The published machine ladder
The experience lists a fixed progression: toy spade, then shovels, a bulldozer, a skid steer, excavators, and a dump truck. Coin prices are shown in the game shop and are not published as a table, so buy the next machine whose job you are currently failing.
Friends share one coin wallet and every machine. Buying two copies of the same machine for two players spends the shared wallet twice.
What each step is for
- Toy spade: the starter. It can dig and pile the first wall. Replace it when shovels are affordable.
- Shovels: the early upgrade for covering more beach before the first vehicle.
- Bulldozer: a pushing machine for moving a lot of sand into the line.
- Skid steer: a smaller machine for short moves and cleanup between the bigger vehicles.
- Excavators: the high-volume digging step once the beach is too wide for hand tools.
- Dump truck: the hauler. It matters when gravel, boulders, clay, and concrete have to cross the full beach.
A practical buy order
- Shovels, so the first walls stop depending on the toy spade.
- One pushing or digging machine, either the bulldozer or the skid steer, depending on which price you can pay without leaving the wall unfinished.
- An excavator when digging speed, not hauling, is the bottleneck.
- The dump truck when late materials are available and carrying them is slower than digging.
In co-op, split the purchases across roles. One player can run the excavator, one can drive the dump truck, and another can patch. Everyone buying an excavator leaves nobody to haul or patch.
Payback check
Use the machine payback calculator with the price you see in the shop. If you cannot name the extra coins that machine should earn on each later wave, you do not yet have a reason to buy it. A cheaper shovel that lets you finish the current wall is the better spend.