Questions
How to play Bloons TD 6 with a controller on a Mac
Turn the sticks into a pointer and the buttons into the game's hotkeys with a mapper: Bloons TD 6 runs natively on the Mac, and on Steam it lists no controller support. It is a game about putting a monkey exactly where you want it and clicking an upgrade, so a mouse is what it expects.
A controller can do that job well once InputConfig, the free mapper I make, gives it a pointer and the hotkeys, and for a long session on a sofa it is a lot more comfortable than a trackpad.
On this page: 8 sections
Steps
- Check your hotkeys in Bloons TD 6's options.
- In InputConfig, make a new preset and choose Automatically insert available inputs.
- Give the sticks pointer movement, the right trigger a left click, and the buttons the game's hotkeys.
- Press Activate and start a map.
Check the game's hotkeys
Bloons TD 6 has a keyboard hotkey for nearly everything, and that is what makes a controller practical:
- Towers. Each has a letter: Dart Monkey is Q by default, the hero is U.
- Upgrades. Comma, period and slash for the three paths.
- The round. Space starts it and toggles fast forward.
- Selling and targeting. Backspace sells the selected tower, and Tab changes its targeting.
- Several at once. Holding Shift while placing keeps the tower selected so you can place several.
Every one of these can be changed under the game's Options, in its hotkey settings, so check yours before you build the layout.
InputConfig is free on the Mac App Store. macOS 14 or later, no account, no tracking, open source.
Build the layout
| Controller | Sends | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Left stick | Pointer, slow | Lands a tower on the exact spot |
| Right stick | Pointer, fast | Crosses the map |
| Right trigger | Left click | Place, select, buy |
| A / Cross | Space | Start round, fast forward |
| B / Circle | Escape | Back out |
| D-pad up, right, down | Comma, period, slash | The three upgrade paths |
| D-pad left | Backspace | Sell |
| RB / R1 | Tab | Targeting |
| LB / L1 | Shift, held | Place several |
| X, Y | Your two most used towers | Dart Monkey Q and the hero U to start |
- You: In InputConfig, make a new preset, choose Automatically insert available inputs, and give these rows their outputs. The two sticks are four pointer rows each: set the left stick's speed low and the right stick's high.
- InputConfig: Moves the pointer and sends the hotkeys while the preset runs.
- Check: Press Activate, start a map, and place a Dart Monkey with X and the right trigger.
It takes a few minutes, once.
Make it comfortable
- Ramp-up on the slow stick. With Ramp-up on, a small push creeps and a held push travels, which is what you want when the gap between two paths is a few pixels.
- More towers on chords. Give the face buttons more tower letters with While also holding the left trigger, and the left trigger becomes a shift key for a second set of four.
- Abilities. Activated abilities have number keys. Put the ones you use on the stick clicks or back paddles.
- Turn it on with the game. In the preset's Automation & Gaming Utilities section, add Bloons TD 6 under Activate when these apps are in front, and turn on Switch presets when the front app changes in Settings, Advanced.
Two pointer speeds, one per stick, are what make tower placement easy.
If a button does nothing in the game
Climb this ladder, smallest step first:
- Activate the preset. Rows only work while it runs.
- Check the hotkey. If you changed a hotkey in the game's options, change the row to match.
- Allow Accessibility. Without it no app can press keys or click for you. The menu bar icon turns orange when a running preset needs it.
The game only ever sees a mouse and a keyboard, so if the key works on the keyboard, the row can send it.
Play co-op and the rest
Co-op is online, so each player is on their own device and their own controller. Everything here works the same in co-op, races and boss events, because the game only ever sees a mouse and a keyboard.
The short version
- Pointer. Slow on the left stick, fast on the right, click on the right trigger.
- Hotkeys. Upgrades on the D-pad, Space on A, towers on X and Y.
- Comfort. Ramp-up on the slow stick, a chord for more towers.
A mouse game, played from the sofa, with every hotkey under a thumb.
Questions
Does Bloons TD 6 have controller support on Mac?
Steam lists none for it. The game is built for a mouse and keyboard, and a mapper is how you play it from a controller: the sticks move the pointer and the buttons send its hotkeys.
What are the Bloons TD 6 upgrade hotkeys?
By default comma, period and slash upgrade the top, middle and bottom paths, Backspace sells and Tab changes targeting. They can be changed in the game's options.
Can I play Bloons TD 6 with one hand?
Yes. Put the pointer, the click and the upgrade keys on one half of the pad. The one-handed Mac guide has more.
Related
Free. macOS 14 or later. No account, nothing leaves your Mac. Open source on GitHub.