Pre-Game Prep

Pre-Game Prep places a free pile of 20 permanent Road Spikes at the end of the track at the start of every game. If a map has several exits, each exit gets its own pile. It is a fourth-row Powers knowledge: you need 3 points in the Powers tree and Longer Boosts, plus a one-time fee of 250 Monkey Money.

The piles do not use up any of your Powers and do not disappear at the end of a round. They stay until all 20 spikes are used. Just One More does not add a spike to them.

How it changes the game

Twenty pops at the exit is a safety net for the early game. Any bloon that slips past your opening defence hits the spikes before it can cost you a life.

• Early leaks. On rounds 1 to 10, a single leaked bloon is usually one or two layers, so 20 spikes can absorb several small mistakes.
• Impoppable. You start with 1 life, so any leak ends the game. Mana Shield from the Magic tree does not work on Impoppable, which makes Pre-Game Prep the best leak protection there.
• Half Cash and Alternate Bloons Rounds. In Half Cash and Alternate Bloons Rounds, early defences are thin and the spikes catch what they miss.
• Learning a map. The piles show where bloons leave the map, which is handy on a map you have not played before.

Map quirks to know:

• Paths that merge into one exit only get one pile.
• Secret lanes (on maps like Spa Pits and Skull Tweak) no longer get a pile.
• In Reverse mode the piles go to the reversed exits.
• On maps where an exit is also an entrance, bloons can use up the spikes as they enter. Large blimp hitboxes can also set them off slightly early.

Is it worth it?

Priority: must-have. It is the best knowledge in the Powers tree and one of the few that helps every single game without you doing anything. The cheapest path is 5 points: Just One More, Longer Time Stop, any third point such as Cheaper Lakes, Longer Boosts, then Pre-Game Prep, plus 250 Monkey Money.

Everything else in the Powers tree only matters when you spend a Power. Take Pre-Game Prep first.

Where it works

Pre-Game Prep is a Monkey Knowledge effect, so it needs MK to be active. You will not get the spikes in CHIMPS, in challenges with MK disabled, on the MK-free tiles of Contested Territory or in Rogue Legends. In Co-op, the spikes reset if the server refreshes the map.

Frequently asked questions

How many spikes does Pre-Game Prep give?

One pile of 20 Road Spikes at each exit, every game.

Does Just One More add a spike to Pre-Game Prep?

No. The Pre-Game Prep piles always have 20 spikes.

Is Pre-Game Prep good for Impoppable?

Yes. Mana Shield does not work on Impoppable, so the free spikes are your best protection against an early leak.

How do I unlock Pre-Game Prep fastest?

Just One More, Longer Time Stop, one more Powers point, Longer Boosts, then Pre-Game Prep with 250 Monkey Money.