TnT Balloon Pop LITE

A turn-based 1v1 minigame for Paper servers. Two players stand at opposite ends of a rail. A minecart carries a cluster of hanging TNT balloons - sulfur cubes on 26.2, TNT minecarts on 1.21. On your turn you get a flame crossbow and a few seconds to shoot them. A popped balloon falls, explodes on the first block it touches and blows a hole in the floor. When the match ends, every block is restored.

This page is the free LITE edition. It is a complete 1v1 game, not a timed demo.

Requirements

• Paper 1.21.x or Paper 26.2+
• Java 21 or newer
• No WorldEdit, WorldGuard, Vault or PlaceholderAPI required
• Install only one edition: LITE or Premium, never both

How a match works

1. A player runs /balloon join <arena> and enters the queue.
2. When the queue fills, both players are teleported to their spawns.
3. Players alternate turns; the boss bar shows whose turn it is.
4. On your turn, aim the flame crossbow at the moving balloons and pop as many as you can.
5. The first player to clear the balloons - or the player with more pops when the clock runs out - wins.
6. The floor is repaired and players return to the lobby.

Features

• Turn-based crossbow gameplay with moving carts and falling TNT balloons
• Real terrain damage: explosions remove blocks and change the next shot
• Automatic block protection and full rollback after every match
• One arena and 2 players in LITE
• Queue matchmaking
• Lobby, teleport delay, world filters and command blacklist
• Wand-based arena setup, region preview and a dry-run /balloons check
• Every chat message, title and boss bar editable in messages.yml
• Automatic config.yml and messages.yml migration with backups
• Anonymous bStats (opt out in plugins/bStats/config.yml)

Setup

1. Put TnT Balloon Pop LITE.jar in plugins/ and restart.
2. /balloons wand - left-click corner 1, right-click corner 2.
3. /balloons create myarena
4. /balloons pos1 myarena   (stand at player 1's spawn)
5. /balloons pos2 myarena   (stand at player 2's spawn)
6. /balloons rails 1 pos1 myarena
7. /balloons rails 2 pos1 myarena
8. /balloons check myarena
9. /balloons lobby set
10. /balloon join myarena

The wand selection becomes the protected region. It must contain both spawns, both rail tracks and the balloon paths. /balloons check spawns a temporary cart and reports missing spawns, rails or region corners before players ever join.

Commands

Players

Command	Permission	Description
/balloon join <arena>	tntballoon.play	Queue for a match
/balloon leave	tntballoon.play	Leave the queue or forfeit
/balloon lobby	tntballoon.play	Teleport to the lobby
/balloon list	tntballoon.play	List arenas
/balloon help	tntballoon.play	Show player commands

Admins

Command	Permission	Description
/balloons wand	tntballoon.admin	Get the region wand
/balloons menu	tntballoon.admin	Arena management GUI
/balloons create <arena>	tntballoon.admin	Create an arena from the wand selection
/balloons delete <arena>	tntballoon.admin	Delete an arena
/balloons region <arena>	tntballoon.admin	Show the protected region
/balloons setregion <arena>	tntballoon.admin	Apply a new wand selection
/balloons protect <arena> on|off	tntballoon.admin	Toggle block protection
/balloons pos1 <arena>	tntballoon.admin	Set player 1's spawn
/balloons pos2 <arena>	tntballoon.admin	Set player 2's spawn
/balloons rails <1-2> <pos1|pos2> [arena]	tntballoon.admin	Set a track end
/balloons lobby set	tntballoon.admin	Set the lobby
/balloons info <arena>	tntballoon.admin	Show arena details
/balloons start <arena>	tntballoon.admin	Force-start the queue
/balloons stop <arena>	tntballoon.admin	Stop and roll back a match
/balloons check <arena>	tntballoon.admin	Dry-run the arena
/balloons reload	tntballoon.admin	Reload config, messages and arenas

Permissions

Node	Default	Allows
tntballoon.play	everyone	Player commands
tntballoon.admin	operators	All setup commands
tntballoon.bypass	operators	Build inside protected regions

Configuration

plugins/TnTBalloonPop/config.yml controls match length, crossbow kit, balloon count, cart speed, protection, turn timing, lobby and world filters. messages.yml contains every message. Both files carry a version and migrate automatically with a backup; arenas.yml is data and is never reset.

Compatibility

• Paper only. The plugin uses the Paper API; plain Spigot is not supported.
• Purpur is a Paper fork and is listed as compatible.
• Folia is not supported.
• Java 21+ is required; the jar is Java 21 bytecode.
• No NMS and no required dependencies.

FAQ

Is LITE really free? Yes. There is no time limit and no locked arena. Premium adds more arenas, 2-4 players, rounds, stats, rewards and arena export/import.

Does it work on 1.20? No. Paper 1.21+ and Java 21+ are required.

Do players need a resource pack? No. Balloons are sulfur cubes on 26.2 and TNT minecarts on 1.21.

Can players break the arena? Only through explosions during a match, and everything is restored at the end. Normal building is blocked inside the protected region.

Does it need WorldEdit or WorldGuard? No. The plugin has its own wand, protection and rollback.

How do I update? Replace the jar and restart. Config and messages migrate automatically.

Premium edition

Premium is available on BuiltByBit: unlimited arenas, 2-4 players, invite and queue matchmaking, best-of-N rounds, five balloon layouts, a turn clock, statistics and leaderboards, PlaceholderAPI, Vault rewards, win effects, developer events, and full arena export/import with the blocks. The free LITE edition remains fully playable.

Support

• Issues and setup help: Discord
• Please do not report bugs in reviews; a ticket gets a fix much faster

Links

• Idea credit Video
• Discord
• Premium Version
• Video Setup