Bloons TD 6 Series Accessibility Report - Amazon Fire, Android, Mac, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One and iOS

Bloons TD 6 (Series) Accessibility Report

We've documented 20 accessibility features for Bloons TD 6, including Large Subtitles, Select Difficulty, No Button Combos, No Repeated Pressing and No Holds. Its accessibility is strongest in Controls and Reading but it also has features in Visual, Difficulty, Getting Started, Audio and Navigation to reduce unintended barriers.

This report is created with input from accessibility experts and the player community to help people find games that have the accessibility features they require. Once you have found potential games on the database, there are excellent specialist accessibility sites that offer in-depth reviews to guide your purchasing decisions.

Bloons TD 6, the latest in a series of Bloons TD (Tower Defense) games, is a strategic puzzle game where you use various contraptions to pop balloons before they get to the end of the track. It sounds simple, but quickly escalates with faster-moving and more durable balloons to become a fast-paced test of skill.

Our accessibility examiner, Ben Kendall, first checked Bloons TD 6 (Series) accessibility 20 months ago. It was re-examined by Andy Robertson and updated 20 months ago.

Accessibility Notes

The path of the bloons is very clearly laid out across the screen, and the path is large and of high contrast to the background. Being able to distinguish between the colours of bloons is essential to the game, as different coloured bloons have different properties, which is of especial importance for colourblind players.

Some of the text throughout the game doesn't contrast particularly well with the colour behind it.

During later stages of the levels, the screen can become very hectic and full of different moving objects and explosions, which could be disorienting for some players.

Bloons TD 6

ACCESSIBILITY REPORT

Game Details

Release Date: 16/08/2007, updated in 2021

Out Now: Amazon Fire, Android, DS, Mac, PC, PS4, PSP, Switch, Xbox One and iOS

Content Rating: PEGI 3

Skill Rating: 8+ year-olds

Players: 1 (4 online)

Genres: Brain Game, Sequencing, Strategy (Action, Fighting and Shooting)

Accessibility: 20 features

Components: 2D Overhead

Developer: Ninja Kiwi Games (@NinjaKiwiGames)

Costs: Purchase cost, In-Game Purchases and In-Game Pass

Controls

We've documented 6 accessibility features for Controls in Bloons TD 6 which deal with how you control the game, different options for alternative inputs and whether you can remap these settings to suit your needs.

Mouse And Keyboard

Can play with the following:

Mouse and Keys: Can play with mouse and multiple keys.

Touchscreen

Can play with the following. Additional gestures may be required for games played with a screenreader like VoiceOver.

One Motion Targeted: Can play with touchscreen, tap and swipe or hold gesture.

Remap Controls

Can customise the controls for the game as follows:

Remap Mouse and Keyboard: Can remap mouse and keyboard key bindings, on systems that support these controls.

Button Combinations

Specific button operation required to play

Holding Down Buttons Optional: Holding down buttons for prolonged periods (a second or more) is not required or can be switched to toggling the action on and off. This is in addition to the movement stick/button which is not considered a hold for this purpose.

Rapid Repeated Pressing Optional: Quick, repeated button pressing (more than 2 times a second) is not required, can be skipped or switched to holding a button to trigger a repeated action.

No Simultaneous Buttons: Only one button or key required at a time, in addition to direction stick(s).

Difficulty

We've documented 2 accessibility features for Difficulty in Bloons TD 6 which deal with how you can adjust the challenge of play, and whether this is locked once chosen or can be adjusted as you play.

Difficulty Options

Select Difficulty: Select the level of difficulty from a range of presets. This not only offers a way to adjust the challenge of a game but enables you to do so without dealing with individual criteria.

Adjust After Setting

Adjustable Between Levels: You can adjust the difficulty between levels/rounds. Although you have to restart your checkpoint or level, this enables you to adjust the difficulty after selecting it at the beginning of the game.

Getting Started

We've documented 2 accessibility features for Getting Started in Bloons TD 6 which deal with what support is offered to get started with the game. This includes customising the experience when you first open the game via any onboarding processes it provides as well as tutorials and other assistance when you first start playing.

Assistance Getting Starting

These features aid your play of the game in terms of cognitive load on learning controls, dealing with pressure and coping with the environment and challenges.

Tutorials: There are helpful tutorials and instructions on how to play. Information is provided in a timely manner, with appropriate level of detail.

Practice Area: You can practice freely without opponents or time pressures. This can be a specific practice option, or the ability to play levels with the easiest opponents to improve understanding and skill.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Getting Started

If you want to play Bloons TD 6, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:

Reading

We've documented 4 accessibility features for Reading in Bloons TD 6 which deal with how much reading or listening comprehension is required, how well the game provides visual and audible access to the text and whether subtitles and captions are a good fit for purpose.

Reading Level

How much reading is required to play the game's main path or story and how complex the language is. The presence of voiced characters doesn't reduce this requirement, as it's recorded as a separate datapoint.

Simple Minimal Reading: Minimal reading is required. The quantity and complexity of reading are at a level that a primary/elementary student (9-year-old) could understand.

Subtitles

Large Clear Subtitles: Subtitles are large, clear and of good contrast. They are at least 1/20 (46 pixels on 1080 screen) the height of a landscape screen and at least 1/40 height on portrait screens, or can be adjusted to be. We base this on the full line-height, including the space above and below the letters. Considered separately from the general text of the game, the subtitles are large, clear and of good contrast.

All Speech Subtitled (Or No Speech In Game): All spoken content has subtitles, or there is no speech in the game. This means there is no requirement to hear spoken dialogue or narrative to play the game.

Voice Acted

Some Dialogue is Voice Acted: Some of the game dialogue and narrative is voice acted. This reduces the pressure on reading all the dialogue text, although not everything is provided audibly.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Reading

If you want to play Bloons TD 6, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, this similar game extends the Reading accessibility:

Air Twister

Navigation

We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Navigation in Bloons TD 6 which deals with how the game provides guidance and assistance to navigate its worlds. These are only for games that have traversal and exploration in 2D and 3D spaces.

Clarity

Clear Mission Objectives: The game provides clear, structured missions with directional guidance and advice on which can be attempted next. This also indicates (ideally on maps where they are provided) which missions can't be attempted because you do not have the appropriate items yet.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Navigation

If you want to play Bloons TD 6, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Navigation accessibility:

Visual

We've documented 3 accessibility features for Visual in Bloons TD 6 which deal with how you can adjust the visuals to suit your needs, and offer additional information if you can't hear the game.

Contrast

Medium Contrast: Game uses generally well contrasting and bright visuals, or has a slider to make this the case.

Visual Distractions

No Busy Backgrounds: No distracting backgrounds or you can make them static or blank. This includes the absence of other movement elements in the background that might distract or confuse the action. Where foreground contrast is high, this includes games with some movement in the background that doesn't make it overly difficult to distinguish what is happening.

Motion Sickness Friendly

Motion Sickness Friendly: Doesn't have 3D movement elements that may trigger motion sickness, like motion blur, depth of field and field-of-vision. Or includes the ability to disable motion blur, depth of field and field-of-vision effects.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Visual

If you want to play Bloons TD 6, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Visual accessibility:

Audio

We've documented 2 accessibility features for Audio in Bloons TD 6 which deal with how you can adjust the audio of the game and whether audio cues compensate for aspects of the game that are hard to see.

Adjustable Audio

Balance Audio Levels: Set music and game sound effects separately. This enables you to select your preference as well as ensure critical game sounds aren't obscured by other audio.

Play Without Hearing

Play Without Hearing: No audio cues are necessary to play the game well.

Communication

We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Communication in Bloons TD 6 which deal with how you can communicate with other players in the game and what options are available to customise and control this interaction.

System Accessibility Settings

In addition to the accessibility features provided in the game, you can also use system-wide accessibility settings:

Android
Android has accessibility settings including ways to navigate and interact, although not all games support this.

Nintendo Switch
Nintendo Switch has some built-in features, including a lockable zoom, that can be used on all games.

PC
Windows has extensive accessibility features. Some, like colour correction, work with games. Lots of accessibility software can be used with PC games, from voice recognition to input device emulators.

PlayStation 4
PlayStation 4 has a range of accessibility settings. Some are system only, some work in games (invert colours and button mapping).

Xbox One
Xbox One has a system features, the excellent co-pilot share controls mode and adaptive controller support for all games.

iOS
iOS has a very extensive suite of accessibility settings including ways to navigate with voice and comprehensive screen reading, though most of the features don't work with games.

Read more about system accessibility settings.