Stop the Tsunami Guide

If you are learning how to stop the tsunami, begin by protecting the City with a short, continuous sand wall, then follow the wall-building guide to add a trench behind it and pack the wall before pressing START ROUND. The first session is not about covering the whole beach. It is about making one defensible section survive a wave, checking where water gets through, and using the Coins from that defense to improve your next build.

Protect the City before the first START ROUND

The City is the objective: if the tsunami floods it, your defense has failed. Before the first wave, use the available digging tool to collect Sand and shape it into a wall between the water and the City. Leave enough time to inspect both ends of the wall. A tall front section does not help if the water can simply go around a side or pass through a low gap.

Your first-session target is modest and useful: create one unbroken line, reinforce it, and survive one wave. Use the initial Sand for the main barrier rather than scattering small piles across the beach. If there is room behind the wall, dig a Trench there as a second line of protection. It can slow or catch water that crosses the first barrier, but it is not a substitute for a complete wall.

Build the first wall and start the tsunami round

This moment supports the first-defense sequence by showing that digging places a wall automatically before START ROUND sends the tsunami toward the City.

Load 1:25 · Dig to place the wall, then start the round

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The game gives you a progression path from a basic Spade through Shovels, a Bulldozer, a Skid Steer, Excavators, and a Dump Truck. Do not wait for late-game machines before learning the defense itself. The same habits—continuous coverage, protected sides, compact construction, and inspection after impact—remain useful as waves grow.

How each wave changes the beach

Stop the Tsunami uses a preparation-and-wave structure. You enter a beach area, gather or move material, build defenses, and then press START ROUND. The tsunami travels toward the City and tests the structure you prepared. After the impact, inspect the result, repair or rebuild the weak points, and spend the Coins earned from holding the wave back. When a stage is cleared, the sea pulls back and the available beach becomes wider, while later waves become more demanding.

This is a sequence of sessions rather than a promise that every wave follows one fixed pattern. The game identifies Easy, Medium, and Hard modes, and gameplay references Normal, Large, Rainbow, Blood Moon, and dragon-like wave types. Their exact damage values and fixed order are not established, so use the current in-game wave display as the authority when it shows a new challenge.

Solo and team play change how much ground you can reasonably prepare. A solo player should choose a short defense or a natural chokepoint instead of trying to wall the entire beach. A team can share one coin wallet and its machines, with one player digging, another driving or hauling, and another building or patching. In either mode, the next state is determined by the wall’s condition after impact: repair the breach if the City remains safe, or rebuild the failed section before the next round.

Walls, trenches, tools, and upgrade choices

The following elements are the most useful things to understand before your first serious wave:

The exact prices, durability values, and unlock thresholds are not established, so use the current shop or upgrade panel for those numbers. The practical choice is still clear: tools improve collection, machines improve the amount or speed of material you can move, and higher-stage materials such as Wood, Ice, Black Stone, Sandstone, Clay, and Concrete are intended to give you stronger building options. Black Stone is described as stronger than Wood, but do not assume one material is always best for every wave without checking its current in-game behavior.

Packing matters. The game description tells you to dig, pile, carve trenches, and pack the defenses hard, and recorded gameplay specifically notes that stomping the walls makes them last longer. Treat the Tamper or equivalent packing action as part of construction, not as an optional finishing animation. A wall that looks tall but is not packed can be a worse investment than a compact, reinforced line you can inspect and repair.

Pack a wall before the next tsunami wave

This moment supports the wall-building advice by showing a large wall prepared before the next wave and explaining that stomping makes the walls last longer.

Load 2:42 · Build a large wall before the next wave

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Build and survive your first complete wave

Follow this sequence for a controlled first attempt. Each step has a checkpoint so you know when to move on.

1. Choose a manageable start. Enter the beach and choose Easy if you are still learning the controls. In Solo, identify a short route or chokepoint that protects the City; in a team, agree who will dig, move material, build, and repair. The checkpoint is a defense area everyone can reach before the round begins.
2. Collect the first material. Use the Spade or Shovel to dig Sand in the available area. Move it toward the chosen line instead of creating unrelated piles. Continue when you have enough material to connect the defense from one side to the other.
3. Shape one continuous wall. Pile the Sand into the main barrier facing the water. Check the ends and the ground immediately in front of the City. When there is no obvious opening, low corner, or side route, you have a usable first line.
4. Add the rear safety layer. If time and terrain allow, carve a Trench behind the wall. Keep it behind the primary barrier so it functions as a catch or delay layer. Move on when the trench does not leave the main wall unfinished.
5. Pack and prepare repairs. Use the Tamper or equivalent action on the wall, then keep spare Sand and repair tools nearby. Glue and Trowel are useful for patching or shaping, but do not begin the wave while the wall still has an unfilled gap. The checkpoint is a packed line with materials accessible for emergency work.
6. Inspect both flanks, then press START ROUND. Look at the left and right ends, the wall’s lowest points, and the route behind it. Only then start the wave. The transition is the tsunami moving toward the City; further construction is now emergency work rather than preparation.
7. Watch where the water tests the build. Do not judge success only by the front impact. Observe whether the wave breaks through a low section, turns around an end, or reaches the trench. If the City stays dry, let the wave finish and use the result as your next build note.
8. Repair after the impact and verify the reward. When the water recedes, inspect every damaged or bypassed section. Pack and patch the weak point, or rebuild it shorter if the line was too broad to maintain. Confirm the Coins awarded for holding the wave back, then decide whether the next purchase should improve collection, transport, or wall material.

This sequence gives you a repeatable checkpoint without assuming a fixed wave number or reward amount. The important verification is visible: the City remains protected, the failed point is identifiable, and the earned Coins appear in the current game interface. If a stage clears and the beach widens, use the new space to improve the next defense rather than immediately extending the wall across every available section.

Priorities when a wall fails

Use these priorities whenever preparation time is short or a wave is stronger than expected:

1. Protect the City’s direct approach before decorating or extending the beach-wide perimeter.
2. Close gaps and secure both ends before making the center even taller.
3. Pack the structure before spending the last preparation seconds on a new section.
4. Keep a rear Trench or spare material where it can slow a breakthrough.
5. Spend early Coins on the tool or machine that removes your current bottleneck: digging, hauling, or building.
6. Move from Sand to stronger materials as the beach expands and the wave demands more durability; use the current materials and upgrade panels for live requirements.
7. In a team, assign repair responsibility before the wave starts so the builder is not also trying to operate every machine.

Match the mistake to the recovery instead of restarting blindly:

• You started START ROUND with an open section. Stop extending the wall and use the first safe moment to fill the direct route. For the next attempt, make the end-to-end inspection your final checkpoint before starting.
• The tsunami went around one side. Rebuild shorter or move the end toward a chokepoint. A taller center cannot fix a bypass at the flank.
• The wall broke through the middle. Pack the rebuilt section, add a rear Trench, and test a stronger material when the current stage provides access to one.
• You covered too much beach in Solo. Abandon the outer sections and concentrate on the shortest line that protects the City. A smaller defense is easier to inspect and repair.
• The wave survived but repairs consumed all your time. Use the Coins from the successful defense on collection, transport, or machines before attempting a wider build. The Bulldozer, Skid Steer, Excavator, and Dump Truck are progression options, not replacements for a sound wall plan.
• A stronger wave or unfamiliar type appears. Read the current wave and material panels rather than relying on a fixed order. Keep the same inspection process, then upgrade the weakest part of the defense.

The goal is not to make one permanent wall that solves every stage. Build a compact line, observe the actual failure, repair the cause, and let successful defenses fund better tools and materials. That is the practical route from a first Sand barrier to a late-stage defense using stronger materials and larger machines.

First-time Stop the Tsunami questions

Should I build a wall or dig a trench first?

Build the main wall first. A Trench is a useful rear safety layer that can slow or catch water, but it is not a replacement for a continuous primary barrier.

What should solo players do differently?

Solo players should protect a shorter route or chokepoint instead of trying to cover the entire beach. Compact coverage makes the ends easier to inspect and leaves less wall to repair after the wave.

When should I use stronger materials?

Use Sand to learn the first defense and then check the current material and upgrade panels as waves grow or the beach expands. Wood, Ice, Black Stone, Sandstone, Clay, and Concrete are later material options, but their exact values and unlock requirements can change in the live game.

What does START ROUND do?

START ROUND begins the tsunami challenge and sends the wave toward the City. Treat it as the boundary between preparation and emergency defense, so inspect the wall, both flanks, and the rear area before pressing it.