Strategy:Half Cash

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Half Cash is widely seen as the 2nd most difficult game mode, only after CHIMPS. However, there is a much more limited amount of strategies in Half Cash compared to CHIMPS, due to the former not allowing the purchase of powerful & expensive towers, making it much more frustrating for many players.

For purposes of clarity, the following definitions will be made for this article:

Early-game = Rounds 6-40
Mid-game = Rounds 41-60
Late-game = Rounds 61-80

General tips

Preparation

• When attempting Half Cash, it is recommended that most of the Monkey Knowledge upgrades have been acquired. Particularly important Monkey Knowledge upgrades include Bonus Monkey!, More Cash, Mana Shield, Military Conscription, and Veteran Monkey Training. The tips given in this article assume that the player has already obtained most Monkey Knowledge upgrades.
• To obtain the Monkey Knowledge upgrades, it is recommended to beat other game modes on many maps before touching Half Cash. Hard Standard is the optimal game mode, as that game mode grants large amounts of Player XP for Monkey Knowledge points and is relatively simple to complete.

The most challenging rounds in Half Cash

Round #	Bloons spawned	Reasoning
40	MOAB ×1	The MOAB is the hardest challenge of the early game, made even more difficult by the limited money in Half Cash. Without a Hero well-suited for this round, a solid single-target damage option, and towers for the Ceramic insides, the MOAB can end a run completely.
63	Lead ×75 Ceramic ×122	This infamous round has 3 tight Ceramic waves with 40, 40, and 42 Ceramics respectively. If placed towers perform poorly against grouped Bloons, many sell- and-rebuys may need to be performed. Doing so may create a dead-end with Round 64's rush of MOABs (including Fortified).
75	Lead ×14 Fortified Lead ×14 Fortified MOAB ×3 BFB ×6	The 6 BFBs in 3 separate packs, especially the last dense pack of 3 BFBs, fortified MOABs, and Leads (which block projectiles) require a very well-rounded defense suited for blimps and Bloon clumps. Careless ability usage can make defeating Round 76's Regrow Ceramics impossible.
78	Rainbow ×150 Ceramic ×75 BFB ×1 Purple ×80 Camo Ceramic ×72	Without a solid Camo popping power or reliable decamo, the densely packed Camo Ceramics will simply pass through unscathed, with each Ceramic wave being even denser than those of Rounds 63 and 76.

Towers & heroes suited for most maps

Name	Portrait	Reasoning & how to use
Corvus		Corvus's early-game and mid-game power in CHIMPS shine spectacularly in Half Cash, thanks to Half Cash ending at Round 80. With his spellbook being suited for every type of round in the mid-game thanks to its variety of spells, he is by far the most versatile hero in Half Cash and remains extremely potent on Expert maps. Spear performs well against Bloons in the early-game, while Ancestral Might trivializes Round 40. In the mid-game and late-game, Trample, Malevolence, and Ember perform well against Bloons, while Ancestral Might, Repel, and Frostbound are solid against MOABs. In the late-game, Overload can wipe out large amounts of RBE, but it is not recommended to use it at the end of Round 75, as it places his spellbook on cooldown for Round 76. Place Corvus near the start of the track so that he can constantly farm mana.
Geraldo		The variety of items in Geraldo's shop grants him versatility for Half Cash on nearly all maps. In particular, Rare Quincy Action Figure's income generation is unaffected. Placing Geraldo at the earliest possible round where the NFT can be afforded, which is usually within Rounds 11-15 depending on the map, allows it to generate over $20,000 by the 70s, granting enough money for expensive guaranteed wins such as Spectre. In addition, his See Invisibility Potion allows one tower to pop all Camos on Rounds 33-51 if used first on Round 33, Sharpening Stone greatly improves low-pierce, sharp towers such as Triple Darts, Tube of Amaz-o-Glue simplifies rounds such as 63, and Genie Bottle trivializes the most difficult rounds, such as 75, 76, and 78.

Towers & heroes not suited for Half Cash

Name	Portrait	Reasoning

Early game (rounds 6-40)

• Due to the limited amount of starting cash, the first rounds of Half Cash closely resemble those in CHIMPS, except the player can leak lives and therefore does not need pixel-perfect positioning of towers. The recommendations assume that Bonus Monkey! and More Cash have been obtained by the player.
  • For most maps, the first few rounds can be completed with 2 0-0-0 Darts, with a 3rd dart dropped in the middle of Round 6. Ideally, at least one of the darts is on Strong.
  • Dart + Sniper works well on maps where a lack of range is a problem. Sniper on Strong to chip the Greens, and Dart to clean up.
  • Maps containing water can use Dart + Sub, Dart on Strong to chip away the Greens, and Sub to clean up the remaining bloons.
  • Dart + Engineer can be used similarly to three 0-0-0 Darts, the main difference is that Engineer is more "concentrated" damage than two Darts.
  • Dart + Boomerang start is optimal on several maps, such as Infernal.