless of what you choose to describe it as, one thing is guaranteed – you’re about to have a boatload of fun. If you love Viking games and games that rely on Norse mythology, this is definitely a game to play.
Basically, the game puts you in the shoes of a leader whose village is overrun by Viking invaders. You’ll have to defend the area by commanding multiple types of forces under your wing. Moreover, to make things even more interesting, the levels are procedurally generated. This means that you won’t have the same playthrough twice!
Overall, Bad North isn’t your typical tower defense game. However, it features enough elements from the genre, along with other genres, to provide you with hours of fun.
➡️ Download: iOS
2112TD: Tower Defense Survival
If you love space exploration games, get ready for space exploration along with a healthy dose of tower defense, with 2112TD: Tower Defense Survival. This game takes a significant amount of inspiration from StarCraft, which is one of the best RTS games of all time. This can be seen easily through the game’s setup, which provides an isometric view and resource management.
In fact, you’ll have to upgrade your army through dynamic in-game actions and resources. If you don’t, your enemies are likely to overpower you at every step. You’ll also have to keep researching to find your enemy’s weaknesses at every turn.
Basically, you can’t just sit around and complete the game with basic tower defense actions. You’ll have to remain active and constantly think about micro-managing every aspect of the gameplay to come out victorious!
➡️ Download: iOS
Swamp Attack
Swamp Attack is another famous game for iOS users under the tower defense game category. Protecting your swamp-based home becomes crazy and fun when you have to kill wild animals. You need to show no mercy and shoot them to level up yourself. You could be attacked by anything, from crocodiles to aliens!
Choose your weapons wisely. There are multiple options available, like blobs, arrows, Molotov, flamethrowers, etc. Using different guns to shoot at zombies and animals to protect your home requires a robust strategy.
Be always prepared for the next level, and keep your hands ready for the bombing and fire shots. From regular modes to challenge modes, there are several ways to entice yourself into the game and upgrade your skills. Swamp Attack becomes a little more interesting when you level up and try out different episodes or worlds. There are a total of eight episodes to be played, and you can try them in multiplayer mode too.
➡️ Download: iOS
Tiny Defense 2
Tiny Defense is a tower defense game that has a futuristic theme. You have to control a mini robot and fight against other machines.
The previous version of Tiny Defense was a huge success, and gamers around the world loved the overall gameplay. The new version is packed with new characters, areas, and visually appealing elements. You, as a player, need to lead the mini-robot force, and you need to protect your planet.
You have more than 40 mini-robots, and when it comes to the evils in the game, there are more than 35 enemies. Even the worlds within the game have no limits; you get almost five worlds full of different elements.
➡️ Download: iOS
Fieldrunners
Fieldrunners brings in large-scale tower defense wars to the small screen.
Choosing your weapons, leading your army, and doing everything possible to protect your country is your objective. Playing the different challenge modes again and again brings replayability to the game. Downloadable (DLC) Maps make it easier for the player to strategically plan ahead. The game center integration connects you to different leaderboards and playing charts.
There are 8 battlefields that are quite unique, adding more value to your gameplay. HD visuals add quality to the game and enhance your gameplay.
➡️ Download: iOS
Dungeon Maker: Dark Lord
Developed by GameCoaster, Dungeon Maker: Dark Lord is one of the most played tower defense games by iPhone users. The game is not just about defending your arena from attackers, but it comes with various fun activities as a package. The basic storyline of the game is similar to the other TD games, such as defending your area. In this game, you will be fighting against a mob or an army of monsters.
Strategy comes as a key role player in the game. You prepare for the battle with a very strategic approach while planning the traps, weapons, and so on. You’ll have to protect your dungeon at all costs.
You get 9 Dark Lords within the game, and the best part is that they all have special skills and magical strengths. Monsters and heroes are almost endless, as you get around 300+ of them. 100+ traps will make this game a challenge for your enemies, and 200+ mysterious powers bring more fun to the game.
➡️ Download: iOS
Dungeon Warfare 2
Ready to challenge yourself in the best TD game? Go for Dungeon Warfare 2. Defending your area becomes more challenging when you have to face 30 different types of enemies. However, to tackle the situation, you get enough traps within the game. More than 30 traps are there to help players catch their enemies and defend their arena. Different items in the game add more value and strength to your basket. There are up to 30 items available in the regular gameplay. In terms of levels, this game has only 60 levels but each level brings something unique to the table.
Upgrading your skills to tackle a boss is a key role player in the game. There are three skill trees, and each of them has more than ten skills. Upgrades are available at all different points in the game.
As you complete a few challenges, you will be given some rewards. This will ensure that you have a consistent interest in the game every time you start a new level. Other than this, there are endless modes, skill points, upgrades, and environmental hazards to make it an exciting game for the players.
➡️ Download: iOS
Conclusion
Tower Defense games may seem easy, but that’s far from the truth. A strategic approach is the key in almost every tower defense game. The player has to develop strategies with an expectation to defend the area or territory that the player has given. Developing strategies requires different abilities, such as risk analysis, quick decisions, etc. All the tower defense games mentioned here are popular ones and are loved by iOS device users. Give them a try!
If you want more games for your iPhone, check out our list of the best iPhone games!
