Moga TD

Moga TD is a tower defense game built around four-player co-op. You and your teammates defend the Gate from the Warlord’s armies, which seek the Ether beneath it. The game is designed for four players to work through a 41-wave challenge over five to ten evenings, though you can also play alone.

The Warlord’s assault

The Warlord has taken Fire, Water, Earth and Wind and wants the fifth element, Ether. His armies attack in sequence, with nine waves in each army and a king leading it. After the fourth king falls, the Warlord enters the fight. Some enemies fly, some are invisible, and the kings are tough to kill; Ether is especially effective against them.

Four races

Each player chooses a race, and each race has strengths and weaknesses that complement the others. No single race has every answer, so you need to cover for one another to keep the Gate standing.

• Toys: Painted tin and wind-up keys, with rapid-fire and splash damage.
• Frost: Glacier ice, bone and fur, used to slow and freeze enemies.
• Fungi: Poison mushrooms that poison and weaken enemies, with spores that slow an entire lane.
• Tesla: Copper coils and dark steel, with chain lightning and cranes that pull enemies back down the lane. Tesla is the boss-killing specialist.

When playing alone, you start with one race and can spend your first Energy to buy a second.

Build and defend

Each race has three tower lines, for twelve in total. Towers have four growth stages—base, grown, spread and full—and a fully grown tower differs from the one you first placed. Gold buys towers, while rare Energy can buy a second race or the Ether Bear, which deals the most damage to kings. Selling a tower returns every coin you spent, so a poor build costs you a wave rather than the game.

A shared challenge

A run takes about an hour, or closer to 90 minutes during the first attempts. Once you know the routes, fast-forward can bring that down to 45 minutes. The challenge is intended to take five to ten nights to solve; after each loss, the game shows which wave defeated you.

You can host a lobby and invite three friends, or fill an empty seat with an AI teammate. You can speed up waves when your plan is working and pause when it is not. When you defeat the Warlord, four stones come loose from his chest, one for each player to keep; the Ether remains beneath the Gate, and the elements return to the world.