Defend the Pagoda

How to play

1. Press Start defense. Your first Bops come out and pests start walking in from the gates.
2. Tap a helper on the tray, then tap a lit square, or drag it straight onto the board.
3. Between waves, put a wall on the dotted line. Pests stop to knock it down, so your helpers get longer to hit them.
4. Spend energy on the Upgrade key, or build the pagoda higher for more life and more energy.
5. A pest that reaches the pagoda takes life. At zero the run ends, and what you earned stays.

Eight kinds of helper

Toss, Gather, Hush, Jab, Pellet, Guard, Spin and Drum Bop each fight differently. Helpers level up, open skill trees and hold gems, and the game guides each new step the first time it appears.

Creatures from Philippine folklore

The pests are Duwende, Santelmo, Kapre, Tikbalang, Manananggal, Multo, Nuno sa Punso and Sirena, with Bakunawa, Minokawa and Bungisngis as the big ones. Some carry an element (fire, water, lightning or earth) and shrug off their own.

Four stages

Dawn teaches the basics one gate at a time. Noon brings fire pests in the full sun, Dusk sends every element from more gates, and Night brings water pests from every gate. Each stage has ten waves.

More in the courtyard

• Lane Defense: Bop shoots by himself. Swipe between four lanes and send the pests home before they cross the gold line.
• Rainy Manila Night: Three original lo-fi songs for a rainy night in Manila: warm electric piano, soft bass and brushed drums for studying, reading or winding down.
• The courtyard: walk Bop around, play songs and watch films on the pagoda screen.