Defend is a one-tap take on the classic missile-defense arcade game. Six little cities sit along the ground, and missiles streak down at them from the top of the sky. You don't aim with your finger: a reticle sweeps the sky on a fixed figure-eight, and a tap launches an interceptor that bursts wherever the reticle was. Any missile caught in a burst explodes too, and that blast can catch the next one. You get limited ammo per wave, waves get faster and some missiles split, and the run ends when your last city falls. There's a new sky every day, with friends' ghost bursts lighting up beside yours.
How to play Defend
- Watch the reticle sweep the sky. Its next few dots show where it's heading.
- Tap anywhere to launch an interceptor. It bursts at the spot the reticle was on when you tapped.
- Missiles inside a burst are destroyed, and each one bursts too, so a good shot can chain.
- Every missile you destroy is a point. Lose all six cities and the run is over.
Tips to get a high score
- Lead your shots. The interceptor needs a moment to fly up, so tap just before the reticle crosses a missile's path, a little below it.
- Ammo is limited each wave and a wasted burst resets your streak. Wait for a good crossing.
- Missiles with a pulsing ring split into two or three. Catch them early, before they split.
- Aim for crowds. One burst that chains through three missiles drops a coin.
- Every other wave rebuilds one lost city, so hanging on through a bad wave pays off.
How the waves build up
Wave 1 drops 7 missiles, and each wave after adds two more, up to 30 from wave 13. Over the first 90 seconds of a run, missiles fall more than twice as fast and arrive closer together. For the minute after that they keep getting a little faster.
New kinds of danger arrive early. From wave 2 some missiles carry a pulsing ring and split partway down. That's about one in ten at first and closer to one in three later. From wave 3, some missiles aim at your silo instead of a city.
The reticle speeds up on the same 90-second clock, ending almost half again as fast. Its path never changes, though. It's the same figure-eight every run, so the spots where it crosses the city lanes become familiar.
Making your ammo stretch
Your interceptors reset at the start of every wave, and leftovers don't carry over. Early on you get a few more interceptors than there are missiles: 10 for the first wave's 7. That margin shrinks every wave. From about wave 10 on, there are more missiles than interceptors, so you have to catch more than one missile with some of your shots.
Every missile destroyed is one point, whether your burst caught it or a chain blast did. A destroyed missile makes its own smaller blast. So the best shot goes where missiles bunch up, letting one burst set off the rest. A burst lasts close to a second, so it can also catch missiles that fly into it after it pops.
Splitters are a trade-off. Catching one before the ring pops is one point and costs one interceptor. After it splits, the two or three pieces each head for a target of their own. You'd need more shots to stop them all, and they're spread out across the sky.
Timing a shot on the sweep
There's a short delay between your tap and the burst. The interceptor flies from the silo to the marked spot in about a third of a second, a bit longer for the top corners of the sky. Then the burst takes about a fifth of a second to reach full size. Aim for where a missile will be, not where it is now.
The reticle crosses the middle of the sky most often and only reaches the far edges at the ends of its sweep. Missiles heading for the outer cities are the hardest to cover. Catch them high, the first time the reticle passes over their line.
A missile aimed at a city that's already gone does no harm when it lands. Late in a wave with ammo running low, let those fall and save your shots for missiles heading at standing cities or the silo.
Daily levels and ghost races
Today's Defend level is the same for everyone, and you race the ghosts of other players' runs. How daily levels and challenges work.
FAQ
How do I aim?
You don't steer the reticle. It always follows the same sweeping path, and your tap decides when to fire. Timing is the whole skill, which makes it easy to play one-handed.
What happens if a missile hits the silo?
The silo can't be destroyed, but a direct hit knocks three interceptors off your ammo for that wave.
Is it free?
Yes. Every Tapamine game is free to play in your browser with no download and no account.
Does it work on my phone?
Yes. Tapamine is built for phones first: portrait, one thumb, and it works offline after your first visit. It also works with a mouse or the spacebar on a computer.
How do challenges work?
After a run, tap “Challenge a friend” to send a link. Your friend plays the exact same level and races your ghost — a replay of your run — to see who wins.
Add Defend to your site
Defend is free to embed on your blog, class page or website. Paste this code:
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